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Showing posts with label Major League Baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Major League Baseball. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Monday, June 29, 2020
Hey, Kansas City! You're Getting Some National Attention!
Yesirree, Bob... National attention to and for our very own Negro Leagues Baseball Museum!
Every living former U.S. president paid tribute to baseball’s pioneering Negro Leagues as the part of the “Tipping Your Cap” campaign celebrating the institution’s centennial.
Major League Baseball had originally planned a public tribute to the league for June 27, but the coronavirus pandemic forced its cancellation. Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick told The Washington Post he was at first resigned to holding the celebration a year late before having the idea for the virtual tribute.
“In our game, there’s nothing more honorable than tipping your cap,” Kendrick told the Post. “And once I realized that national day of recognition was going to fall by the wayside, I thought, ‘OK, maybe we can do it next year.’ But that didn’t really do it.”
“So then I thought, ‘How about a virtual tip of the cap?’ ” he added. “And let me say here and now, there is no way I could have done this myself. I could not be more proud of the response.”
In addition to former Presidents Obama, Bush, Clinton and Carter, participants in the tribute included baseball legends like Hank Aaron and Derek Jeter as well as iconic athletes from other sports, including Michael Jordan and Billie Jean King, as well as celebrities from other fields including Tony Bennett and Stephen Colbert.
“Today I’m tipping my hat to all the giants in the Negro Leagues, from Satchel Paige to Toni Stone and so many others,” Obama tweeted. “Their brave example, first set 100 years ago, changed America’s pastime for the better––opening it up for new generations of players and fans alike.”
The League, established in 1920, counted among its players greats such as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Jackie Robinson, who played with the League’s Kansas City Monarchs before he broke the color barrier by joining the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. The league dissolved in the years following Robinson’s milestone as numerous others followed him into the major leagues.
Saturday, September 14, 2019
This Downtown Ballpark Idea Needs to Die
How many times is the Kansas City Star going to float this absurd, outrageously expensive, completely unnecessary idea that we need to somehow vacate our perfectly good, very usable ballpark for the Kansas City Royals and build a new one in the middle of our downtown?
For the love of God.
Let me quickly get to all the reasons is beyond not a good idea but a patently, thoroughly bad one.
--It would be outrageously expensive. It would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to do. Hundreds of millions.
--We already, obviously, have a very good, very state of the art, already-functioning ballpark, thanks very much.
--The parking for the new stadium, God forbid, downtown would be ridiculously difficult in and of itself.
--It would further complicate parking downtown.
--We just got finished, not that many years ago, paying for a renovation of the present ballpark to the tune of 250 million dollars. I don't even know if that is yet paid off. Paid or no, we just did this.
--Kansas City taxes are already high.
Kansas City sales tax tops in the nation
Even the Star rightly recognizes how high our taxes already are--
On the following list, we are the city with the 9th highest taxes of any other in the nation.
Kansas City serves up nation’s 12th-highest taxes on diners
Heck, taxes are high if you even just visit here. We even penalize visitors.
--As bad as parking already is downtown, again, a new, downtown ballpark would sit empty most of the year.
--Downtown already works. What, exactly, at this high a price, are we fixing here or trying to fix?
--We would WALK AWAY from a totally, completely functioning, attractive, successful baseball stadium now.
You would think every Right Winger, Republican and Libertarian, all, at least, would be screaming bloody murder about this. More taxes, in whatever form we call them? To build another baseball stadium? When we have a good one lots of us love already? That's easy to access? That's easy to park at? That's easy to exit from and get home? Seriously?
And then, get this. Dave Helling down at the Star pointed out this week in our local paper that the old bi-state tax still exists, at least on paper. It's still available. Not only could we pay for a new baseball stadium WE DON'T NEED, downtown, where it would be difficult to get to, difficult to park at, then difficult to leave, WHEN WE ALREADY HAVE A FANTASTIC MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STADIUM, but---get this--WE COULD GET JOHNSON COUNTIANS AND KANSANS TO HELP US PAY FOR IT!!
YES!!
By all means, LET'S BUILD A NEW, UNNECESSARY, VERY EXPENSIVE NEW BALLPARK DOWNTOWN THAT SOLVES NOT ONE PROBLEM WE HAVE NOW!!
SURE!!
LET'S!!
Or...
maybe not.
Please. For the love of God, common sense and all that is good.
It's difficult we have to even say this.
These people that want a new ballpark downtown---
Do you suppose they haven't driven down Wornall lately? Heck, Ward Parkway? 63rd Street.
