Jeff Deters - Miracle Moments in Kansas City Royals History: The Turning Points, the Memorable Games, the Incredible Records

Copyright 2017 by Jeff Deters

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Tom Lau

Cover photo credit: Associated Press

ISBN: 978-1-61321-995-9

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-61321-996-6

Printed in China

Contents

Introduction

The glove didnt fit my hand. I was probably about eight or ten at the time, and while in the store, I said the brown Wilson glove fit fine. But it really wasnt much bigger than my left hand, so it was actually a tight squeeze from the moment I put it on. But I had to have that glove.

It certainly wasnt the most expensive glove in the store. If it was, theres no way it would have made it back to my house, and I certainly wouldnt be writing about it now. Im not sure if it was even my first glove, but its the only glove that I can remember being mine, so I think it was.

I remember playing baseball in the backyard for hours with my brothers and sister, catching pop flies, liners, and grounders. There were surely gloves that fit my hand better that day in the store, but this glove had George Bretts name on it, right in the palm of my hand.

Like many others back then, my dream as a young kid was to play third base for the Kansas City Royals. That obviously didnt happen. And at my age now, lets hope it never does. For years, I had a blue Royals jacket similar to the one Dick Howser wore. I wore it plenty as a kid, and all these years later, it still brings back memories of a special time.

The story of the Royals franchise is one of success, failure, heartbreak, triumph, and hope. And I hope I illustrate that in the following pages of this book. In it you will read personal tales from people, players, coaches, and staff who helped make the Royals one of the most beloved teams in sports. Youll find a few of my own personal tales as theysurprisingly to mealso intertwine with Royals history at times.

The first Royals game I covered as a reporter was May 2, 2013, the Snow Game. As I drove north on I-435 on a wet, gloomy Thursday morning, I wasnt exactly sure what to expect once I got to the stadium. In the clubhouse, one of the first people I talked to was Fox Sports Kansas City broadcaster Joel Goldberg. Not long after that, I saw Rex Hudler greet fellow FSKC broadcaster and Royals Hall of Famer Jeff Montgomery with a chest bump. Yes, you really do see everything in the clubhouse of a Major League Baseball team.

During pregame availability, I interviewed Lorenzo Cain while he was eating pancakes. I then asked Ned Yost about Cains season, which was going splendidly to that point. In the fourth inning a few hours later, the game between the Royals and the Tampa Bay Rays was delayed because of rain. Two hours later, the grounds crew pulled up the tarp and began to dry the infield. But before long, the tarp covered the field again, and freezing rain and big, puffy snowflakes fell from the sky.

The Christmas favorite Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! delighted fans on the PA system. Later, Royals players emerged from the clubhouse and took pictures of the winter wonderland. Mike Moustakas and Alcides Escobar even went for a slide across the tarp on their bellies. Finally, the game was called just after 4:30 p.m., and a winter weather advisory was in effect.

I remember driving home in the snow thinking how lucky I was that I accomplished a lifelong goal. I got to cover the Royals, and in my mind there was always a better probability of that happening than me playing third base. It snowed a inch that May day. Prior to that, the last time there was measurable snowfall in May in Kansas City was in 1907. What a first day on the job!

In the years since, there have been many memorable moments for the Royals, and for me, that stand out. I hope you enjoy reading about them as well as the ones that came before. I want to thank Sarah Younger for her hard work and believing in this project. I also want to thank the Royals, the Kauffman Foundation, and everyone who contributed to this book and my friends and family for their support. I cant name everyone, but I do want to give a special shout out to Jess Coffey.

Nothin stops me in my SUV!

From playing Have you met Deters? to bouncing around story ideas for over a decade, and for this book, your friendship means the world to me. And thank God for your beautiful wife, Michelle, and daughter, Eve, who are Royals fans just like their dad.

The reason I decided to write this book was for the fans. And I hope this book is something you enjoy. While writing it, I also wanted to make it more than a history lesson. I wanted to find new stories and make it more of a celebration book. So now lets celebrate the miracle that is the Kansas City Royals.

START OF SOMETHING SPECIAL

A great business man and humanitarian, Royals founder Ewing Kauffman brought baseball back to Kansas City in 1969. (Courtesy Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation )

Birth of a Franchise

Mr. K Steps Up to the Plate

Ewing Kauffman needed a hobby. Thats what his wife, Muriel, and his doctor told him. They figured it would help relieve stress and lengthen his life, perhaps another twenty-five years. Kansas City, meanwhile, needed a baseball team. Together, Kauffman and Kansas City made a perfect match.

Following the 1967 season, Charlie Finley moved the As out west to Oakland, and Kansas City was without a Major League Baseball team for the first time in twelve years. Enter Kauffman, then a fifty-one-year-old who made his coin running Marion Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company that he started in his basement with a $5,000 investment but grew to a billion-dollar company. Kauffman knew how to make money, but he didnt know much about baseball. He just knew Kansas City deserved a team.

In 1955, Kansas City became major league for the first time when Chicago businessman Arnold Johnson, who owned Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, paid $3.5 million for the Philadelphia Athletics and moved them to the Midwest. Until the As came to town, the Kansas City Bluesthe Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankeeswere the primary tenant. Upon arrival, it seemed the As had a bright future as they had some good ballplayers, but nothing about the As tenure in Kansas City was remotely bright. They had a losing season in each of their thirteen years in Kansas City.