In what feels like just a few short years (but is actually closer to a lifetime) Major League Baseball‘s gone from No. 1 on my list to not even on my list….
What’s more I suspect I’m not alone.
If my mother hadn’t given away my baseball card collection, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here now writing this. I’d be jet skiing with Mitt Romney or wind surfing with John Kerry in Nantucket.
I was that into baseball…despite how bad the team here was. I even liked that silly mascot mule.
Then when the Royals got good – like pretty much everybody else here – I hopped on the bandwagon – but the passion was really never the same. And after the team fell out of bed, I completed the process of moving on in life.
Without baseball.
Look, I had the highest read column in the Star off and on for 16 years and batted to about every field imaginable; entertainment, politics, real estate, society, celebrity, business, the arts, radio, television…and sports.
But for the life of me, I can barely remember writing anything much about the Royals all those years.
They just didn’t matter much to me, nor to anyone else. Which rendered baseball a secondary sport here at best. I’d watch a couple playoff or World Series games. Maybe. And if George Brett or another baseball player who halfway mattered made an ass of themselves on the Plaza I’d write about it. Maybe.
Here’s a story I wanted to write but then sports editor Mike Fannin wouldn’t allow me to.
Several years ago I went to some boring baseball kickoff luncheon. The one that’s kind of a big deal to sports media types and other assorted jock sniffers. But trust me, it was boring.
Afterwords, I hooked up with a huddle of reporters shooting the shit with Royals star Mike Sweeney who was there with his brand new bride.
Newsflash!
Sweeney was off the "available" list and here was his new leading lady. I took a pic of the pair, made some small talk and left with the intention ofgivingreaders the news and a gander at the new Mrs. Sweeney.
No harm, no foul, piece of cake, right?
Wrong, Sweeney and the Royals prevailed on Fannin – who was pretty much always first in line to kiss sports management butt – to kill my tiny tidbit and photo. Sweeney wasn’t ready to show off his prized new possession
It was small, hick town journalism on Fannin’s part. You think any editor in Chicago, New York or LA would kill a story like that? A tidbit about a cleancut baseball star getting married in the off season and here’s what his wife looks like. But that’s the way things can work at the Star.
Sometimes it isn’t what you know, it’s who you know and Sweeney knew Fannin.
Anyway, baseball doesn’t do much for me any more, but if the team takes off, I’m sure I’ll lock arms with the rest of you fair weather fans and pretend I’ve been true blue just like Brandon.
Then I’ll probably care when some of player shoots up Westport like the ’90s Chiefs. I’ll probably care when somebody parties until the break of dawn, then strikes out and costs the team a playoff berth. I’ll care if one of them gets in a May – December affair with Madonna.
But I really won’t give two hoots about the All Star Game.
Not unless they decide to play it in Loose Park or something. It just doesn’t matter. Never did.
And anybody who doesn’t know the All Star game doesn’t matter probably doesn’t know anything about baseball.
That said, I’ve rained on enough parades lately; The Addams Family, Ted, Alamo Drafthouse‘s texting policy. I don’t want you guys to typecast me.
I even went to the last All Star game in KC.
My dad took me. It’s been a while, but I knew it didn’t matter then either. And we had lower level box seats right on third base. That’s back when George Brett was just a few years away from mattering – he wasn’t just some ex jock that had a few to many and mouthed off at a golf tournament.
Anyway, instead of bagging on next week’s All Star game, I’m gonna say, great for Kansas City!
Have at it, everybody. If you get a chance to catch the game live, do soby all means. If there’s nothing else on telelvison (or your DVR), go for it on the small screen. And don’t skip the ads, it’s here in KC, let’s support this baby all the way.
But for heaven’s sake, how much more of this over-the-top, phony cheerleading about what big a deal this game is must we endure?
It’s not like this is a actual reason to clean up Kansas City. We don’t need to pick up after ourselves because a few dozen TV cameras will be roving about and we don’t want to appear untidy.
We don’t need to paint the city streets and write phony headlines like, "Hoping for a Home Run" and "Jazz District Thrilled" to try and breath meaningfullness into a meaningless game that’s gonna be on national TV for a few short hours.
Who are we kidding?