Could we please, please be fiscally and yes, environmentally responsible and not further even explore this bonehead idea?
Please, Kansas City Star?
I mean, we know you need readers but get out and report on fascinating, accomplished, accomplishing area citizens.
Let this absurd idea die.
This is beautiful. It works. Leave it alone.
Sunday, September 10, 2017
You Should Be Watching This
A documentary on Jackie Robinson is on this evening on PBS and KCPT. It's part one of this series by, again, no surprise, Ken Burns.
It is fantastic.
What Jackie Robinson did and what he--and his wife--went through is just incredible.
And PBS, showing this now.
Incredible. Brilliant.
We need to know this history, period, but it's especially important and relevant just now, at this time, with racism, once again, rearing its ugly head. No surprise but another Ken Burns documentary. And then with Colin Kaepernick, standing up against injustice, just as Jackie did? It's extremely poignant.
We need, however, as a nation, to stop having to relearn these lessons. We should know all this already. We went through it. We shouldn't have to go through it again, to learn it once more.
Oh, and Buck O'Neil is even in it so all the more reason to watch.
Go watch this program, folks.
Link:
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Fun in Kansas City Today
This is apparently National Orange Popsicle Week, according to my trip across Kansas City today, to Mill Creek Park and the JC Nichols fountain on the Plaza.
And our buddy Slugger, of the Kansas City Royals showed, too.
I've no idea what it's about or why Slugger, of all people (people?), would be there, along with a table for KU Med Center but the fountain was flowing orange, as you can see. It was fun, if not nearly completely unexplained.
Have a great weekend, y'all.
And maybe have an orange popsicle.
Sunday, February 12, 2017
NYT Today on Baseball---And Our Royals
Today's New York Times has an article on the upcoming Major League Baseball season. The author, Tyler Kepner, proposes that teams have opening, closing and closed times in their baseball lives and projects on all the teams, including, of course, our own Kansas City Royals.
As Spring Training Nears, a Look
at Baseball's Window Treatment
Executives are more realistic. Under the last collective bargaining agreement, and the new one reached last fall, Major League Baseball is designed for teams to win and lose in cycles. Only the savviest organizations find a way to contend every year. Most understand that they have a distinct window to win — and that once it closes, it’s time to nail boards over the glass and remodel.
Free agency looms after 2018 for so many star players — Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson, Zach Britton, Andrew Miller, Andrew McCutchen, Matt Harvey and possibly Clayton Kershaw and David Price. More than ever, perhaps, teams feel urgency to win now or risk a long wait for another legitimate shot.
With that in mind, let’s take a spin around the majors to see which teams’ windows are open, opening, closing or closed.
What he has to say on our boys in blue:
The Royals have always known when to strike and when to hold back. Their discipline to cultivate a certain style of play — and their patience to grow the right players to implement it — led to a title in 2015, boosted by bold deadline deals. They’re clinging to contention now, trading veterans (Wade Davis, Jarrod Dyson) but getting major leaguers, not prospects, in return. The death of Yordano Ventura in a car crash last month was devastating, but this is a resilient group that wants to win again before Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas test free agency next winter.
"Wait 'til next year!"?
Play ball!
Additional NYT/baseball link:
Baseball’s Newest Hall of Fame Class Links to the Past
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Speaking of Breaking Records and Making History
So the Chicago Cubs win the World Series of baseball after all these years.
What's next? A woman president?
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Rather Monumental Question For A Sunday Morning
"Who'd have thought that in our lifetime we'd see the first black president, the first woman president, and the Cubs in the World Series?"
--Linda Tilsen, FB friend, to her husband.
Sunday, November 1, 2015
ROYALS WIN THE 2015 WORLD SERIES!!!
Good Article on Kansas City, Charlie Parker, Count Basie and More in NYT Today
Interesting article in Sunday's New York Times about Kansas City, Charlie Parker, Count Basie, New York and a whole lot more today.
Count Basie, right, playing baseball in 1947. Afro American Newspapers/Gado, via Getty Images
The Mets, the Royals and Charlie Parker,
Linked by Autumn
But as the Series shifted from Kansas City to New York, it followed a well-trodden path, forged decades ago with the migration of some of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.
Just as Kansas City once effectively served as a feeder system of ballplayers to New York, Kansas City’s hopping nightclub scene was the fertile ground that produced some of New York’s top musical acts, and baseball was a cherished pastime for many of them....
It goes on.
