Billy Butler
Local sports media (and jock sniffers) couldn’t wait to set the Royals World Series defeat aside and laud the arrival of a new golden age of baseball in Kansas City…
It’s story that’s been written before, long before the Royals post season successes last month. Sportswriters are homers by nature and it’s their job to focus on the cup half full. Which is fine, except that it usually glosses over the half empty part.
Starting with that once the World Series began it was hard to miss the fact that so-called Royals stars like Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer, Salvadore Perez and Mike Moustakas fell short of the mark when the going got clutch – Moustakis batted .217, Dyson .200 and Gordon .185.
And now the one player who – to me anyway – epitomizes this team’s heart and soul – Billy Butler – is all but getting kicked to the curb with little reassurance from the club despite his stated desire to retire a Royal.
Which goes hand-in-hand with another of the team’s Achilles heels.
Owner David Glass.
David Glass
Because the elephant in KC’s World Series romper room – and throughout the Royals magical October – is the almost total lack of empathy or respect shown by fans and the media for the team’s ice-water veined owner.
Clearly there’s little love lost between Kansas City and the Glass family.
That after more than 20 years running the team and 14 as owner.
And while that may not be a life and death matter, it doesn’t help.
Dan Glass
Actually it hurts.
Glass doesn’t even cast a large enough shadow over this town to be looked down on or hated even. Nor is he interesting in a weird or oddball way, like former Kansas City A’s owner Charlie Finley was.
Finely had both of the hated base and the screwball base covered. He was an eccentric dude who a introduced mule mascot named after himself and dug up an over-the-hill Negro Leagues player to pitch. Then he threatened to leave KC and made good on that threat -which combined with the team’s poor performances over the years made him easy to hate.
Glass doesn’t have anything going – good or bad – he’s just an uninspiring business dude who made an uninspired business deal that apparently was good for “the Glass family,” then installed his Walmart manager son Dan Glass as team president. Think of it an inexperienced man a former Kansas City Star publisher described to me as “nebbish” running the show.
I had to look it up.
Nebbish: “a pitifully ineffectual, luckless, and timid person.”
Now back to the future…
Chances are the Royals will lose pitcher James Shields, who many credit with being the catalyst that helped turn the club around. Maybe they’ll be able to keep Butler, but that remains to be seen. And some say, they may trade Gordon.
Yet while Moustakas, Hosmer and Gordon rose to the occasion at critical junctures of the team’s run through the playoffs on their way to the World Series, their deficiencies during the series were glaring.
And over the course of a 160 game season, it’s hard for me personally to imagine watching practically any Royals games, short of maybe a critical series here or there should the team vie again for the division championship.
There’s just too many games, too little scoring and not enough star players. And not enough money or commitment from the owner who, truth be known, doesn’t have deep enough pockets. Add to that a nebbish team president who is a Todd Rundgren groupie (I kid you not – I took him on Rundgren’s bus and introduced him a few years back).
Maybe enough of that will change, but it’s hard not to be skeptical. And frankly it’s hard to believe that given everything, next year’s Royals can recapture the magic of these past few weeks.
I hope I’m wrong.
This story can be filed under “Too soon to be a dick, but whatever I am going to do it” type of stories.
Funny…
But was it “too early” to go the other direction sans even a hint that the team looked weak in the Series and had some very real issues facing it next year?
wtf…david glass doesn’t have deep enough pockets? did youreally saythat?
please hearne…stick to jewel thiefs…protecting trust fund babys like southy…
trying to be relevant in the iphone age…and never making another stupid
comment about david glass.
David glass is a businessman. A smart one. Bought this team for 90 some
million. Now its worth close to a billion. He probably has couple billion
in wal mart stock sitting in the bank….has the ability to buy more
when time comes…..has other interests also which I will get into…and
could spend with the big boys.
And none of the 50,000 viewers or listeners to royals baseball give a
fuk that you’re not listening. They’re making some changes to speed up
the game like a time clock…batters can’t leave the box and others but
baseball is doing well. They’ll get more broadcast rights and with their
strategy to move to cable tv will make billions.
An ole sourpuss like youcomes out after one of the most exciting times
in this town and downplays it with stupid comments.
90 feet awayfrom tying the 7th game then you write and even
more stupid comment about how we all knew they weren’t going to win.
When you’ve been handed everything in life…winning something means
nothing. But for our young royals who worked their asses off to get
where they got it was significant.
And wheterh they lose shields (who you faield to mention was not
the pitcher of the future for the royals and who probably gets a
pretty big contract somewhere else)…whether we lose butler asa
dh because hosmer is solid at first….
we still have the best outfield in baseball….the best relief team in baseball..
two or three upcoming star starters…and the best catcher in baseball…
an infield who can perform magic defensively….some guys who can make
some crucial time hits…a farm teamfilled with some of the best prospects
in all of baseball….a quirky coach who seemed to make the right decisions…
and a payroll pretty much in line with our size and costs…you still make
the same ridiculous comments you’ve become famous for.
Another sourpuss! Keep watching your shows like DANCING WITH THE STARS
or CSI (to help youget the jewel theif) or American idol…because we’re
royals fans and this season has been a ton offun.
what a boring life you must live. Does anything in the world make you
smile??????? seriously…how bad can it be when you blast your home
team that was an underdog and almost won it all.
With your money nothing is exciting. Except judge judy and family fued!
Try pinning down David Glass’s net worth and liquidity…
I’ve yet to be able to.