This isn’t the sort of formal affair Kansas City needs to rent a tuxedo for. Nice slacks and a clean shirt will do fine. We don’t need to pretend this is like the 1964 World’s Fair in New York because frankly it’s not the 1964 Worlds Fair. Not even close.
Acting like this is a far bigger deal than it is makes us look like Podunk and Kansas City is not Podunk.
So go out, have a good time, do whatever it is you plan to do – and if some out of towner starts raving abou how cool it is that Kansas City got the All Star game, calmly look at him and say, "Who’s playing?’
KC is Podunk
Christ Almighty. Podunk we IS! Look no further than the self important, toupee wearing, Lotus driving, I wrote a book, Clint Eastwood is making my movie, I own one of the TOP Comedy Clubs in the US, I can bench press 375 pounds, I’m better looking, score with hotter chicks AND can still kick your sorry hater/loser asses Mr. Glazer for prima facie evidence of such.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh and smartman scores again.
Great, insightful column! Just a few things…
Nobody cares whether or not you like baseball – you front-running, bandwagon jumping, fair-weathered, bitter blog writing, small-time, killjoy, pompous gossip hound. Your opinion on baseball is as relevant as mine is on quantum physics.
Is Kansas City stroking itself a little too much for the All Star Game? Maybe. Good! At least our city cares. If you were a little more insightful you might make note of how extraordinary it is that this town is even still interested in baseball, despite the fact that our team has been horrible for 27 years. That’s unbelievable. Attendance at The K is up this year, and that’s just nuts. At the very least, by seeing how committed this town has been in making the entire All Star weekend enjoyable for baseball fans, we lay the groundwork for possibly securing future events down the road. The World Cup, NCAA Tournament, conventions, corporate meetings…there’s no telling who and what may decide to target KC for their next event after seeing how well this weekend goes. There are also quite a few businesses around town that will probably see a nice spike in revenue over the next few days. Ask them next week if the having All Star Game come to town was a good thing.
Unfortunately, the game is not “meaningless” – a fact you would be aware of if you were even remotely dialed in – due to the winner of the All Star Game being awarded home field advantage in the World Series. That means you not only get Games 1 and 2 at home, you also get Games 6 and 7. It’s not the most logical way to determine home field advantage in the WS, but it certainly does render the All Star Game “meaningful.” That’s why managers manage the game to win – if it’s tight – and don’t treat it as a worthless exhibition.
It also gets broadcast to 220 countries around the world in 20 different languages, including more than one million US and Canadian armed forces stationed around the world via the Armed Forces Network…therefore, your assertion that it’s only “gonna be on national TV for a few short hours” is, not surprisingly, uninformed.
Lastly, and most amusingly, I might as well point out the staggering aloofness you exhibit by rambling on about how baseball and the Royals were always “boring” for you to write about back when you had a job at the Star. Let me ask you a serious question: What in the WORLD makes you think that people who DO want to read about baseball would look to a writer like you in the first place? Your column survived for years on the same tired little circle of subjects that you could never pull yourself away from, and if I had a nickel for every time I saw some boring, worthless nugget about Marilyn Maye or Jardine’s (!) in your column I’d have a stack from here to the moon by now. I always thought, “Wow, this guy either has little-to-no imagination or he’s just incredibly lazy…” I even remember thinking I might want to apply for a job at the Star since they appeared to be paying some guy to recycle the same dozen or so subjects to fill their gossip column.
What was the point of your column anyway? To shake a bah humbug fist at the air because the city is excited about something you can’t relate to or find interest in?
+1
@Mearle
Well stated. My only point of dissent is that events such as The All Star Game, World Cup, etc truly get blown out of proportion with regard to economic impact, perception, etc. Many chapters and verses have been written proving as much, with accurate data filled spreadsheets and third party audits backing them up. The Olympic Games in Atlanta is a classic case study. Yes it’s nice to show off to the world and stick our pert nipples out for all to see. It’s our own little Vanity Fair, so let’s not make it any more than that. There are x amount of dollars and cents flowing through global commercial channels based on demand, desire, want and need. Like life itself those channels have peaks and valleys. With that being understood I don’t need to hear the simpleton wankers at City Hall, Sports Commission or the CVB telling me the All Star Game is the Panama Canal to changing our global fortunes. It’s more like shore leave when the Navy is in port and we are the only whore house in town.
gotta agree with Merle
It was a small circle you wrote about…Marilyn Maye, Glazer and Mazer.
