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ROYALS 2013
REIGN DELAY The Royals have spent almost 30 years wandering in baseball’s desert. This is the story of how they came to possess the longest postseason drought in all of major pro sports in North America.
ILLUSTRATION BY NEIL NAKAHODO | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
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THE ROYALS | THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2013
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
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1. Which of the following players was not an All-Star with the Royals? a.) Mark Redman, b.) Carlos Beltran, c.) Jose Rosado or d.) Aaron Crow? | Trivia answers, G23
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A TRAGEDY IN THREE ACTS After winning the 1985 World Series, the Royals sunk into a long, slow decline that didn’t hit rock bottom until the mid-2000s. And only recently have they begun to dig out in earnest.
here is a sad and obvious symbolism in the fact that video of the Royals’ last playoff appearance is grainy. Children born on that day in 1985 are old enough to have families, mortgages and even to have switched careers. They are also older than Billy Butler. The rise and fall of the Royals is a tale passed along from father to son in the Midwest. With the organization in better shape than ever to write another “rising” chapter, we offer you the story of how it all happened. This is a tragedy best told in three acts, each, hopefully, with details you haven’t heard and context to bring it all together. The Royals were once baseball’s best franchise, you know, an innovative and perennial winner that developed its own elite players. They created an academy in Florida that became the model for what the rest of baseball took to Latin America. They signed their own top players to long-term contracts long before doing so became a priority for small-market clubs. The 1990s brought a horribly perfect storm to everything the franchise stood for. The game’s economics shifted in favor of big-market clubs, and beloved owner Ewing Kauffman passed away in 1993, leaving behind a well-intentioned blueprint for the club that would go painfully wrong. A board ran the team for seven years, long enough to trade away the organization’s best players and turn a team that finished first or second in 10 straight strike-free seasons into one that would lose 310 games in three years. The Royals went from industry standard to punchline. They were a shamefully underfunded bunch that at one point struggled to provide even the barest necessities: minor-league equipment, money for draft picks, cellphones for scouts. It was a rotten organization throughout. Many team employees got used to seeing sympathetic looks from others within the game. That began to change in
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HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?
SAM MELLINGER
COMMENTARY
2006, when David Glass — a former board member whose purchase of the club became official in 2000 — changed his ways. He hired Dayton Moore, baseball’s hottest general manager candidate at the time, and told him he wanted better results. The Royals invested in baseball again. They beefed up their scouting department to find the best amateur players and spent to sign them. Latin America became a priority. Then, they’d do what was needed to build baseball’s best farm system, and bring up their young players in an environment where the right things were emphasized. The last chapter of this story isn’t yet written, of course. The Royals’ minorleague system has indeed become a model for other clubs in baseball, but the results haven’t shown themselves in Kansas City. Other than a fluke 83-win season in 2003, the Royals haven’t won more than 77 games since the strike. But there are signs their fortunes are turning. More than half of the Royals’ opening day lineup is homegrown. They are the youngest group in baseball, again, and a trendy pick to finish second in the division — which would be their best finish in a nonstrike year since ’89. Moore used some of that minorleague strength to trade for James Shields and Wade Davis this offseason, giving the Royals their first competent rotation in years. This has the look of the year the Royals make noticeable strides at the bigleague level in their attempt to update that grainy video of 1985 to the high-definition imagery of today. Today’s special section details how it all happened, or might happen, from rise to fall to hopeful rise back.
ILLUSTRATION BY NEIL NAKAHODO | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
The Royals haven’t seen the playoffs since 1985. Here are the longest postseason droughts in the four major sports leagues.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Royals
1985 1992
Pirates Blue Jays
1993
Mariners Marlins
2001 2003
Bills
1999
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Maple Leafs 2004
Warriors Wizards
2007
Raiders
2002
Oilers
Browns
2002
Jets
2007
Raptors
2007
Pistons
2009
Rockets
2009
2006
Rams
2004
Islanders
Bucs
2007
Stars
2008
Jaguars
2007
Wild
2008
2008 2008
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
INSIDE THIS SPECIAL SECTION DISMANTLING A DYNASTY
HOW BAD DID IT GET?
THE LOVABLE LOSER
CAST OF CHARACTERS
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
WAS THE TRADE WORTH IT?
General manager Herk Robinson ruled the Royals’ front office in times of incredible prosperity following the 1985 World Series. But everything unraveled after Ewing Kauffman’s death in 1993 and the strike-shortened season that followed. | G4
Charting the Royals’ flow and ebb since their inception 43 years ago, with records by season, managerial tenures, some dubious All-Stars and yes, longest losing streaks. | G9
While the rest of his star teammates skipped town, Mike Sweeney stayed behind in KC. But his lucrative contract extension and propensity for injury landed him in a doghouse he’s eager to escape. | G10
Sure, there have been bright spots over the last 27 seasons. But being a true Royals fan since 1985 has called for an ability to laugh at one’s self, not to mention those guys on the field. | G12-13
No one better personifies the Royals’ optimism about what could be than James Shields, the new staff ace aquired via a trade with Tampa Bay this offseason. Here’s how the deal went down. | G18
The Royals coveted better starting pitching and resigned themselves to paying a steep price to acquire it. Guest columnist Rany Jazayerli says only time will tell if they made the right move in shipping out the best player in the minors, Wil Myers. | G21
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ORLIN WAGNER | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ex-Royals GM Herk Robinson points to the death of Ewing Kauffman, immortalized in bronze alongside his wife, Muriel, as a turning point in the franchise’s history.
A loss that lingers General manager Herk Robinson helped the Royals capture a World Series title in 1985, but after Ewing Kauffman’s death, winning another became less of a priority. By BLAIR KERKHOFF The Kansas City Star
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o understand why the Royals own baseball’s longest current postseason drought, one must return to the summer of 1993. Aug. 1, to be precise. Ewing Kauffman’s death bed. Hours before Kauffman died, Royals general manager Herk Robinson telephoned the team’s owner, out of respect always, but on this occasion also out of duty. The Royals had just traded Jon Lieber and Dan Miceli to the Pirates for Stan Belinda. The boss needed to know, even at around 10 p.m. on July 31. Kauffman, beloved founder of the club, passed away before the next day’s sun rose, and although nobody knew it at the time, the Royals’ journey through baseball’s wilderness had begun. As difficult as that phone call was to make, even tougher decisions lay ahead. Over the next two decades, many moments would come to define the Royals’ ineptitude. Plays? So many humiliating moments from which to choose. First baseman Ken Harvey getting plunked in the back with a relay throw is a favorite. Or how
about the night center fielder Chip Ambres and Terrence Long converged on a lazy pop fly for a third out, looked at each other and jogged off the field, only to have the ball fall behind them? Or that the Royals once had an outfield that even included Ambres
and Long? Seasons? The ball-drop comedy happened late in 2005, when the Royals set a franchise record with 106 losses, the third time in four years they re-set that mark of futility. That was also the year, 20 seasons removed from the club’s World Series championship (and last playoff appearance), that included a 19-game losing streak and no fewer than three managers. But as the Royals prepare for their most promising season in generations, the roots of decline are best traced to Mr. K’s death bed. “If you look at it from 10,000 feet, it’s pretty obvious,” said former pitcher Jeff Montgomery, who spent the 1990s in a Royals uniform as one of the game’s top closers. “The adverse effects of his passing affected the organization for a long, long time.” ❚ ❚ ❚ At the time, the situation didn’t seem as hopeless as it would become. Nobody knew such dark days awaited. The proud Royals franchise had been such a model of success that the Colorado Rockies, who played their first game in 1993, openly referred to their
blueprint of progress for an ex- season. They’d won 92 games, drawn a record 2.4 million fans pansion team. The man most often associated and overhauled much of their liwith the early years of the club’s neup from the 1985 World Series downturn is Robinson, now 72, team. They were set around the who succeeded John Schuerholz horn with promising young playas general manager after the 1990 ers, such as Kevin Seitzer at third season and remained on the job and Kurt Stillwell at shortstop, and veteran leaders Frank White for a decade. Robinson retained a title with and George Brett patrolled the the club through 2004, although right side of the field. Young catcher Mike Macfarhis responsibilities were limited. Today, he lives with his wife, lane had some pop. Bo Jackson, Kathy, in Leawood. He doesn’t of- Danny Tartabull and Jim Eisenten take in games at Kauffman reich made up one of the game’s Stadium but rarely misses a Roy- best outfields. The Royals’ starting pitching never seemed stronals broadcast. He remembers his decade as ger, with Bret Saberhagen coming general manager as a time of off his second Cy Young Awardpromise sinking into great uncer- winning season and Mark Gubictainty, and finally futility. It’s been za entering his prime. Kevin Ap27 seasons since the Royals’ last pier and Tom Gordon were findplayoff appearance and 21 years ing their way, too, and Montgomsince more than 2 million fans at- ery, the future closer, was on tended home games in a season, board. Only two teams finished with which had become the norm. better records than the Royals in How did it all go so wrong? Kauffman’s death marked the 1989. Unfortunately, one was in obvious turning point for the the same division: the world franchise, but there were many champion Oakland A’s. “Remember those days?” said decisions made in the years before his death, and several after, Montgomery, who had just built that changed the course of the his dream house in Cincinnati when he was traded from the franchise. Start with 1990. The Royals were coming off a terrific 1989 SEE ROYALS | G6
BO KNOWS BASEBALL; TWO LEGENDS DEPART
Bo Jackson
June 2, 1986 Most believe Bo Jackson, the superstar in the making out of Auburn, will opt for the NFL. But the Royals use their fourth-round selection to draft him anyway. And lo and behold, Bo signs with the Royals. One of the best athletes the game has ever seen (a human highlight reel, really), Jackson hits 109 home runs in five seasons with the Royals.
March 27, 1987 The Royals get Ed Hearn, Rick Anderson and Mauro Gozzo from the Mets. The price? Starting pitcher David Cone, who plays only one season in his first stint with the Royals. Two years later, Cone wins 20 games in New York and finishes third in the NL Cy Young race. Following the trade, Cone racks up 194 wins over the next 16 seasons. Anderson and Gozzo combine to win just two with the Royals, while Hearn, a catcher, appears in only 13 games.
April 9, 1990 A season filled with promise after the acquisitions of Storm Davis and Mark Davis — which ballooned the payroll to a majorleague high $22 million — gets off to a lousy start. On opening day, the Orioles’ Sam Horn blasts two home runs and collects six RBIs in Baltimore’s 7-6 victory in 11 innings. Mark Davis
1990 Legends Frank White and Willie Wilson play their final games in White Royals uniforms. White appears in 82 games and retires as the greatest second Wilson baseman in team history. Wilson is granted free agency and signs with the Athletics.
