And now there are two. The World Series starts tomorrow night.
Representing the American League is Houston, the team that had the best record in baseball this year. In the National League, the pennant was won by a wild-card team, the Washington Nationals. The Astros won the Series two years ago. The Nationals franchise started as the Montreal Expos in 1969, moved to DC in 2005, and before this year, had never been in a World Series.
2019 Playoffs: The playoffs began with ten teams. Now there are four.
Oakland and Milwaukee dropped out quickly in the two sudden-death wild-card games. The AL wild-card winner was Tampa Bay, and in the NL, it was Washington.
This morning, I had breakfast with David Matson, Steve Roling, Jeb Bayer and Bob White. We do this every month or so to talk mostly baseball. But we gathered this morning to remember and celebrate Jack Campbell who has been part of our group. Jack passed away last Sunday and his funeral was yesterday (obituary).
The biggest Royals news this year is that the team will soon have a new owner – John Sherman of Kansas City.
Sherman became an investor in the Cleveland Indians in 2016, but that interest will be sold when he and his co-investors acquire the Royals in November.
For the baseball/but-not-movie fans of Hot Stove, feel free to hit delete now. Otherwise…
For our 9th year in a row, Rita and I attended the Telluride Film Festival. We were joined by our friend Avie Sullivan who was attending Telluride for the first time. She did great – saw 17 films (Rita and I settled for 14, still enough to qualify for what Rita calls the “Sport of Extreme Sitting”). The weather was grand, sunny and ranging from the 50s to the 70s, so standing in line between movies was a pleasure.
While Rita and I were flying back from the Telluride Film Festival last night, Jorge Soler hit his record-setting 39th home run. The previous “Kansas City” record for homers in a season was 38, set by Bob Cerv (1958) and Mike Moustakas (2017).
Below, with the scoreboard reading that he is tied with Moustakas at 38, Soler hits #39 (photo by Royals photographer Jason Hanna).
The Mets were in Kansas City this past weekend. Friday night was “Beatles Night” to celebrate the appearance by the band in Kansas City 55 years ago – at Municipal Stadium at 22nd and Brooklyn, hosted by A’s owner Charlie Finley. Since 14-year-old Rita Leifhelm was at that concert in 1964, we of course had to go to the Royals anniversary party. Rita bought us Beatles tee-shirts to wear and arranged transportation with uber (small “u” – i.e., outstanding) driver Pat Titterington and his wife Cheryl Dillard. The Royals did little during the game to remind you it was Beatles Night, but the band’s music was played during the quite spectacular fireworks show. Continue reading
Turned 78 today, or as I like to think, 25.556 Celsius.
Rita has this thing that you are only as old as the high temperature on your birthday. Easy for her to say. She was born in December. Under her theory, I am forecast to be 88 today. Or as I like to think, 31.111 Celsius.
When I turned 75, my friends-of-long-standing Diana and Larry Brewer gave me a tee-shirt that converted my age to…Celsius. This year, they sent me the baseball-themed card you see below. The inside message reads “Hope your birthday is a major-league good time.” I’m sure it will be. Rita and I will be walking down the hill to enjoy a birthday dinner at Capital Grille at its new location on the Plaza. Continue reading
[This is Part One of a three-part series on the (i) parallel political tracks of Walter Mondale and Tom Eagleton, and (ii) my good fortune to work on their campaigns.]
In the fall of 1960, I was in my sophomore year at the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy in Rolla. That November, Tom Eagleton and Walter Mondale each won his first statewide election. At the time, I doubt I noticed their victories. But I would come to appreciate these two fine public servants and have the honor of working with both of them. Here’s the story. Continue reading
As Part One ended, I was joining the Mondale advance staff…
Mondale Campaign Advance: With some remarkable efficiency, a large advance staff was assembled. Some were full-time and paid, but many were like me, part-time volunteers. We started getting paperwork to get up to speed. I saw that the roster included some fellow Kansas Citians – Mike Kelley, Dale Leibach and Russ Welsh. Mike Kelley was not new to a VP race. Mike was Tom Eagleton’s press secretary for seven years, including being in the middle of the chaotic 18-day VP run with McGovern in 1972 (Gene Godley had also been at Eagleton’s side during those 18 days). I had not previously known Dale Leibach, but soon met him when we joined lead advance Debbie Sale on one of my early assignments (Davenport, Iowa). I knew Russ Welsh, and we would end up at the same law firm a few years later – I joined Polsinelli in 1979 and Russ came in 1986.