Too cool to care?
Hearne, you’re becoming like the “cool” kids back in junior high who never liked anything or anybody except their little circle. Drive around town and take a look at the excitement. Head down to Bartle Hall and experience the fun that people are having at Fan Fest. Maybe you should have volunteered and helped make the day of a group of special needs kids who got to play softball at Kauffman Stadium yesterday.
The fact is, KC is at the center of the baseball universe right now. Are you too cool to notice this?
The glass needs to be half-full.
Dateline: kcconfidential press July 7th 2012
Damn, here comes Merle, draggin my owner in through the door.
Hearne, trash the NFL, no one cares about that.
🙂
I’ve met Hearne, talked to him several times and he is a
good guy. Perspicacious, conversant, pleasant and very well intentioned in my opinion.
I am not a big baseball fan, so the article didn’t get much traction with me.
That said, I am really glad Hearne wrote it, so we could read Merle’s comment. Pretty funny shit. I have had my ass kicked like that many times, and, after the pain, it is pretty funny.
I think Merle read the article, then showed up to chew buble gum and kick ass, but forgot the bubble gum.
Ed McMahon couldn’t have tossed a softer ball to Johnny.
Thanks Hearne! 🙂
No salary cap, no interest
I gave up on the Royals and baseball years ago when they failed to institute a salary cap and sufficient revenue sharing for small market teams. Realistically, the Royals have very little chance of winning a World Series and I would rather watch the NFL and root for the Chiefs where at least everyone has the same budget and the smartest teams consistently win.
All Star Game>Jardine’s
I think it pretty ironic that a guy who has written dozens of columns about an empty building that used to house a jazz club thinks Kansas City is blowing the All Star game out of proportion.
Easy boys, remember…
Just like your parents and your teachers told you, it’s only a game!
smartman…have you nothing better to do
than put bullshit trash on here at 1am in the morning. What kind of life do you lead. For a guy who holds
himself in such high esteem you sure are a social loser. 1am on a friday nigth and you’re posting on kcc.
No wonder all the anger and hate you bloviate comes out…you’re stuck in mommys basement thwoing
shit on glaze and me when in reality you are one big fucking loser douchebag. get a life…do something…
getout of the basement…maybe go and interact with others….you sure are a hermit….l o s e r big time…
you are truly a pos.
Now…hearne let me give you some feedback from the real activity in the city last night. we went to
p and l and the plaza last night. Despite recrod heat…the main area was packed in p and l.
Every bar was packed…every restaurant was very very busy. We talked with some of the
cordish people (adminstrative) and they said they expected some incredible business now thru
tuesday. It was an exciting place to be…and we’re not into the club scene or bars. Concert going on
at sprint…people out and about…probably a big increase and probably would have not been as strong
had it not been all star weekend. Plaza was very very busy. Know the management at se4veral restaurants
and they told us thing were strong and they too expected a great 3-4 days. The streets were painted..
signage up…people out (even with the extreme heat) and everyone was talking about the game and the
events. but people were excited…something new and different going on…something that could
be fun for everyone (except smartman who is glued to his computer 24/7)
Even people who never mentioned baseball were talking about it…so the buzz was huge everywhere
we went.
You seem to think the worlld revolves around you. thats why when you were fired from the star you began this
little site…and it is little despite the claims you make but never proove with google analystics.
This town needs a lift. We’ve gone thru some tough economic times. People have been stressed and
worried beyond probably anything our generation has seen. And you can feel a new sort of enthusiasm
coming back….that despite everything that’s happened not onlyin our city but across the nation
that things are coming back. Theres something in the air…a new positive attitude.
So take your negativity and take it elsewhere. You can probably start with saturday night text a thon
with chuckles and smartman….all of you seeing who can predict the worst things and who can
stick a knife in someone else deeper.