March 18, 1991 Bo Jackson, who had suffered a serious hip injury while playing football for the Oakland Raiders in January, is released by the Royals. He signs with the Chicago White Sox two weeks later and appears in 23 games, hitting .225 with three homers.
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THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2013
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THE ROYALS | THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2013
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
3. Who led the Royals in home runs in 2007? | Trivia answers, G23
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ROYALS: Team once spent big FROM G4 Rockhurst High quarterback, and Reds to the Royals in 1988. “Then, he had become a star with the two divisions and only the winners Mets and won a World Series ring made the playoffs. You could be with the Toronto Blue Jays. Kauffman told Cone he always the second or third best team in baseball and not make the playoffs. regretted the move and asked him to come home as a free agent. That’s what we had in 1989.” With a signing bonus of $9 milBelieving they were just a move or two away from reaching the top, lion, Cone agreed to a three-year the Royals signed Padres relief contract worth $18 million. “And I believe that money came pitcher Mark Davis, the National League Cy Young winner and the out of Mr. Kauffman’s checkbook,” biggest free agent on the market. Montgomery said. With Cone in the rotation, the Their other big acquisition was starting pitcher Storm Davis, who team improved, winning 84 games had won 35 games the previous in 1993. In the second-to- last game played while Kauffman was still two seasons in Oakland. In 1990, the Royals’ $22 million alive, Cone threw a shutout, beatpayroll was the highest in baseball. ing Jose Mesa and the Cleveland But then injuries swept through Indians 3-0 in front of 31,769 fans. the clubhouse. Saberhagen, Gubic- Brett, playing his final season, za, Storm Davis, Jackson and Tarta- smacked his 11th home run, and bull all missed chunks of the sea- the second-place Royals pulled son. Mark Davis was a bust and within three games of the divisionwas pulled from the closer’s role in leading Chicago White Sox. mid-May. ❚ ❚ ❚ As good as 1993 was, 1994 was But Kauffman never stopped trying to improve the team. Even as even better. The team jelled under his health was deteriorating, he manager Hal McRae, and in late took a final swing at the American July the Royals embarked upon a League pennant. The Royals lost 14-game winning streak, with 12 of 90 games in 1992, and after the sea- those games played in front of enson, Kauffman brought David thusiastic home crowds. Then the strike hit. Cone into his office. Six years earThe games of Aug. 10 ended the lier the Royals had traded away the Kansas City product and former season. No playoffs — this was to
END OF AN ERA Aug. 26, 1991 Bret Saberhagen hurls the most recent no-hitter in club history, beating the White Sox 7-0 at Royals Stadium.
Dec. 11, 1991 Royals ship Saberhagen and Bill Pecota to the New York Mets in exchange for Kevin McReynolds, Gregg Jefferies and Keith Miller. McReynolds hits just .247 in 1992, his lowest mark in seven years, before batting .245 the next year. In four injuryplagued seasons with the Mets, Saberhagen wins 29 games with a 3.16 ERA.
be the first year of the wild card, and the Royals were squarely in contention — and certainly no World Series. Complicating matters, the Royals had no owner. Upon Kauffman’s death, control of the team was given to the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, an IRS-approved move that ensured the Royals would remain in KC. Kauffman also left $40 million to cover the team’s future losses. Current owner David Glass, Kauffman’s hand-picked successor, was appointed chairman of the club’s board of directors in September. But Glass removed himself as a candidate, which prolonged the succession plan until 2000, when baseball approved his $96 million bid to purchase the team. From 1993 until 2000, with no owner and a strong desire to keep the team attractive for a prospective buyer, the Royals’ expenses were maintained at shoestring levels. Payroll included. “We didn’t want to put that (financial responsibility) on new ownership,” Robinson said. That’s why the Royals didn’t JOHN SLEEZER | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
SEE ROBINSON | G7
The Royals had success under Hal McRae (left), who was manager when Herk Robinson (right) was general manager.
Aug. 1, 1993 Owner Ewing Kauffman dies. He had established a complex succession plan to keep the team in Kansas City, donating it to charity with decisions made by a board of directors, led by David Glass. The Kauffman new owner would be required to keep the team in Kansas City. The Royals went without an owner for seven years.
1992 Starting 1-16 dooms the Royals to their first 90-loss record since their inaugural season in 1969. Sept. 30, 1992 George Brett collects his 3,000th career hit. Dec. 8, 1992 David Cone returns to the Royals. In three ensuing seasons, he compiles a 3.29 ERA and 27-19 record.
1993 George Brett, the greatest Royal, retires at season’s end.
1994 Baseball’s final games are played on Aug. 11. The strike ends the season, and for the first time since 1904, there is no postseason. When the season ends, the Royals are 64-51, seven games out of first place. This was to be the first year of the wild card, and the Royals had trailed by just three games.
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THE ROYALS | THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
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SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2013
4. After winning the Cy Young Award in 1994, David Cone was traded to Toronto. Who did the Royals receive in return? | Trivia answers, G23
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ROBINSON: Cost cutting became a way of life in 1990s FROM G6
make a serious play to retain Cone and his $5 million salary after 1994. He was traded back to the Blue Jays for three players, the best of whom was utility player Chris Stynes. “We wanted to keep David,” Robinson said, “but we knew we couldn’t do it.” Montgomery remembers getting into his car that April — the strike lasted through early 1995, and Major League Baseball was prepared to open the year with replacement players until a settlement reduced the season by 18 games — when he heard the news: Cone to the Blue Jays, and Brian McRae, whose salary had jumped from $378,500 in 1993 to $1.9 million in 1994, to the Chicago Cubs. “The writing was on the wall,” Montgomery said. “We were cutting payroll.” And going with new leadership. In another sign of the club’s altered direction, popular manager McRae was dumped after the 1994 season. McRae loved having veterans in the clubhouse, but the Royals were looking to save money. The organization, brimming with young talent, had been named baseball’s best by several outlets in 1994, and the front office knew those pro-
spects would be in KC soon. “We just didn’t think it was fair to Hal to bring him back under those conditions,” Robinson said. “We were going to start anew.” The page was turned after the Royals lost to the Seattle Mariners on Aug. 11, 1995. In one day, the Royals brought up Johnny Damon and Michael Tucker and dropped veterans Vince Coleman, Chris James and Pat Borders. Kansas Citians remember it as the “Friday Night Massacre.” When the Royals took the field the next day under manager Bob Boone, there were 11 rookies on the 25-man roster. Clearly, the agenda had been set. Problem was, the Royals were competing in 1995. When the moves were made, they were just four games under .500 and very much alive in the wild-card race. Couldn’t the future at least wait until they were eliminated from postseason contention? The massacre wasn’t a disaster — the Royals played .500 baseball with the new blood — but the new direction had been established, and what few outside of the stadi-
“There just weren’t secure jobs ... We were strapped.” | HERK ROBINSON
VETERANS DUMPED 1994 Hal McRae, the last Royals manager with a winning record in his tenure, is fired and replaced by Bob Boone.
um knew at the time was the Royals didn’t have the tools to compete. ❚ ❚ ❚ The cuts went deeper than players’ salaries. “We couldn’t hire employees,” Robinson said. “We were being battered at the front-office level. There just weren’t secure jobs because of the uncertainty. We were strapped. “Scouts, for example: They knew it was just a matter of time before ownership would change. Unless we found somebody who was out of work, they weren’t coming here. Some that were here jumped ship, and you couldn’t blame them.” The $40 million left by Mr. K to cover losses would only go so far. Poor results, especially in the draft, started to pile up. The Royals all but stopped drafting and developing starting pitching with any expertise. From 1992 to 1999, the Royals used their firstround picks on Jim Pittsley, Jeff Gran-
1995 Veterans such as David Cone and Brian McRae are moved in a salary dump. The payroll drops from a baseball top-five of about $40 million in 1994 to $18.5 million in 1996, second-lowest in the game. Johnny Damon is among several rookie call-ups in a youth movement.
Hal McRae
1997 Tony Muser becomes the Royals’ 12th manager.
Bob Hamelin
ger, Matt Smith, Dan Reichert, Jeff Austin, Kyle Snyder, Mike MacDougal and Mike Stodolka. Of that group, only MacDougal found any kind of sustained success in the majors. As signing-bonus money started to soar, the Royals started looking at talent they could sign without prolonged negotiations, and for less money. “The unfortunate word we kept hearing in those days was ‘signability,’ ” Montgomery said. “It became a word we hated to hear.” Through it all, baseball’s economic gap between large and small markets was growing wider by the year. Teams like the Yankees, Dodgers and Braves were driving up the costs of free agents — the Royals’ payroll in 1996 was $18.5 million — which made the Royals’ second youth movement more difficult to accept. In 1999, one of the brightest young talents produced by the orga-
March 27, 1997 The Royals complete a busy offseason by acquiring outfielder Jermaine Dye from the Braves. Dye struggles in his initial year with the Royals, hitting just .236, but bounces back with three consecutive 100-RBI seasons.
March 27, 1997 Just three years removed from winning Rookie of the Year, Bob Hamelin is released.
nization, Carlos Beltran, was voted the American League’s Rookie of the Year. He played center field, with Damon in left and Jermaine Dye in right. But without having developed or acquired dependable starting pitching, the Royals lost 97 games — and worst of all, it was becoming apparent to their fans that the team wouldn’t be able to afford to keep its budding stars. In 2000, after seven years of belttightening, the Royals finally had an owner. Glass’ bid was accepted by baseball and the city rejoiced. The instability was over. “It’s a great day,” Glass said after hearing the news at the baseball owners’ annual meeting in Houston. “I’ve waited for this day for a long time.” That summer, Robinson was replaced as general manager by assistant general manager Allard Baird. Robinson, who would stay on with the title of chief operating officer, joked that it was a good move because he would no longer have to deal with agents, and that the Royals were poised for a positive future. But that vision of the future proved elusive. Even with ownership stability, the Royals’ first decade of the new millennium proved to be even worse than the 1990s.
1999 Royals turn down an opportunity to join the NL. July 31, 1999 In the middle of his 11th season with the Royals, starting pitcher Kevin Appier is dealt to Oakland at the trade deadline. In return, the Royals receive Jeff D’Amico, Brad Rigby and Blake Stein.
1999 A second youth movement brings Carlos Beltran to the majors, and he becomes the Royals’ third rookie of the year, following Lou Piniella in 1969 and Bob Hamelin in 1994. Despite an outfield of Beltran, Damon and Dye, the Royals lose a franchise-record 97 games largely because of a pitching staff that ranks last in the American League in ERA (5.35).
