Roger Angell died last Friday. He was 101 years old. Continue reading
Hot Stove #192 – Roger Angell (RIP) and Hot Stove
Hot Stove #191 – The Reports of Baseball’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated
Last month, I saw this headline on an internet post: Strike Three. Baseball is Dead. The headline was hyperbole, but the author offered a laundry list of reasons he thought baseball was dying. And he is not the only sportswriter lamenting the current state of baseball. Continue reading
Hot Stove #190 – New Rules
Last month, Art Rupe died at the age of 104. This past weekend in the (Damn) Yankees series, the Royals unveiled their new Nike City Connect uniforms. How these two facts are connected will be revealed in Lonnie’s Jukebox. Continue reading
Hot Stove #189 – Baseball and Rita Are Back
After the lockout scare… Continue reading
Hot Stove #188 – Spring Training, Opening Day, Zack Greinke, Ralph Terry and Campy Campaneris
Baseball is back! Time to talk about spring training and opening day. But first a personal note. Continue reading
Hot Stove #187 – St. Patrick’s Day Special – Baseball, Pendergast and Guest Contributor Pat O’Neill
This post is not about the end of the MLB lockout. Anything I write would be eclipsed within a day by news of free agent signings, spring training news, roster moves, Bobby Witt Jr. hitting a homer, etc. A whole winter’s worth of baseball coverage is being compressed into the relatively few days before the season opens on April 7. I can’t keep up. Royals pundit Rany Jazayerli captured this in a clever tweet and photo: Continue reading
Hot Stove #186 – Kansas City Royals – The John Sherman Years (To Date) – Covid to Lockout
In November of 2019, John Sherman and a group of local investors purchased the Kansas City Royals for $1 billion. Everyone was happy. The new buyers. The seller. The players. The fans. The sportswriters. Sherman and his investors were ingrained in Kansas City – the business sector, civic affairs and philanthropy. We celebrated our good fortune. Continue reading
Hot Stove #78 (Updated) – I Stand With Ukraine
This post is not about baseball. Nor about the lack of baseball during the lockout. Why? Because I am distracted by this week’s events in Ukraine. Continue reading
Charlie Hart – Political Insider
[Excerpted from Hot Stove #185, posted on February 17, 2022.]
Charlie Hart – Political Insider: Charles Curry first won office as presiding judge in 1962 and was reelected in 1966. Curry was building a political organization, the Committee for County Progress (the CCP, occasionally referred to as Charles Curry’s Party). Charlie Hart became active in the CCP and helped Curry and his team win big in 1966, including victories for Alex Petrovic and Charlie Wheeler who joined Curry on the 3-judge county court. Below, Curry (middle) celebrating those victories with Alex Petrovic (left) and Charlie Wheeler. Continue reading
Hot Stove #185 – Royals Spring Training 2022 (Not Yet)
It’s time for the annual Hot Stove spring training post. Pitchers and catchers were set to report on February 15. Position players on February 20. It would be time again to recite Dan Quisenberry’s poem on the “rituals of spring training,” and report on my friends at the games in Surprise, Arizona. Continue reading