This town needs boosters…we can bitch about the weather…the sewers…the night life…the food…
evenv about your bar jardines…but for almost everyone this is a great town to live in…raise a
family….be successful in business…enjoy the big city things with a small city environment….we don’t
need any more naysayers like you coming out and trying to rain on our parade. If you don’t likee it…
move. Trying to donwplay a large economic windfall (of sure you say its not as big as some estimate..
but rightv now businesses everywhere need a strong shot in the arm and this weekend they will get
it…whether it 1 million or 20 million….its still a big step forward for the economy here) is just plain
idiotic.
Get on board…kc is starting to get back in the swing. Maybe your neegativity is welcome among the
“woe is me” crowd on kcc…but anything that promotes the city….brings in revenue….gets the
people exciited about our town….is huge. Stop the negativity! You sound like the old guys on here
who could never say anything good about this city…
How do you real men put up with Harley?
Word of advice to Mr. Harley:
You
@cindy loo hoo re: Harley/JoJo
Decades ago, I was enthralled with the game of tennis. Remember how cool it was?
Connors, Everette, Mac, the whole crowd of interesting personalities and competition in combination with the still nascent TV sports juggernaught.
I went out and ponied up serious cash for a Bjorn Borg Tear Drop Racket (Seriously, Google that fucker, its a Ping Pong paddle.), the 1970s equivalent of tennis mortgage backed securities, right before the Wilson 2000 came out as I recall. In addition, I shattered a Aurthur Ashe Comp II right after I bought it with a very average forehand. Still, I thought I could hit it with big time topspin and win at the Junior College level. I didn’t. But, I was proficient and competative. Why?
Because of a smooth, even, unadorned, flat cement wall, 20 feet high and 40 feet across at an abandoned grade school in South Kansas City.
Harley/JoJo is that wall, that sounding board of stupidity and non responsive, flat line, return serves that our kcconfidential cognescenti cut our “Havn’t had coffee yet” teeth on.
It’s cruel, it’s one sided, it’s pedestrian, but, nature finds a way for predators to cut there teeth and cull the herd.
Let Harley/JoJo run free, to the extent that we can sharpen our collective claws and feed.
@harley
Like Gordon Gekko said. Money never sleeps. Mine is a 24/7 world. I take 4 two hour naps throughout the day and eat 6 small meals. That’s how real movers and shakers roll.
That is a damn mustachioed man standing to the left of the championship ice bucket.
I sleep 13 hours a day, work 10, tear assholes on KCC for 55 minutes, and probably get blown for the other 5.
damn sexy mustachioed man, that is.
Baseball made me a criminal, ditched school to watch the A’s
And then one thing led to another
Soon I’d discovered alcohol, gambling, dope
Football, hockey, lacrosse, tennis
But what do you expect,
When you raise up a young boys hope
And then just crush ’em like so many paper beer cups.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xBxZGQ1dJk
Country Breakfast
Baseball All-Star game “Is” a big deal — I love the hype $$
Took kids to see Jay Mohr last night, had a great time. I guess in theory this is how PnL is suppose to work.
Bottom line KC is a Baseball town and all the corny things that stands for. I see it everyday when I walk my neighboorhood. Dads at the schoolyard pitching BP to their kids….. playing catch. If this young Royals team catches fire we will all be there in September with a whole new found enthusiam for the game. How can you not like Mike Moustakas.
I am blown away at the prices to watch Home Run Derby….WTF? Me thinks U can get into that event for $50 at the door as I believe most of these executives will find Harrah’s more compelling than sweating at I-70 watching batting practice.
@bschloz
KC may be a baseball town unfortunately we have become far too accepting of BAD baseball. I don’t think that baseball represents anything corny….nice Field of Dreams reference though. At it’s finest, baseball represents a game where strategy can, at times, over power athleticism and huge payrolls. With no boundary of time it is the ultimate manifestation of “it ain’t over til it’s over. There isn’t much better way to spend day or night with friends or family than at the ballpark watching QUALITY baseball. There is a reason that it once was our national pastime.