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THE ROYALS | THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
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Respect for tradition kept Royals in the AL Team had a chance to switch leagues but didn’t because of Kauffman’s memory. By BLAIR KERKHOFF The Kansas City Star
In 1997, baseball decided to move a team from the American League to the National League and two clubs were approached — the Royals and the Milwaukee Brewers. Kansas City was given the first option. At one point, then-general manager Herk Robinson believed the Royals were going to jump because David Glass, the chairman of the board who three years later
would become the team’s regular basis had marketing owner, grew up in rural cen- advantages. Ultimately, tradition and a tral Missouri as a die-hard Cards fan in the era of Stan nod to former owner Ewing Musial and Enos Slaughter. Kauffman, who had died in “He was like so many kids 1993, won the day. “David came back and who grew up in this part of the country: radio under the said that out of respect to pillow, listening to the Car- Mr. Kauffman and the Roydinals and Harry Caray,” als organization, its heritage Robinson said. “I went to and tradition in Kansas City him and said we had this as an American League club, he didn’t think it was opportunity.” The move was discussed. right for him to make the At the time, a move to the decision to move,” RobinNL Central was tempting son said. The Brewers did, returnfrom a competitive standpoint. The Astros won the ing Milwaukee to its roots division in 1997 with an as a National League city. 84-78 record. Playing the The Braves were there durCardinals and Cubs on a ing 1953-65.
FANS’ VIEW: AFTER THE CHAMPIONSHIP TRACY MARING
CHUCK HORSLEY
Her love affair started in the days of John Mayberry and George Brett. “I went to a lot of games when I was younger with my mom and dad,” said Tracy Maring, 48. “It’s disheartening to see what has happened the last couple decades.” The Royals reached the playoffs seven times in 10 seasons during 1976-85. Maring “I remember when the stadium was sold out and you could not get tickets anywhere but the upper deck unless you knew somebody,” she said. “I’d love to see those days return.”
For Chuck Horsley, 62, of Kansas City, Kan., the Royals’ fall can be traced to the firing of Hal McRae as manager after 1994. The Royals had a .557 winning percentage that August when a labor dispute canceled the rest of the season. The Royals let McRae go and hired Bob Boone, and the franchise hasn’t approached that winning percentage since. When George Brett hit that home run off Goose Gossage in the 1980 ALCS, Horsley hugged his kids. Any chance there’ll be more family bonding this year? “I have never given up hope,” Horsley said with a laugh. “That’s the bad thing, you know? I have as much hope for this year as I have in a long time, but I think I said that a year or two ago, too.”
PETE CONNORS The Royals haven’t played a home World Series game that Pete Connors, 70, of Lee’s Summit has not attended. He was fortunate to see the Royals take on the Phillies in 1980 and the Cardinals in 1985. His favorite player was George Brett. “He was like our local hero,” Connors said. “But I liked them all. I liked the pitchers, especially (Dan Quisenberry).” Former Royals shortstop Fred Patek lives nearby, and Connors believes Patek was the best shortstop in franchise history. But he’s also ready for the year ahead. “It seems like they say this every year,” Connors said, “but maybe they really do have some better pitchers this year.” | Tod Palmer and Pete Grathoff, The Star
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THE ROYALS | THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
In their early years, the Royals were consistently among the top teams in their division. But after peaking with a World Series championship in 1985, the franchise began a slow but steady decline.
WIN/LOSS RECORDS The Royals’ first 16 years were filled with lots of wins, including a team record 102 in 1977.
1969
Wins: 69 Losses: 93 65
1970
97 85
1971
76
1972
76 78 88
1973
74 77
1974
85 91
1975
71
1976
72
90
102
1977
60 92
1978
70 85
1979
77 97
1980 1981
65 50 53
Strike season 90
1982
72
1983
79 83
1984
78
84
91
1985
71 76
1986
86 83 79
1987
84
1988
77 92
1989
70 75
1990
86 82 80
1991 72
1992
90 84
1993 1994
78 64
Strike season
51
1995
70 74
1996
75 86 67
1997
94 72
1998
89 64
1999 Hundred-loss seasons
2000
Most seasons with triple-digit losses since the Royals won it all in 1985:
2001
97 77 85 65 97 62
2002 ’02
’04
’05
’96
’87
’02
’01
2004 ’91
2005 ’10
Pirates: 3 ’01
’02
’06
2006 2007
58 104 56 106 62 100 69 93
Rays: 3 ’11
ALL-STARS As the Royals’ records declined, so did their All-Star players.
LONGEST LOSING STREAK
4th
Joe Gordon
Ellie Rodriguez, C
4th
Charlie Metro, Bob Lemon
Amos Otis, OF
7
2nd
Bob Lemon
Amos Otis, OF, Cookie Rojas 2B
8
4th
Bob Lemon
Bob Lemon, coach, Amos Otis, OF, Lou Pinella, OF, Cookie Rojas, 2B, Richie Scheinblum, OF
6
2nd
Jack McKeon
John Mayberry, 1B, Amos Otis*, OF, Cookie Rojas, 2B
5
5th
Jack McKeon
Steve Busby, P, John Mayberry, 1B, Cookie Rojas, 2B, Jack McKeon, coach
2nd
Jack McKeon, Whitey Herzog
Steve Busby, P, Hal McRae, OF
6
1st
Whitey Herzog
George Brett*, 3B, Hal McRae, OF, Amos Otis, OF, Fred Patek, SS, Jim Dudley, trainer
6
1st
Whitey Herzog
George Brett*, 3B
1st
Whitey Herzog
George Brett*, 3B, Fred Patek, SS, Darrell Porter, C, Frank White, 2B, Whitey Herzog, coach
2nd
Whitey Herzog
George Brett*, 3B, Frank White*, 2B
7
1st
Jim Frey
George Brett*, 3B, Larry Gura, P, Darrell Porter, C
8
4th
Jim Frey, Dick Howser
George Brett*, 3B, Frank White, 2B, Jim Frey, manager
2nd
Dick Howser
George Brett*, 3B, Hal McRae, OF, Dan Quisenberry, P, Frank White, 2B, Willie Wilson, OF, Dick Howser, coach, Mickey Cobb, trainer
7
2nd
Dick Howser
George Brett*, 3B, Dan Quisenberry, P, Willie Wilson, OF
6
1st
Dick Howser
George Brett*, 3B, Dan Quisenberry, P
1st
Dick Howser
George Brett*, 3B, Dick Howser, coach
3rd
Dick Howser, Mike Ferraro*
George Brett*, 3B, Frank White, 2B, Dick Howser, manager
2nd
Billy Gardner, John Wathan
George Brett, 3B, Bret Saberhagen*, P, Kevin Seitzer, 3B
6
3rd
John Wathan
George Brett, 1B, Mark Gubicza, P, Kurt Stillwell, SS
6
2nd
John Wathan
Bo Jackson*, OF, Mark Gubicza, P
6
6th
John Wathan
Bret Saberhagen, P, Mickey Cobb, trainer
6th
John Wathan, Bob Schaefer*, Hal McRae
Danny Tartabull*, DH
5th
Hal McRae
Jeff Montgomery, P, Hal McRae, coach
3rd
Hal McRae
Jeff Montgomery, P
3rd
Hal McRae
David Cone, P
2nd
Bob Boone
Kevin Appier, P
6
5th
Bob Boone
Jeff Montgomery, P, Bob Boone, coach, Nick Swartz, trainer
6
5th
Bob Boone, Tony Muser
Jose Rosado, P
3rd
Tony Muser
Dean Palmer, 3B
8
4th
Tony Muser
Jose Rosado, P
9
4th
Tony Muser
Jermaine Dye*, OF, Mike Sweeney, 1B
9
5th
Tony Muser
Mike Sweeney, 1B, Tony Muser, coach
9
4th
Tony Muser, John Mizerock*, Tony Peña
Mike Sweeney, 1B
8
3rd
Tony Peña
Mike Sweeney, 1B, Mike MacDougal, P
5th
Tony Peña
Ken Harvey, 1B, Tony Pena, coach
5th
Tony Peña, Bob Schaefer*, Buddy Bell
Mike Sweeney, 1B
5th
Buddy Bell
Mark Redman, P, Nick Swartz, trainer
5th
Buddy Bell
Gil Meche, P
4th
Trey Hillman
Joakin Soria, P
4th
Trey Hillman
Zack Greinke, P, Trey Hillman, coach
5th
Trey Hillman, Ned Yost
Joakim Soria, P
7
4th
Ned Yost
Aaron Crow, P
6
3rd
Ned Yost
Billy Butler, DH, Ned Yost, coach, Nick Kenney, trainer
6
8
4 5
4
7 5 11
9 7 9 5 3
12
4
’03
Indians: 3 ’85
83 79
2003
Tigers: 4 ’85
100
G9
SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2013
’06
Royals: 4 ’89
D FI IVI NI SI SH ON PL AY O FF S M AN AG ER S
RISE AND FALL
WWW.KANSASCITY.COM
’12
75
2008
87
8 19 13 7 12
Astros: 2 ’08
’10
2009
Mariners: 2 ’08
’09
Nationals: 2 There are eight other teams that have one season of 100 or more losses.
2010
65 97 67 95
2011
71
2012
72
91
90
* interim manager
* denotes starter
10
12
DAVE EAMES | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
G10
THE ROYALS | THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2013
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
5. How far did pitcher Colt Griffin, the Royals’ first pick in the 2001 draft, advance? | Trivia answers, G23
WWW.KANSASCITY.COM
?
DAVID EULITT | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
Fair or not, some Royals loyalists have lingering memories of seeing Mike Sweeney in pain. The oft-injured first baseman was a lightning rod for an angry fan base.
The fall guy he day a proud baseball franchise told the world it no longer cared looked like a postcard. A Sunday afternoon in September 2002. Sunny, 72 degrees. Perfect for the park, or a walk. The Royals used it to leave a bit of themselves behind.
T
“I never took it personal. They were booing the situation. That’s how I took it.”