...jazz, baseball, Kansas City and New York are closely intertwined in American culture.
“There was a time when everybody went to Kansas City,” said Phil Schaap, a prominent jazz historian and archivist. “Many of them eventually moved on to New York and made it there. But Kansas City, along with New York, Chicago and New Orleans, is one of the citadels of jazz. And during the swing era, all the bands had teams.”
Great stuff. Interesting article. You might want to check it out.
There's certainly more here than just our Royals to get attention from the Big Apple and world.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
In Which We Give David Glass His Due
A few years ago, when the Kansas City Royals were continually losing at baseball and the owner, David Glass, was spending very little on the team and being ranked one of the 3 worst Major League Baseball owners, I and a lot of others spoke ill of Mr. Glass and his ownership and managerial skills.
That was then.
Since that time, Mr. Glass has begun spending more on the the team and putting the right people in place to make things happen, in positive ways, for those same Royals, our own Kansas City Royals.
So here we are, the 2nd time the team is in the playoffs for the World Series--and won. So Tuesday, as the entire city and state and region and heck, the nation, knows, the Kansas City Royals are World Series bound.
So here's to you, Mr. Glass. We disparaged both your spending and managerial work. It's only fitting that we now, when they're winning, honestly praise him for getting the team where they are now.
Kudos to you, Mr. Glass.
And thank you.
Now, please keep it going, long as possible.
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Kansas City Royals 2015 Postseason Video
"People will come, Ray. People will most definitely come."
I would have left out the part where he said "People will just hand over their money without even thinking about it."
That was tacky. Extremely tacky. Otherwise....
Go Royals!
Go Royals!
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Kansas City All Over Late Night Last Evening
Kansas City, through Eric Stonestreet and our own Kansas City Royals figured rather prominently on Jimmy Kimmel Live last evening:
LET'S GO ROYALS!!
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
KC Royals Continuing to Get Major Coverage
Our own Kansas City Royals keep getting more and more local, regional and national coverage. The following was in none other than Sunday's New York Times.
“I’ve been in awe of him since he picked up a ball,” said Chris Sale, the overpowering starter for the Chicago White Sox. “He went into that bullpen, and he has been lights out. I’m pretty sure nobody likes facing him. What, has he not given up a home run in two years or something? I can’t even go two starts without giving up a home run.”
The Kansas City Royals are your new World
Series favorite
Oddsmakers now say Royals are
favorites to win the World Series
Thursday, July 16, 2015
10,001 Reasons St. Louis and All Other Cities and States Should No Longer Pay for Sports Stadiums
John Oliver says it---all of it---so well.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
KC Royals Shine In AL Win at All Star Game
The headlines began pouring out this evening:
First from CBS Sports:
Lorenzo Cain shines during Royal takeover in All-Star Game
From the Star
Fan Sided Blog:
I can just hear Tony and the naysayers now.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Thursday, April 30, 2015
The Baltimore Orioles Huge Screw-Up
The topsy-turvy world that is Baltimore right now.
It's bad enough the police force there has a bad reputation for roughing up and/or killing anyone, let alone one certain group of people, in this case, blacks. Heaven knows that's bad enough.
Then, one more time, a black man is taken into custody and ends up dead. It doesn't look good. It looks beyond bad.
So the man does die and lots of other black Americans are outraged and protest, not surprisingly. Riots break out, stores are burned, looting takes place. It's not good. It's beyond not good.
Reacting to that, the city's baseball team cancels 2 baseball games but finally figures they need to go ahead and play a game.
But instead of going ahead and playing the game and calling it out publicly so they could pull the city together, they go forward with the game WITHOUT FANS. They shut out the fans, shut out the public:
Orioles Play in Eerily Empty Stadium
And it's not like other organizations in the city didn't try to pull the people together. The libraries got it:
And the symphony orchestra, for crying out loud, got it:
The Baltimore Orioles and Major League Baseball could have seized this moment, thrown open the doors to their game and given everyone memories for years to come but a great afternoon they need and needed now.
And sure, it would have needed police and security there when they're also needed across town but call out more National Guard. Put them on the scene. Then have the game and have everyone revel in everything Baltimore and Baltimore pride. Pull everyone together---black, white, poor, wealthy, middle and working class, everyone.
Instead, they lock everyone, all the fans out and play to an open stadium, instead. What a huge, important, possibly transformative situation. Lost.
Bloody brilliant.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Chris Rock on Baseball
He makes some good, even interesting and very legitimate points here:
They'd better listen.
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