Look Harley, we all know he could buy and sell you and me and Bill nigro many times over, but to be in a position to compete with people like the owner of the Giants with net worths of more than $5 billion, that’s an entirely different matter.
Especially when you factor in the market size of Kansas City.
And maybe Kansas City does rise in attendance from the 1.9 million this year to 2.5 million. As good as the Royals attendance has been – considering their lengthy losing spell – they’re still in 25th place out of 30 teams.
2.5 million would put them in (lucky) 13th place based on this year’s numbers.
That’s nearly 1.5 million behind San Francisco and more than 1.5 million behind St. Louis. Not to mention the smaller media market revenues.
Oh no— I am agreeing with Handsome Harley on the Royals….Pretty much everything he said about this team is RIGHT ON!!!
While I don’t follow baseball (It’s tough to gamble on Baseball in my opinion.), I do think there are similarities to golf. Confidence is a hell of big deal when you are on the tee at a major, or facing a 98 MPH fast ball.
They should make an effort to keep as many of these young players as they can, because next year, they will be cocky as hell, and that my friends, is a good thing.
That does appear to be the possible wild card, Chuck…
But did you watch the Royals hitting in the series?
And will they be able to scrape by for 170 games without Shields and quilting together one or two or three run games?
Or was there just “magic” in the air this year only?
As Kerouac referenced afore, the Royals entered post season play short on experience and long on an ‘we have nothing to lose’ vibe… least for public consumption. That they lost is not so much death knell theirs, as tribute the GIANTS experience big stage and one player’s unworldly talent, Madison Bumgarner.
Playing in & winning a World Series a third time in five seasons is altogether different than arriving for the first time in some 30 years, a long journey the MLB wilderness. The Royals now have experience, said added to their youth & talent bodes well for a future that is ahead of them. The possibilities present, nails hammered in their coffin ongoing premature this moment; if they were Pa-fluke-aville ’14, 2015 will affirm.
That said, they must retain their core and add some more. Kerouac has no idea what their minor league system holds, nor how much would cost to keep free agents, some or any theirs. Their response will determine whether they remain a contender or slip back into also-ran status; that’s how the cookie crumbles/$hekel game is played ’14.
The SF GIANTS are a mix home of grown talent – Posey, Sandoval, Crawford, Panik, Belt, Bumgarner among them – as well wise trade and free agent acquisitions, Pence, Morse, Affeldt among those. The GIANTS also have a minor league pipeline continues to pump out more like a Texas oil well.
While they’re $154 payroll 2014 (ranked 7th MLB) will undoubtedly increase in 2015, SF is proof a team does ‘not’ have to go to the obscene lengths that a Dodgers ($240+ mill), Yankees ($204 mill) & Red Sox, Phillies, Tigers, Angels teams went trying ‘buy’ a ‘Championship’ (Royals payroll ranked 19th entering the’14 season, for the record.) GIANTS did it the old fashioned way, much as can be the current nature MLB bea$t considered: they earned it – thrice in five years now – exclamation point.
That the GIANTS played and won this years ‘World Series’ without two of their best players (Pagan & Cain, out due injuries, and another Morse limited due injury same) supports the fact they have depth & resolve by the legion -‘The Heart of a Champion’ and hard-earned experience made it possible. The Royals, this off-season theirs will tell the tale whether they will continue ‘build it & World Championship will come’ by climbing the mountain/reaching the summit, or are satisfied what they accomplished 2014/concede limitation$ ongoing.
While the land$cape is different today than yester, there are lessons to be learned the past. It took the 1969 KC Chiefs three years return to the Superbowl aft they lost the first one. Stram did it by continuing build and make realistic decisions: allowing some veterans to go via outright release (the days before free agency as we now know it) & expansion draft 1968, while also drafting & trading for players until the mix was right for one magical season that delivered the ‘World Championship’ in January 1970.
That they’ve to date never returned approaching 45 years is a testament how hard it is get there, let alone repeat such success… Kansas City Royals are on now the clock.
I’m going to say it again, I don’t think David Glass’s pockets are deep enough…
And to the extent that they are, he’s a proven cheapskate.
I think Baird succeeded in spite of Glass.
And was maybe extremely lucky to boot.
What exactly did Baird succeed at Hearne? Piling up 100-loss seasons? If he was so great, how come he hasn’t garnered another GM job since he got the hook here?
Like little Dick Nixon (who, aft dad’s favorite cherry tree was found chopped down) said, – “I cannot tell a lie father – the Democrats did it!”
Which is to say, I agree with you HC/have a suspicion you’re correct re: the future there KC Royal-land, as well the history has passed; as I said, how the game i$ played, today.
There is a 90% chance Shields is gone. I’m okay with that. He did what he was brought here to do; and is worth a 2-3 year deal; but not the long term, crazy deal he will probably get. Good for him. He’ll probably get ace money; but is not an ace.
I think Butler might be back. I’m okay with that, too. It’ll be determined by what kind of looks he gets from Seattle and Texas.
Aoki is most likely gone.
The core of this team is back. The Glass family, Dayton, and Ned have earned some goodwill. Let’s let them get to Opening Day before we harp and criticize.
You had to look up “nebbish”? Really? A sign of a poor education.
Sorry Wolfe…
I was brought up a lowly Episcopalian and mostly went to prep schools where my Jewish friends seemed to also had limited knowledge of the vernacular or failed to exhibit it.
Or you know, I’m just plain dumb.
You think Dan Glass knows what it means?
This is why popularity in sports is declining: The end of dynasties. It’s strictly business, much like corporate America.
If everyone is leaving, then it makes me more mad that we didn’t win.