SAM MELLINGER
They sat on 99 losses, which makes for a bad team. One more would make for infamous losers. Those Royals earned their way to shame’s doorstep, you might rememCOMMENTARY ber. The shortstop refused to go in one day, and was baseball’s worst everyday player when he didn’t refuse. A relief pitcher made his big-league debut by walking four straight batters, each on four pitches. The manager found out he was fired from a newspaper reporter. The starting right fielder missed a month’s worth of games when he got hurt karate-fighting his brother. The Royals had never been this bad before. Good baseball was still in their recent past. Two years before, they set the club runs record. Outfielder Carlos Beltran was turning into a star. Designated hitter Mike Sweeney had a healthy back. The Royals had hope — honest hope. In 2002, that was beginning to change. They lost their franchiserecord 98th game when Jim Thome hit a home run close to
500 feet. They lost their 99th when Angel Berroa booted a routine double-play grounder in extra innings. Then, to make it official, they lost their 100th with a joke of a lineup that signaled to proud alumni new and lower standards. “I’m embarrassed,” Sweeney, a team captain, said after the game. “I’m embarrassed to have my name attached to that.” He had no way of knowing it
| MIKE SWEENEY
would get worse. Much, much worse. This is the story of a franchise losing its way. The first decade of this new millenium is an agonizing, frustrating, angering, alternately hilarious and sad lost era from which the organization only now looks to be extricating itself. ❚ ❚ ❚ Some nights, Mike Sweeney couldn’t sleep. On the worst nights, he could only cry. Sweeney likes to say that the Good Lord blessed him with baseball talent but not a good back. The combination made him the unwitting face of a limp, lame and losing franchise. “I never took it personal,” Swee-
ney says now. “They were booing the situation. That’s how I took it.” Those fans had plenty to boo. In the years between Ewing Kauffman’s death in 1993 and David Glass’ stated commitment to building a respectable franchise, the Royals became an industrywide joke. Glass served on the board of trustees that ran the team until he purchased it in 2000, and in those seven years the Royals worked feverishly to minimize expenses. Team payroll went from baseball’s highest in 1990 to the second-lowest in 1996, when Sweeney was a 22-year-old catcher. The cost-cutting was done
As the Royals’ fortunes sank, fans unleashed their wrath on Mike Sweeney, who signed a fat contract before numerous injuries derailed his career.
with fine intentions — profits from the sale would go to Kansas City charities — but the consequence amounted to a pack of dynamite. No cost was too small to trim. The Royals canceled a Negro Leagues tribute because they didn’t want to pay for the uniforms. They ended their traditional offseason banquet. One year, they ran out of draft money after the fourth or fifth round. Another year, they didn’t do a team picture. Minor-league equipment wore out and was not replaced. Scouts left and their positions remained open. The ones who stayed paid their own cellphone bills. Perhaps worst of all, Carlos Beltran went behind agent Scott Boras’ back to negotiate a threeyear extension for $25 million. The Royals stopped at $24 million, so eventually one of the most talented players in franchise history was traded for pennies. That would be a recurring theme during Sweeney’s time in Kansas City. He chose to stay — his agent and the union tried to talk him out of signing a below-market deal for five years and $55 million — and saw his best teammates leave. Beltran. Johnny SEE MELLINGER | G14
BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS April 18, 2000 David Glass officially buys the team for $96 million. The club had been operating under a board of trustees whose main function was to minimize costs. Glass would not significantly change that approach for years, and the effects would be obvious on the field soon enough. FILE PHOTO
David Glass
October 2000 Johnny Damon finishes with 136 runs scored, best in the AL, and Mike Sweeney finishes with 144 RBIs, a club record Johnny Damon and second in the league. The Royals lead the league in hitting but are last in runs surrendered.
Jan. 8, 2001 Damon is dealt as part of a three-team trade in which the Royals get Angel Berroa, A.J. Hinch and Roberto Hernandez. "If I were a fan, I wouldn’t want the Royals to trade Johnny Damon," GM Allard Baird says. "But this is the world we live in."
July 25, 2001 A week before the trade deadline, a three-team deal sends All-Star outfielder Jermaine Dye to the A’s for Colorado shortstop Neifi Perez. In his two-year tenure with the Royals, Perez hits for a .238 average.
March 29, 2002 Mike Sweeney signs a fiveyear, $55 million contract extension. Sweeney was worth more on the open market, but wanted to stay in Kansas City. Injuries and a lack of talent around him would make this a flashpoint for fan frustration. Neifi Perez
THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
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SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2013
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THE ROYALS | THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
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G14
THE ROYALS | THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2013
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
2003 was fun while it lasted The Royals got off to a great start but couldn’t keep it up. By PETE GRATHOFF The Kansas City Star
The Royals’ 2003 season began with the first opening-day shutout in franchise history. It was one unexpected turn after another. Designated hitter Ken Harvey delivered clutch hits, closer Mike MacDougal became an All-Star, Carlos Beltran had 100 RBIs, Runelvys Hernandez pitched like an ace, Angel Berroa was the best rookie in the league and Royals fans ate a lot of doughnuts. The Royals won their first nine games on the way to a season-opening 16-3 record. Unfortunately, by the end of May, the Royals were 3 1⁄2 games out of first. The deficit ballooned to five games by June 14 when the Royals fell to 32-32. “That was more in line with their talent,” said
WWW.KANSASCITY.COM
6. Besides Carlos Beltran, who was the other part of “Dos Carlos”? | Trivia answers, G23
?
MELLINGER: Contract clause was unlucky FROM G10
former Star columnist Joe Posnanski, now a national columnist for NBC Sports. “But again, I think (manager Tony) Peña was a big part of this. He just kept being so irrepressibly positive.” After Jose Lima (remember Lima Time?) picked up the victory in a 7-1 win over the Rangers, the Royals’ lead in the AL Central on July 17 stood at 7 1⁄2 games. But by Aug. 17, the Twins had come alive and cut the Royals’ lead to three games. By Sept. 5, the Royals were 11⁄2 games back and would get no closer. On Sept. 22, the Royals were in third and the dream had died. But there was one last positive note. Krispy Kreme had a deal where if the Royals had 12 hits in a home game, everyone with a ticket got a free dozen doughnuts. There was no playoff berth, but the Royals hit that magical mark 27 times in 2003.
Damon. Jermaine Dye. Especially with Sweeney’s contract, the team’s piggybank budget meant it couldn’t afford better players. In one stretch, the Royals’ opening-day starting pitchers were Runelvys Hernandez (he “won” a coin flip with Jeremy Affeldt), Brian Anderson, Jose Lima and Scott Elarton. Sweeney’s shortstops included Felix Martinez, Rey Sanchez and Neifi Perez. Remember first baseman Calvin Pickering? A lemon of a back limited Sweeney to 58 percent of the Royals’ games during the five years of his contract extension. One season, Emil Brown led the team with 62 RBIs. A combination of misjudgments and meddling from above kept the Royals from completing trades that would’ve landed Alfonso Soriano, Hank Blalock and Michael Young. So Sweeney became the symbol of a lost franchise. The Royals did things like cut players in the middle of games, try out professional
FANS’ VIEW: DROUGHT DRAGS ON GREG DAILEY Greg Dailey, 22, grew up in Platte City and has been a diehard Royals fan as long as he can remember. Dailey, who is studying broadcast journalism at Mizzou, was weaned as a young fan on promising ball clubs — young teams stocked with talented players, guys such as Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye and Mike Sweeney. Unfortunately, all he’s ever known is disappointment, which begs the question: Why persevere as a Royals fan? Dailey “That’s a good question,” Dailey said. “Baseball has been my favorite sport since I was little. … I guess I’m just an eternal optimist.” | Tod Palmer, The Star
softball pitchers, and not only lose because a player got hit in the back with a throw to the plate, but the next day celebrate that player’s selection to the All-Star Game. But booing Ken Harvey doesn’t have much impact. Glass has never been much for public appearances, so Sweeney became the symbol. The target. The sponge for a city’s baseball anger.
“I don’t look back and say, ‘Poor me,’ ” Sweeney says. “I look back and say I didn’t get the job done as the leader of that team. We just didn’t get it done.” The Royals lost nearly 58 percent of the time during Sweeney’s years, an average of 94 games over a full season. He kept positive, at least when people could see him. Their best year was 2003, a fluke in hindsight,
when Tony Peña’s “We Believe” gang was in first place in late August before fading. Sweeney’s contract included a clause that if the Royals didn’t finish at least .500 in 2002 or 2003, he could opt out. Knowing the way things turned out, you can’t help but wonder if that would’ve been better for both sides. Sweeney could’ve played where a rich contract wouldn’t have been as big a deal. The Royals could’ve spent that money on players who might have stayed healthy. That’s not the way Sweeney looks at it. He talks more about what he has than what he doesn’t. More about what he did than didn’t. He says he finds peace in knowing his problems were out of his own control, that he worked as hard as he could and did as much as he could before his back failed him. He is saying these words in the Royals’ spring clubhouse. His oldest son Michael sits across the table, SEE SWEENEY | G16
HELLO, ZACK; GOODBYE, CARLOS Sept. 29, 2002 On the last day of the regular season, manager Tony Muser sends out a JV lineup that gives the Royals 100 losses for the first time in franchise history. Frank White is the most outspoken of a significant group of alumni who are turned off by what they perceive to be a troubling lack of pride.
April 24, 2003 Chris George pitches six strong innings and Mike Sweeney homers in a win over the Twins, which makes the Royals 16-3, 51⁄2 games up in the division. They’d be tied for first Aug. 29 but fade in September. Their 83 wins remain the club’s most since the strike.
May 22, 2004 A 20-year-old phenom named Zack Greinke makes his MLB debut for the Royals in Oakland. Greinke pitches well, giving up two runs in five innings despite having to wait outside the clubhouse before the game while a tardy club official finished up paperwork to add him to the roster.
Zack Greinke
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June 24, 2004 Carlos Beltran is dealt to Houston in a threeteam trade and the Royals receive Mark Teahen, John Buck and Mike Wood. Beltran stars in the playoffs that year and then signs a $119 million contract with the Mets.
July 3, 2004 The Royals literally lose by hitting the cutoff man. Matt Stairs’ throw from right drills Ken Harvey in the back, allowing the game-winning run to score. The next day, Harvey is chosen the Royals’ AllStar. In related news, they would lose 104 games.
Carlos Beltran
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G16
THE ROYALS | THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2013
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
7. Luke Hudson had the lowest ERA among KC’s starters in ’06. Was it a.) 5.12, b.) 6.01, c.) 4.71 or d.) 4.37? | Trivia answers, G23
?
Hillman era is one to forget
SWEENEY: There were happy moments FROM G14
eating a snack. Father nods at son. “When I was his age, I dreamed of being able to play in the big leagues,” Sweeney says. “If I looked at my son and said, ‘You’re going to be able to play parts of 16 years in the big leagues. You’re going to have some highs, and you’re going to have some lows. You’re going to be able to fulfill your dream, but the last few years, in a city that you love, the fans are going to boo you and it’s going to hurt.’ “If I said that to him, I bet my son would say, ‘Daddy, I’ll take it.’ When I was his age, I would’ve said the same thing. And when I go back there now, I don’t hear any boos. I don’t hear any jeers. I hear a lot of thanks.” Sweeney looks around. This is the same clubhouse where he prepared for his last five seasons with the Royals. So many memories in this place. So much has changed. So much more is still changing. He wants to be part of that, too.