For most of us, playing catch is our first encounter with hand eye coordination, followed shortly after with indoor BP with a whiffle ball. Playing catch with our dads or siblings while growing up was a right of passage. I have a good friend, who still to this day wells up with tears when he talks about playing catch and taking BP with his dad. He has both of the gloves they used when he was a child inside a glass case with a picture of them playing catch. For those of us over 40 baseball created a powerful bond with family and friends and our pre steroid era heroes.
Whether it’s our Midwestern na
@smartman
While I agree with you that David Glass is not the best owner in baseball, he is not quite as bad as you think. No matter who owned the team here, we are not going to be able to compete with the bigger market teams like the Yankees on payroll even if we sold out every game. Their TV revenue allows them to make money with an inflated payroll. Ours does not and never will. The payrolls have inflated exponentially since the days when we were competitive. It will take salary caps and/or revenue sharing similar to the NFL to make any small market clubs competitive on a consistent basis. The best we can hope for if that does not happen is to have small windows of 2 or 3 years at a time where we are competitive before losing players to free agency and then taking several more years to reload again. I think Glass is being scapegoated to some degree due to the unlevel playing field he is dealing with.
@mike
IF, and that’s a BIG IF, the Royals were a true perennial contender they could easily DOUBLE ticket prices, sponsorship dollars, TV and radio revenue. That easily supports a payroll in the $100/MM dollar range which based on 2012 expenditures gets us inside the Top Ten. KC sports fans have proven time and time and time again that they will support a winner. We have no issue parting with our money to support a great product.
I would never expect anyone to spend like the Yankee’s $195/MM but $100/M, spent the right way, and MANAGED on the field the right way SHOULD make you a contender.
David Glass’ hands will turn to stone before he writes those kind of checks. What he has in money he lacks in balls.
@smartman
If he doubled ticket prices, many of us wouldn’t be able to afford to go to games even if we wanted to. It is not like football because there are almost 10 times as many home games and the season ticket costs would be out of most peoples budgets. The TV and radio revenue is still based on the size of the market and we are one of the smaller markets.
They should get some credit for the crop of young players coming up. Our farm system is rated as one of the best in baseball where it was one of the worst before Dayton Moore. The strategy seems to be to develop our own players and limit our free agent signings. What I would like to see them do is to try to keep as many of the good homegrown players as possible. That will raise payroll some but not as much as getting in bidding wars for hired guns from other teams. I hope that is the direction we are heading but there will still be a time where the Yankess or some other big market team will offer more than the Royals can afford to keep them here for their whole career if they are good enough. As fans, we can only hope!
smarmyman …wrong again
stick to what you know best…nothing! Stick to the hate/violence/racist stuff you’re famous for. Because you know
nothing about media or business.
The royals would have a tough tough time doubling the price of tickets!
They would have a really tough time doubling sponsorship rates!
TV and radio revenue…doubling? couldn’t do it…
yankees have a built in advantage…a huge media market…kanas city
doesnt have that. And you have to be able to sustain losses if the payroll
doesn’t produce additional wins…in others words its not just increasing
payroll which the royals did in the past trying to become a better team…its buying
the right players and putting together a cohesive unit along with AN EXPERIENCED
WINNING MANAGER AND COACHES!
oH….AGAIN YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT DAVID GLASS’S BUSINESS INVESTMENTS
OR HIS BUSINESS PORTFOLIO….SINCE YOU DON’T YOU CAN’T SAY HE LACKS
ANY KIND OF RISK AVERSION. Glass has other costs involved that “experts” like
yourself never see like scouting/minor league operations/and dozens of other
costs that add to the overall expenses of his operation…its not just salary!!!!!
He’s on the right path…loading up with top flight young talent that he can hold.
Keep the talent coming….he’s done that….with a surplus of great great young talent
that can’t get on the big league roster (3 players are literally stuck in omaha who could
eventually be huge to the team.)
As i have said…without a major manager who can handle this young team they’re
whislting in the wind. This talent is strong. Of course additiinal starting pictchers
are being held back but they’ve got a inventory of incredible talent. Other teams scouting
repoorts say that this team is building for the future…
They tried buying free agents and they really lacked the personel staff to really evanluate
the talent..They had little if any success there. Now they’re following other teams
who had success in the past with building from inside.
Will it work….no…not until they find the right manager and staff to really have the
young players reach their potential. yost is terrible and is the entire coach staff (eddie!!!)