❚ ❚ ❚ Aaron Crow is one of the signs the Royals are changing. He grew up in Topeka in the 2000s, his formative years spent watching some of the Royals’ worst teams. He was 15 when the Royals lost 100 games for the first time. “No, not at all,” the relief pitcher says when asked if he can remember the Royals being good. “My dad’s told me stories.” Crow is of the generation that grew up with Sweeney’s Royals. Crow called himself a Royals fan back then, but that was geography speaking. He found other teams to root for. On video games, he wanted to play with the Mariners — they had A-Rod, Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson back then. This is the history the Royals are trying to undo. They’re trying to overcome a dark past, and within the industry, the reviews are positive. The Royals have one of baseball’s strongest farm systems and a talented young nucleus that oppos-
STRANGE DAYS May 10, 2005 Tony Peña shocks Royals management by quitting after a game in Toronto. The Royals are 8-25. Peña said he had trouble eating and sleeping, the losses turning an irrepressible optimist into someone much different. The move came a month after he was subpoenaed in the divorce proceeding of former neighbors.
Tony Peña
ing scouts are in love with. This is their attempt to escape a rotten past that will always help define Sweeney’s career. Sweeney knows he will forever be the face of the Royals’ worst years. This isn’t fair, but he’ll wear it anyway. The Royals are important to him, still. He joined them as a 17-year-old boy. Left them as a 34-year-old husband and father. He played 1,282 games for the Royals without making the playoffs, so his memories aren’t of champagne. But they’re no less special, no less important. He remembers his father being part of a packed house the day he hit a walk-off double on Father’s Day. He remembers Joe Randa hitting a walk-off grand slam on the anniversary of his mother’s death. He remembers talking with broadcaster Ryan Lefebvre as he struggled through depression, and sitting in the dugout with Zack Greinke as tears rolled down his cheeks during his battle with social anxiety. He remembers
Aug. 14, 2005 Outfielders Chip Ambres and Terrence Long let a routine fly ball drop between them, each thinking the other would catch it. The Royals give up what was once a five-run lead in the ninth inning and lose their 10th of what would become 19 straight losses. They went on to lose 106 games in all that season, earning the first overall pick in the draft: Luke Hochevar.
teammates approaching him on flights asking to help them build a faith in God. Sweeney holds these memories dear. His strongest emotions about baseball now are the bonds he made. The Royals didn’t allow him to make memories of team success, but they did allow him a platform he now uses to promote The Word through baseball. Sweeney is swamped with this at the moment. He’s up before the sun, four kids and a family foundation keeping him busier than when he was playing. Those kids need him home right now. Two of them have been sick. But Sweeney thinks every day about getting back into baseball. He sees what the Royals are doing. He wants to be part of it, again, the face of a sullied past eager to join a brighter future. “That’s my dream now,” Sweeney says. “My dream as a 17-year-old was to play in the big leagues. My dream as a 39-year-old is to be part of what they’re doing here now. Because I see it, and it’s going to be so special.”
Feb. 25, 2006 Zack Greinke leaves the Royals with no intention of playing professional baseball again. He’s later diagnosed with depression and a social anxiety disorder, which are then treated with medication.
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Hiring the manager from Japan was a failed experiment. By SAM MELLINGER The Kansas City Star
The first sign that manager Trey Hillman and the Royals would not succeed together came before the season started. It was March 2008, a spring training game, and the Royals had just won their fourth straight on a walk-off home run by Ryan Shealy. None of these facts — or the fact that it was just spring training — mattered to Hillman. Too many baserunning mistakes, he decided. So he ordered the team to gather at home plate for a lecture in full view of the opposing team and departing crowd. Hillman, still about a month from his first big-league game in uniform, cut off a reporter’s question about it by replying, “Done.” Would it be too snarky to say he was describing his credibility in the clubhouse?
Dayton Moore
May 31, 2006 Dayton Moore accepts the job as general manager of the Royals, replacing the fired Allard Baird. Moore emphasizes developing a strong farm system, and David Glass promises the financial support to do it.
Hillman, who had never played, coached or managed in the big leagues when he was hired as the Royals’ manager before that 2008 season, seemed on edge from the beginning. He skippered some bad teams — this was Kyle Davies’ reign of bloated ERAs — and did himself no favors. Hillman once detailed to a reporter how he sometimes spent time explaining strategy to fans during games. He had catchphrases that became labels of his teams’ weaknesses (“we need more slug”). From the beginning, general manager Dayton Moore’s decision to hire Hillman was an outsidethe-box risk. Hillman won in Japan with an underfunded perennial loser by focusing on defense and pitching. If he could help facilitate a similar situation in Kansas City, it would’ve been a brilliant move. Instead, he went 152-207 over two-plus seasons that Royals fans still yearn to forget.
July 2, 2006 With Zack Greinke having walked away in spring training, Mark Redman is named an All-Star in spite of his bloated 5.59 ERA. The Royals went on to lose 100 games, running their three-year total to 310.
Dec. 13, 2006 Gil Meche signs a five-year, $55 million free-agent contract with the Royals (he would wear the amount — No. 55 — on his jersey). Meche lives up to the hype his first two seasons in KC before injuries take their toll.
Gil Meche
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Thousands of billions of grass plants protect our earth, filter our ground water, clean the air we breath, cool the atmosphere and regenerates our oxygen supply. But turfgrass is the Rodney Dangerfield of the plant world. It can’t get no respect. The oceans and forests of the planet are celebrated for their environmental benefits. But grass is ignored. In truth, grass is the ocean we walk on. It is the rain forest under our feet. Grass is the most pervasive and versatile plant on the earth. Great grass plains and savannahs cover the earth far outstripping forests in their range. In harsh barren climates, grass will survive where forests fail. In an urban environment grass is even more important.
The average 10,000 sq. ft. lawn purifies & recycles enough oxygen for 15 people. — Less Asphalt — More Grass In an average 10,000 square foot lawn there are 8 million individual grass plants. No other type of plant culture involves such crowding. These tightly growing grass leaves are responsible for the photosynthesis that makes the grass plant grow and in the process they exchange the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for clean pure oxygen. This 10,000 foot grass oxygen generator recycles enough air for 15 people. The emperors of China and Rome, the Mayans and the Aztecs, the ancient Persians, the Kings of England and France, all valued turfgrass in the design of their cities and palaces. Some modern architectsandurbanplanners have forgotten these ancient lessons. Today there is a misguided notion that cities need more concrete and less grass. They need a little more science. They also need to talk to more eight year olds.
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The PREVENT! formula has a higher percentage of active ingredient than either dimension or barricade products. As a result it will dissolve and spread more quickly over the soil surface to establish a pre-emergent barrier. The best way to control these ugly summer weed grasses is with two applications of PREVENT! plus fertilizer, once now and again in eight weeks. The PREVENT! formula gives 98% control of crabgrass, foxtail, goosegrass, barnyard grass and all other summer annual weed grasses. Your “Idiot Proof” summer lawn care program begins now with the PREVENT! formula.
“Uncle, I followed your Fall Renovation Program, I used your weed free grass seed. Why do I have weeds in my yard?” When preparing your lawn for over seeding you had to create pathways for grass seed to reach the soil. If the grass seed didn’t reach the soil, it wouldn’t have grown. Uncle recommended verticutting or raking bare areas when you over seeded last fall. Anytime you disturb the soil (aeration, dethatching, verticutting, or raking), you risk exposing dormant weed seeds. Weed
seeds suspended under the soil, too deep to germinate were waiting for their opportunity to spring to life and they
did. Your grass however; benefits from the extra water and fertilizer and will outgrow the weeds. Broadleaf weeds: As soon as you have mowed the grass seedlings 2 times, catch a day above 50 degrees and spray an application of Speed Zone with Spreader Sticker. The broadleaf weeds will dis-
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Valued for their appearance and fragrant flower, lilacs are the most popular of deciduous flowering shrubs. The common lilac and its many cultivars come in a variety of colors purple, white, pink, blue and dark red are all favorites here at the Grass Pad. Vigorous growth habit of the lilacs make it ideal for tall screen plantings, hedges, borders, and in mass plantings for their tremendous display of flowers. Few shrubs can rival lilacs for bloom even under difficult Kansas City conditions. They are useful as accent or specimen plants at the
corners or along houses and buildings. Most popular of the lilacs is the Dwarf Korean lilac which rarely grows larger than 4 feet. This plant makes an attractive hedge with its fragrant, purple-lilac flowers. Hardy in cold climates, a lilac requires full sun to flower well. Lilacs are easily grown and do well in either acid or alkaline soil but respond with improved growth to applications of lime every three or four years where soils are acid. Prune a lilac soon after it’s flowers fade in the spring. Pruning consists of removing old flower clusters and thinning out the oldest branches at ground level to encourage new growth from the base
BLUEGRASS… When it comes to native grasses, Kentucky bluegrass is truly Mother Nature’s Masterpiece. When left untended in the wild, this tough productive grass will aggressively crowd out most other grass varieties including fescues. As recently as 40 years ago, the majority of the bluegrass seed grown in the country was grown and processed right here in our area. Bluegrass will make the most desirable lawn with the least effort of any turfgrass species for 10 months out of the year. Improved varieties of Kentucky bluegrass produce the darkest green color available for lawn grasses.
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frustrated and don’t give up. Above all don’t judge your fall lawn renovation in March and April, judge your work in May, when warmer soils and aggressive grass plants are filling in those bare spots.
varieties recommended for Kansas City include Raven, Sapphire Blue, Leawood Blue and Bluemaster Blend. These varieties show characteristics for dark color, disease resistance, heat tolerance, and wear ability that make them an excellent choice for Kansas City lawns. Estate Mix, which includes some sports turf perennial ryegrass, is an excellent choice for spring seeding. Old hands that want the very latest in turf science should try Corsair bluegrass. Yankee has shown excellent performance in all types of situations, such as home lawns, golf course fairways, and sports fields. Come on down to the Grass Pad and find the finest grass seed available for Kansas City lawns.
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of the plant. The strongest new shoots should be left to take the place of the older stems which will eventually be cut out. Renew an older overgrown lilac by cutting the whole plant down to within six inches of the ground. It’s a drastic means of rejuvenation. But, don’t worry, the plant will survive. The best way to treat old plants is prune out one third of the older stems each year for three consecutive years. In this way the plant can maintain a reasonable height in the landscape and still flower from the remaining wood. By the time the last pruning is completed, replacement wood should be strong enough to support the plant and promote flowering.
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Annual grassy weeds: The majority of these lawn invaders will be annual grassy weeds like crabgrass, foxtail and goose grass; still dormant in early spring. It is extremely important to apply PREVENT!, crabgrass preventer, in the spring. If you have dormant grass seed in early spring, or if the seedlings have not been mowed twice, an application of GOLF COURSE STARTER now and tupersan, seed safe pre-emergent, by Tax Day followed by PREVENT!, crabgrass preventer, 6 weeks later is your best prevention for ugly grassy weeds.
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Bluegrass has runners that allow it to spread, fill in bare spots, and repair itself from damage. This turf quality makes it more wear tolerant than fescues or buffalo grasses and ideal for safe playing surfaces on sports fields or front lawns. Local sod growers who take pride in their turf know the bluegrass secret. In cool weather, feed it hard and mow it close and the weeds will disappear. While bluegrass requires some irrigation to maintain summer color, mature bluegrass can survive extended droughts in a dormant state. Irrigating bluegrass with 1 inch of water on ten day intervals in July and August and reduced mowing will sustain most bluegrass color. The Kentucky bluegrass
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Step 3- Apply Golf Course Starter fertilizer at 8 lbs. per 1000 ft. Step 4- Spread the seed with a rotary or a hand cranked “whirlwind” spreader. Special attention should be given to spots where the ground is bare. Extra seed should be applied by hand to these spots. Step 5- On bare spots apply a light mulch of sphagnum peat or PrimeraFC seed dressing. Topsoil & black peats contain weed seeds and should not be used. Step 6 -Water the seedbed lightly so the soil surface is moist. Continue watering lightly so the soil does not become hard or baked. Step 7- When the seedlings reach a height of 2-3 inches, mow to a height of 3 inches with a sharp mower at a time when the grass is not wet. Step 8- Mid-April: Apply Tupersan or Siduron based crabgrass pre emergent safe for new seeding Step 9- Late May: Apply full strength PREVENT Crabgrass Control to all areas that have been mowed at least twice. —Clip & Bring Coupon—
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THE ROYALS | THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2013
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8. Since baseball went to three divisions in each league in 1994, how many times have the Royals finished with a winning record? | Trivia answers, G23
?
JOHN SLEEZER | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
The Royals’ brain trust believed trading for starting pitcher James Shields was a necessary move if the franchise was finally going to put an end to its losing ways.
Face of hope By BOB DUTTON The Kansas City Star
I
t was decision time in early December for the Royals. They had a chance to get the man they coveted, pitcher James Shields, from Tampa Bay. Shields offered everything the Royals wanted. He was a proven performer with postseason experience and verified leadership skills honed in a small-market operation. The Royals had been eyeing Shields for more than a year knowing — as everyone in baseball knew — of his escalating salary and the Rays’ payroll limitations. “I think everybody anticipated that with the abundance of quality pitching that Tampa possessed,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said, “that there might be a pitcher or two available. Shields became available. “We knew him well based on our scouting and statistical analysis. We knew, obviously, that he would improve our team.”
Further, the Royals knew the Rays saw them as a highly probable trading partner. “That was clear by early October,” one club official said. “You know what organizations are scouting your team at all levels. Scouts have to sign for tickets, so you know — you know who is in the ballpark. “The frequency of which Tampa was scouting our organization was probably three or four times more than anybody else.” Tampa Bay wanted a young power hitter with ceiling, someone at the low end of the salary scale to pair with the Rays’ deep pitching corps. The Royals had outfielder Wil Myers, the consensus minor-league player of the
year. Both teams recognized the ingredients were in place for an impact deal — one the Royals believed could make them measurably better this season and beyond. ❚ ❚ ❚ But could the Royals really trade Myers? He had long been viewed within the organization as the best pure hitter in a wave of prospects that included Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas. The general assessment was that Moustakas had the greatest power potential, that Hosmer projected to be the best allaround player, but Myers ... Myers was seen as the best hitter. Further, Myers seemed poised to validate those assessments af-
“I believe, and it’s my hope, that it’s going to set us on a different course.” | GM DAYTON MOORE, ON TRADING FOR STARTING PITCHER JAMES SHIELDS
ter a monster year in which, at age 21, he batted .314 with 37 homers and 109 RBIs at Class AA Northwest Arkansas and Class AAA Omaha. To get Shields — or any pitcher truly capable of fronting the rotation for a postseason contender — the Royals realized they must surrender at least one of six players: Myers, Hosmer, Moustakas, Salvy Perez, Alex Gordon or Billy Butler. “Everyone wanted Perez,” one club official said. “That includes Tampa Bay. That potential, that kind of player and that contract — there might not be anyone that teams want more. “Some teams might have taken Gordon or Butler, but the money for those guys didn’t work for Tampa. They wanted Myers, Hosmer or Moustakas in the deal. Actually, they wanted one of those guys and more.”
Tampa Bay saw Myers as the best fit. His major-league service clock had not yet started, while Hosmer and Moustakas are each likely to qualify for arbitration prior to the 2014 season. The Rays set Myers as their baseline price, which forced the Royals into a put-up or shut-up corner. Debate within the organization was intense. Many at the highest levels pushed to walk away from the deal. “There were people who said we’ve got to go with (Jake) Odorizzi and (Mike) Montgomery,” Moore said. “They said we’ve got to win with those guys. Win with homegrown guys. Go with the guys who we developed. “OK, we can do that. We’re perfectly capable of doing that. But then we’re hoping. We’re just hoping. “I mean, you look at Clayton Kershaw, who is a pretty good
Having targeted James Shields, the soul-searching Royals finally got their man after some wheeling and dealing.
pitcher. But he was a .500 pitcher (26-23) for the first three years of his career. So, yeah, we can try it with Odorizzi, and we can try it with Montgomery. “We do that, and we’re going to be right where we are. We’re going to be looking at a kid and saying, ‘That kid has talent and upside.’ OK, but he’s not winning. I mean he’s not winning now. “Tommy Glavine and John Smoltz, two Hall of Famers, struggled their first two years. So what’s your objective? Our objective is to start winning games and grow a group of players who are talented. “To do that, you’d better start winning now.” Moore’s view carried the day, but only to a certain extent. The Royals, at that point, indicated a willingness — but only a willingness — to trade Myers for the right deal. ❚ ❚ ❚ The Royals wanted Shields. So did lots of other teams. He is one of just five pitchers to work at least 200 innings over each of the last six years. Only Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay had more shutouts over the last five years; only Justin Verlander and Kershaw registered more strikeouts over the last two years. “Look,” a veteran executive from a rival club said, “if James Shields had been a free agent last winter, he would have gotten more money than (Zack) SEE SHIELDS | G22
DRAFTING NEW BLOOD June 7, 2007 Infielder Mike Moustakas is selected with the second overall pick in the draft. The Royals opt for a power-hitting prep shortstop in Moustakas, who agrees to a $4 million bonus. Moustakas switches to third base midway through the 2008 season and reaches the major leagues in June 2011.
June 5, 2008 First baseman Eric Hosmer, like Moustakas a Scott Boras client, is selected with the third pick in the draft. The Royals prefer Hosmer’s high ceiling over Florida State catcher Buster Posey, who is taken two picks later by San Francisco. Hosmer reaches the majors in May 2011. Eric Hosmer Mike Moustakas
April 10, 2009 The Royals inaugurate a renovated Kauffman Stadium (cost $250 million) by sending out Sidney Ponson to face the Yankees. A crowd of 38,098 watches New York win 4-1. Aaron Crow
June 9-10, 2009 The Royals select pitcher Aaron Crow with the 12th overall pick in the draft after looking hard at, but opting against, a New Jersey prep outfielder named Mike Trout. Trout lasts until the 25th pick, when he’s selected by the Angels.
THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
BILLY CLUB With a revamped pitching staff, the Royals hope Billy Butler keeps up his All-Star production at designated hitter.
JOHN SLEEZER | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
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THE ROYALS | THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
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TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
9. What was Zack Greinke’s ERA when he won the Cy Young in 2009? | Trivia answers, G23
SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2013
G21
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Desperation deals are rarely ideal The Royals, who have been both buyers and sellers through the years, hope trade for Shields pans out. By RANY JAZAYERLI Special to The Star
Editor’s note: Rany Jazayerli writes for Grantland and has a popular blog called “Rany on the Royals.”