Unless glass is willing to lose money…and lose serious money…this is the way for
him to go. With his limited revenue sources and amounts this is the smart businessman’s
way to build the team.
And while guys like you smarmyman say we should all stay away from the ballpark..thats
bullshit. Why not just boycott all the arts and entertainment in this town. You are point
blank wrong. It’s obvious you have no business savy or experience.
@harley
It’s obvious you’re still a loud mouth, shrimp dicked, moron. David Glass has had PLENTY of time to build a team. It took the Japanese less time to rebuild Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He’s a fucking grifter that had the good fortune of knowing Sam Walton and Ewing Kauffman. That’s all. Real tough guy. Couldn’t even stay in the ring and defend himself against two wet behind the ears punks on 610. And his son is the second biggest douchebag in the metro right after you, you vertically challenged, balding, old, sociopath. And what does boycotting the Royals have to do with boycotting the arts and entertainment? Do us all a favor. Shove a funnel in your ass and pour in some liquid Drano. It’s clear you have a blockage that’s keeping you from thinking with any clarity.
Gotta pay to play as an owner and a fan. David Glass has to make the first move , but if he goes to the pocket for forty million more dollars to improve the team he has every right to ask everybody else to pony up. While a doubling of prices will hurt some fans there are thousands of individuals and businesses that have abandoned the Royals that will gladly come back when the team improves. I’d gladly go back to being a season ticket older at double today’s prices if the team were competitive and as I did before I’d give away my tickets to half the games to people that couldn’t afford to.
The fans in KC deserve much better owners than David Glass and Clark Hunt. Winning and success are contagious. Look at Sporting KC. The owners gave them the tools, the facility, the EVERYTHING….along with EXPECTATIONS and damned if it isn’t working. It didn’t take two + decades either.
I am a Royals and baeball fan.
Most people I like are, too.
This weekend has been awesome.
I’m excited for Tomorrow and Tuesday.
Under Glass
this team will continue to suffer, he still makes money hand over fist while the team sucks hairy grndpa balls.
Dump him and you may have a chance at greatness again.
Mike, you are wrong, look 240 miles to the east of KC to see proof of this.
The All-Star game means nothing but it means a lot to a cowtowns like KC or St. Louis, or Phoenix.
@the dude
I see the point you are making about St. Louis. They do have a couple of advantages over us, however. Their metro area is about 2.5 million compared to 2 million here and not as spread out geographically. They also have an extremely loyal fan base with a tradition going back to the early days of baseball. David Glass definitely can do a better job but I do see improvement in the farm system which is starting to pay off. They could actually be good in a few years according to some experts in baseball. They are a couple of starting pitchers away from being competitive now. Glass will have to open his wallet to keep some of these young talented players here. The one thing that scares me more than anything is that he could sell the Royals to an out of towner and they could leave. We have lost pro teams before.
I really miss Mr. K. He was probably the best owner in baseball and it would be hard for anyone to measure up to him.
an addition to mikes comment
st. louis has a bigger population base to draw from…and their fane base goes to memphis…bootheel….
springfield…joplin…iowa….illinois….that base is huge because they’ve had a winning history.
Its just got a bigger fan base and population..probably twice the size of kc.
They also have tradition.
We all miss mr. k. He was a dreamer. I was on several flgiths with him to las vegas and he
also like to gamble…big time. And that extended to his owning the royals…opening the
academy…taking local kids…he was a guy who could do things right. Loved the odds!!!!
He is missed. Few owners like him.
I Don’t Understand
How somebody can claim to once be a big baseball fan and then just give up on the sport. We’re not talking Tonka trunks or listening to Styx here, stuff you simply outgrow at some point. If you’re my age, baseball is something you played and followed daily and while things (labor disputes, revenue disparity, steroids, etc.) have happened over the years to temper my enthusiasm for the game at times, I still and will always love it. And instead of once again raining on something that was good for this city (despite debate on how much so), I say screw your negativity and I will give kudos to all involved with bringing the event here, those who volunteered/worked the event and to Kansas Citians in general for representing our city well and showing visitors how hospitable and welcoming we can be.