O
f all the ingredients for a lopsided trade — a spoonful of poor talent evaluation, a dash of financial considerations — the most important by far is a heaping dose of desperation. And desperation to fill a need, at any cost, is the fastest road to regret in sports. The Royals are a testament to that on both sides of the equation; the best and the worst trades in the history of the franchise were borne of desperation. In 1969, the team’s inaugural season, third baseman Joe Foy hit a respectable .262 with 11 home runs and 37 stolen bases. And after the season, the New York Mets — who had just won the World Series — were desperate for someone to man the hot corner. Their primary third baseman, Wayne Garrett, had hit just .218 with one homer. As Royals owner Ewing Kauffman would say later, “The Mets were going through third basemen like water through a garden hose. It was a seller’s market.” The Royals wisely chose to be a seller. That winter, they traded Foy to the Mets for a pair of unproven youngsters. One was Bob Johnson, who pitched very well in 1970 and was then traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Freddie Patek. The other was Amos Otis, who is probably the second greatest player in Royals history. Foy, meanwhile, hit .236 with six home runs for the Mets in 1970. A year later, he was out of the major leagues and the Mets had to give the job back to Garrett. Seventeen years later, the Mets won another world championship
and the Royals haven’t had a chance to plant one since breakdancing was the height of cool. The Royals are making no promises that they are playoff-bound. The trade makes the team better, we are told. That is almost certainly true, but with a caveat: While they added two starting pitchers, they also lost their best right fielder. If Jeff Francoeur plays like he did in 2011, the Royals won’t miss Myers this season. If Francoeur JOHN SLEEZER | THE KANSAS CITY STAR plays like he did last year, when Adding pitcher James Shields cost the Royals one of baseball’s top prospects in Wil Myers (above). Baseball-Reference.com pegged him as the worst player in the maand came calling again. But this of KC’s greatest sports calamities, will make close to the league mini- jors, the Royals will have simply time, the roles were reversed. At right up there with “AEG” and mum for at least three of those sea- filled one hole by creating another. The 2013 Royals will probably sons) for two years of James spring training, it was that catcher “Scott Pioli.” Don’t be desperate. Baseball Shields. But the Royals were des- win more games than they have Jim Sundberg — who was almost since 1989, and if they do, it will be 36 and had hit just .212/.303/.322 in teams that are desperate do dumb perate for starting pitching. It remains to be seen what fate to the immense credit of their 1986 — was done as an everyday things. This brings us to the defining awaits them. Shields is certainly no front office’s efforts over the last player. With no other options in the organization, just 10 days be- moment of the Royals’ offseason, Ed Hearn; he has been one of the seven years. An 85-77 record fore opening day in 1987, the Roy- and perhaps Dayton Moore’s ten- game’s better and most durable would be a resounding moral vicals swung a five-player deal to ac- ure as general manager. It’s a mat- starting pitchers for years. Davis is tory for the franchise. But you quire Ed Hearn from the Mets. A ter of fierce debate as to whether a wild card; he was below average don’t trade Wil Myers for a moral backup in New York, the Royals the Royals gave up too much talent as a starting pitcher but a revela- victory. Shields will be a free agent expected him to be their starter for to acquire pitchers James Shields tion as a reliever last season for the in two years, and if he leaves town and Wade Davis. Most insiders Tampa Bay Rays, and he’s under without leading the Royals to the years to come. It didn’t work out that way. will tell you that they did; some contract for up to five years. If he promised land, the trade won’t be Hearn, who already had a sore arm will argue they paid a fair price. pitches well, he could wind up be- remembered fondly no matter how before the trade, suffered a major But almost everyone agrees that, in ing the most important part of the well he pitches. As lopsided as the Cone-forshoulder injury just two weeks in- surrendering Wil Myers, Jake trade for the Royals. But while the Royals got more Hearn swap was, it probably didn’t to the season and wound up play- Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery and ing just 13 games for the Royals be- Patrick Leonard, the Royals gave talent in return than they did 27 cost the Royals a playoff spot; they years ago, they might have given never finished fewer than seven fore he was forced to retire. Even if up an enormous haul of talent. What should most concern you up more talent, as well. At the time games out of first place in his abhe had stayed healthy, it’s unclear whether Hearn would’ve been up about this trade if you’re a Royals of the trade, Cone was a promising sence. But if the Royals are as good to the task. He didn’t reach the ma- fan isn’t what they gave up, but young arm but was not considered as they think they are, they could jor leagues until he was 25, and in why. The Royals made this trade one of the top prospects in base- be contending for AL Central titles 1985, his only full season in Class because they were desperate for ball, the way Myers is today. Odor- in 2015 and beyond — years in AAA, he hit just .263/.305/.373 with good starting pitching, and they izzi is almost ready to step into a which the difference between saw no other way to acquire it. For major-league rotation and projects keeping and trading away Myers & five home runs. The key player the Royals sur- whatever reason, the starters avail- as a future No. 3 starter, much as Friends may be the difference berendered in the trade was a rookie able on the free-agent market — Davis did when he was a prospect. tween first place and second. If in making this trade they simnamed David Cone. After a prom- from Edwin Jackson to Ryan Montgomery was ranked the No. 1 ising season as a swingman in 1987, Dempster to Brandon McCarthy prospect in the Royals’ system by ply traded a divisional title in 2016 Cone exploded on the scene in — did not interest them. Shields Baseball America just one year for one in 2013, more power to 1988, winning 20 games with a 2.22 did, enough so that they were will- ago. Leonard is 20 years old and them. After wandering in the desert for over a quarter-century, the ERA. A KC native, he remained ing to surrender the best power- can hit a ball 400 feet. There’s only one way the Royals oasis of a playoff spot looks awfully one of baseball’s best starting hitting prospect in the game. A less desperate franchise would won’t look back on this deal with tempting. But in their desperation, pitchers until the Royals were able to undo their mistake by signing never have made this trade. In a regret. If they make the playoffs the Royals may have confused an him to a huge free-agent contract vacuum, no team would trade po- this year or next, and if Shields and oasis with a mirage. And if they after the 1992 season. Cone-for- tentially seven seasons of one of Davis prove to be the difference, all did, they may be cursed to wander Hearn remains shorthand for one the game’s best prospects (who will be forgiven. Flags fly forever, the desert for more years to come.
June 16, 2009 Gil Meche throws a career-high 132 pitches in a complete-game victory over Arizona at Kauffman Stadium. On July 1, just five days after leaving a start against Pittsburgh because of a “dead arm,” he throws 121 pitches over six innings in a 5-1 loss to Minnesota. He throws another 114 on July 6 in a 4-3 victory over Detroit, and within days, he’s on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. He never again pitches effectively as a starter and retires after the 2010 season. When he steps down, he leaves behind the $12 million remaining on his contract. Meche could’ve had shoulder surgery and rehabbed, collecting the full salary, but says: “I don’t think I’m ever going to regret it.” Meche’s decision angers the players’ union, which doesn’t like the precedent it sets.
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THE ROYALS | THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
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10. Which Royal received votes in the Cy Young balloting since Zack Greinke won in 2009? | Trivia answers, G23
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SHIELDS: Rays-Royals discussions went back, forth FROM G18
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Greinke. Sure, Greinke is younger (29 to 31) and might have better stuff. “But tell me this: Who would you want to have the ball with your season on the line?” Greinke got $147 million over six years from the Dodgers. Shields is making $10.5 million this year and projects to make $12 million in 2014 before becoming a free agent. “Nobody is balking at the Shields contract,” Moore said. “A lot of teams were willing to take that on. “We understood the attractiveness of James Shields within the industry.” The Rays shopped Shields hard in search of the maximum return. “I think we’re narrowing down the potential scenarios in how we construct our roster,” executive vice president Andrew Friedman told the Tampa Bay Times in early December, before the winter meetings in Nashville, Tenn. But the Royals had an edge. They had the guy the Rays wanted: Myers. “We all knew,” another rival club executive said, “that the only way we get Shields is if Kansas City and Tampa couldn’t come to an agreement. Everyone knew that was a deal that fit what both teams were trying to do.” ❚ ❚ ❚ The Royals took the plunge. They offered Myers straight up for Shields — and pointed out what many who subsequently criticized the Royals pointed out: that it was six-plus years of Myers for what was likely to be two years of Shields. The Rays said no. They wanted more. “They should have wanted more,” a veteran scout said. “James Shields is a known commodity. It might be just two years, but check his track record. You know what you’re getting. “Wil Myers might be good. He might be really good. But he might not be. You just don’t know about a player until he does it in stadiums with an upper deck.” Negotiations on how much more lurched and stalled. The Rays asked about pitcher Yordano Ventura. The Royals said no, but it soon became clear that any deal would require a larger package from both sides.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
When the Rays shopped pitcher James Shields, there were many interested teams.
“If we were going to give up Wil Myers,” Moore said, “we needed more stuff. And then they needed more stuff.” The Royals wanted Wade Davis; the Rays asked for Jake Odorizzi. That moved the deal closer. But other clubs, sensing an opportunity, jumped in. Texas and Detroit each made a run at Shields. Arizona tried to orchestrate a three-team deal to acquire Shields. For the Rays, it kept coming back to one thing: They wanted Myers.
“We tried to keep Wil Myers out of the deal as best we could,” Moore recalled. “We tried to structure it many different ways. At the end of the day, they knew our players too well, and we knew their players too well. It just made sense to try to work a deal out.” ❚ ❚ ❚ Talks between the two teams intensified late Dec. 5 and into Dec. 6, the final two days of the winter meetings, as both sides began to add other players to the mix. Tampa Bay came back with a final offer: Shields and Davis along with utility infielder Elliot Johnson for Myers, Odorizzi, Montgomery and short-season third baseman Patrick Leonard. The Rays agreed to keep Johnson on their roster until February to aid the Royals’ roster crunch. The trade would be announced as Shields, Davis and a player to be named later. Moore sensed this was it. Now or never. He pulled his top lieutenants together for a final session in his hotel suite. It was closing in on 2 a.m. on Dec. 6. The winter meetings would formally end in a few hours. Did the Royals really want to do this? The deal represented an enormous hit on the club’s farm system. It
JUDGING THE HHH
Royals
was decision time. It wasn’t just Myers, either. Odorizzi was their pitching prospect closest to the majors; Montgomery, at 23, still offered remarkable upside potential; Leonard oozed projectable power with 14 homers in 62 games in his first pro season. Moore wrote the names of each player on a white board along with the organization’s other top prospects at that position. The system’s much-acclaimed depth quickly came into sharper focus. Erase Myers, but the Royals still had Bubba Starling and Jorge Bonifacio. OK, Leonard is gone, but Cheslor Cuthbert is 20 years old, and he’s in High-A; Leonard is 21 years old, and he’s in the short-season Appalachian League. Leonard might be a good
player, but Cuthbert has a higher ceiling, is younger and playing at a high level. Odorizzi was tough to surrender, but club officials agreed Ventura and Kyle Zimmer were better bets to be front-end guys. Montgomery is a lefty who still possesses considerable upside despite two successive disappointing seasons, but Moore’s board showed considerable depth. Danny Duffy should return from elbow surgery by midseason; John Lamb was viewed by many as a better prospect than Montgomery prior to his surgery in 2011. He now appears healthy. And the Royals like Sam Selman, their second-round pick in 2012. Suddenly, the losses didn’t seem so bad. That feeling solidified throughout the organization over the following 24 hours after everyone
returned to Kansas City. “Would our farm system still be better than it was 2007?” Moore asked. “Absolutely. Better than in 2008? Yep. Better than it was in 2009? Yeah. Better than it was in 2010? No. In 2011? No. “Would it be better now, with these guys gone, than it was in 2012? No, but it’s still a good farm system... “We’ve proven we can build farm systems everywhere we’ve been. Whether it’s Mike Arbuckle in Philadelphia, us in Atlanta, us here in Kansas City … we’ve built farm systems. “What we’ve got to do is prove we can win at the major-league level. We’ve got to start winning.” ❚ ❚ ❚ Moore and other club officials took one last hard look at their club. SEE TRADE | G23
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THE ROYALS | THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
FROM G22
They saw a young collection of high-ceiling position players who combined runproduction potential with above-average defense. They saw a deep bullpen loaded with power arms. The rotation was already improved after getting Ervin Santana in a trade from the Los Angeles Angels and retaining free-agent Jeremy Guthrie. Even so, everyone knew they still needed more. Shields and Davis, the Royals believed, might be enough to turn the rotation into a strength. Slowly, Moore and his staff began to see the deal in terms of what they were getting rather than what they were giving up. “If you focus on what you’re giving up, emotionally, you really get involved,” Moore said. “You have to focus on what you’re getting and how it’s helping your team and the future of your organization.” The Royals saw a rotation of Shields, Santana, Guthrie and Davis. It was too much to resist. “We agreed,” Moore said. “We finally agreed. We tried to pull certain players out at the last minute, but they were very sure about what they wanted. “For us, it was just a mat-
ter of gaining a comfort level with trading those guys. You try to build a consensus within your organization about what is going to happen. Finally, you just say this is what we’re going to do.” Similar angst surfaced at Tampa Bay, which had great reluctance in parting with Shields despite the financial realities. He was the longest-tenured player in franchise history and the staff’s undisputed leader. “Personally, I think this is the most difficult trade we’ve made to date,” Friedman said. Two days later, on Dec. 9, the trade became official. Ironically, it was a day before Myers turned 22. “It’s been quite a birthday,” he admitted the following day on a conference call. “I just want to go out and try to be an exciting player.” Shields took the news philosophically. “I thought I might be able to squeeze in one more year (at Tampa Bay),” he said, “but that was being kind of selfish. I’m excited to go over there, but this is definitely a sad day for me and my family.” Both teams had what they wanted. “Wil Myers, from what I understand, is a potential high-impact, middle-of-the-
order bat,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “Just like Shields is a high-impact, top-of-the-rotation pitcher. “It sounds like a good trade for both sides.” The Royals saw the deal, even at its high price, as a turning point in their transition under Moore from perennial doormat to legitimate contender. “Three or four years from now,” Moore said, “Wil Myers is going to be doing well, and we’re going to have to have the next-best guy. Hopefully, we’ve got other players coming, and we’re doing well. “It doesn’t stop here. We’ve got to keep doing it. If we don’t go to the playoffs this year, it’s not a disaster. Most people who are objective will tell you the Royals had a very good offseason, that the Royals improved their team.” Critics say two years of Shields isn’t enough for what the Royals gave up. “I believe and it’s my hope,” Moore said, “that it’s going to set us on a different course whether Shields is here in 2015 or not. That’s what I go back to all of the time with that deal. “We can’t win unless we have consistency in our rotation. And if we don’t start winning, we’re never going to be ready to win.”
PITCHING TAKES PRIORITY Nov. 17, 2009 May 13, 2010 Zack Greinke is a runaway Ned Yost succeeds Trey Hillman as choice as the AL Cy Young Award manager. It’s easy, winner after going 16-8 with a in hindsight, to major-league-leading 2.16 ERA. He characterize the garners 25 of 28 first-place votes October 2008 hire from the voting panel and also of Hillman as the gets three second-place votes. worst decision in Greinke is the fourth Cy Young Dayton Moore’s 61⁄2 years as GM. It was winner in club history. Bret SaHillman a gamble that Hillberhagen won in 1985 and 1989, man, who had no big-league experiand David Cone was the 1994 ence in any capacity, could replicate recipient. the success he’d had in Japan.
KENT BENDER
ALEX BOYER
Kent Bender has been a Royals fan since the early 1970s. He remembers the club’s heyday: World Series appearances in 1980 and 1985. “I just love the atmosphere and the younger players we have coming up,” Bender said. “Every year, you just never know, and I feel really good about this year.” Bender has been frustrated by the pitching “retreads” the Royals have trotted out in recent seasons, so he’s pumped about the new-look rotation led by James Shields. He has faith the club, at long last, is back on track. “I think I’ll definitely live to see another World Series,” said Bender, who hasn’t missed a home game since May 5, 2009. “That’s why I keep going back.”
By contrast, Alex Boyer, 23, doesn’t remember the Royals’ glory days. And he never knew what he was missing. But after getting a taste of the excitement that playoff baseball can bring by spending last fall in San Francisco, he’s excited about the Boyer prospect of postseason fever in KC. “The A’s were in the playoffs and the Giants ended up winning it all,” he said. “It was fun to see that.”
JOE MORROW
Morrow
Joe Morrow, 16, is a Royals fan because his father is a Royals fan. He attends Blue Valley North and says most of his friends are Royals fans, too. Still, Morrow admits that the club’s struggles have affected how passionate he is about the organization. “They haven’t lost my generation, and we try to go to as many games as we can,” Morrow said. “They’re fun to go to, but if they were winning a lot, we’d probably go to more. “We’re taking steps in the right direction, and I think we can probably compete this year with the pitching we’ve got.” | Tod Palmer, The Star
TRIVIA ANSWERS
Dec. 19, 2010 Former Cy Young winner Zack Greinke and shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt are traded to Milwaukee for shortstop Alcides Escobar, outfielder Lorenzo Cain and pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress. It’s a franchisealtering deal that Greinke forces, but it nets two lineup regulars and a key piece for another major trade. Bubba Starling
G23
FANS’ VIEW: OPTIMISM IS ON THE RISE
6. Second baseman Carlos Febles. 7. a.) 5.12. 8. Twice. 9. 2.16. 10. Joakim Soria got two votes in 2010, when he had 43 saves.
TRADE: Both teams happy
SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2013
1. b.) Carlos Beltran. 2. Steve Balboni, with 36 in 1985. 3. John Buck, with 18. 4. Chris Stynes and minor-leaguers David Sinnes and Tony Medrano. 5. Class AA.
WWW.KANSASCITY.COM
June 6, 2011 The Royals want a high-ceiling pitcher in the draft but see four chosen ahead of their selection with the fifth overall pick. They opt instead for outfielder Bubba Starling, a multi-sport athlete from nearby Gardner Edgerton High School. July 8-10, 2012 All-Star Weekend is held at Kauffman Stadium. Packed crowds validate the city’s thirst for meaningful baseball after more than two decades of malaise.
James Shields, left, and Wade Davis, right
Dec. 9, 2012 The Royals execute their second franchise-altering trade in two years — and this time, it’s a go-for-it deal. They acquire pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis, plus infielder Elliot Johnson, from Tampa Bay for outfielder Wil Myers, pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Mike Montgomery, and third baseman Patrick Leonard.
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$699.00 HRX217K3VKA - New 5 year warranty - Lifetime deck warranty - Innovative adjustable Smart Drive gives you selfpropelled variable speed at your fingertips
SAVE $100
$599.00
MEMBER FDIC
Security Bank of Kansas City | First Bank of Missouri | Citizens State Bank of Paola Valley View Bank | The Mission Bank | Bank of Lee’s Summit | Industrial State Bank *Your wireless carrier may assess you fees for data services. Please consult your wireless plan or provider for details.
HRR216VKA - MicroCut® Twin Blade System for superior mulching and bagging - Adjustable Smart Drive provides variable speed control under all mowing conditions - 21˝ Heavy Duty Steel Mowing Deck - 3 Year Warranty
SAVE $80
$399.00 EU2000 - Super quiet - 53 to 59 dB(A) - Lightweight (less than 47 lbs.) - Eco-Throttle - Runs up to 15 Hr on 1 Gal of Fuel - Parallel with other EU2000i for additional power - 3 Year Warranty
$999.00
LAWN & GARDEN EQUIPMENT
EASY ACCESS FROM I-35 & 119TH COLLEGE BLVD.
35 STRANG LINE RD.
RD
117TH ST. 119TH ST.
BLACK BOB RD.
! .
RS GE
RO
35
2300 N Rogers Rd Olathe, KS 66062 (913) 642-2489 Mon. - Fri. 8am-6pm; Sat8am-5pm;ClosedSunday
*Readtheowner’smanualbeforeoperatingHondaPowerEquipment.Notalldealerscarryallproducts.ConsultyourlocalYellowPages.TheHondaPower EquipmentVisa®creditcardisissuedbyWellsFargoFinancialNationalBank,anEqualHousingLender.Specialtermsapplytoqualifyingpurchasescharged withapprovedcreditatparticipatingmerchants.Regularminimummonthlypaymentsarerequiredduringthepromotional(specialterms)period.Interestwill bechargedtoyouraccountfromthepurchasedateattheAPRforPurchasesifthepurchasebalanceisnotpaidinfullwithinthepromotionalperiod.Fornewly openedaccounts,theAPRforPurchasesis27.99%.ThisAPRmayvarywiththemarketbasedontheU.S.PrimeRateandisgivenasof12/01/2012.Ifyouare chargedinterestinanybillingcycle,theminimuminterestchargewillbe$1.00.Ifyouusethecardforcashadvances,thecashadvancefeeis5.00%oftheamount of the cash advance, but not less than $10.00. Offer expires 6/30/2013.
G24
SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2013
THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
WWW.KANSASCITY.COM
Estimated
Prius
1
MPG
Estimated
Prius v
2
MPG
Estimated
Prius c
3
MPG
Visit your Kansas City Area Toyota Dealer for a test drive today! ADAMS TOYOTA LEE’S SUMMIT
HENDRICK TOYOTA
LEGENDS TOYOTA
MOLLE TOYOTA
I-470 & 291 Hwy., Lee’s Summit, MO 64086 (877) 949-2235
9505 W. 67th Street, Merriam, KS 66203 (888) 746-3064
10100 Parallel Pkwy., Kansas City, KS 66109 (866) 865-7662
601 W. 103rd St., Kansas City, MO 64114 877-GO MOLLE
ADAMSTOYOTA.COM
HENDRICKTOYOTA.COM
LEGENDSTOYOTA.COM
MOLLETOYOTA.COM
CROWN TOYOTA
JAY WOLFE TOYOTA
MCCARTHY TOYOTA OF SEDALIA
OLATHE TOYOTA
3430 S. Iowa, Lawrence, KS 66046 (800) 787-9664
9650 N.W. Prairie View Rd., Kansas City, MO 64153 (816) 454-8999
3110 W. Broadway, Sedalia, MO 65301 (660) 826-5402
685 N. Rawhide, Olathe, KS 66061 (913) 780-9919
CROWNTOYOTAOFLAWRENCE.COM
JAYWOLFETOYOTAKC.COM
SEDALIATOYOTA.COM
OLATHETOYOTA.COM
PRIUS. BEST-SELLING HYBRID IN THE WORLD.
BUYATOYOTA.COM Options shown. 1 2013 EPA-estimated 51 city/48 highway/50 combined mpg for Prius. Actual mileage will vary. 2 2013 EPA-estimated 44 city/40 highway/42 combined mpg for Prius v. Actual mileage will vary. 3 2013 EPA-estimated 53 city/46 highway/50 combined mpg for Prius C. Actual mileage will vary.