After a league-wide 102-game rain delay, the Royals open the 2020 season tonight at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
Author: Lonnie Shalton
Hot Stove #136 – John Lewis – American Hero
I woke up Saturday morning with the intent to work on a Hot Stove about baseball’s long-delayed opening day. But there were early emails from Irv Blond, Diana Brewer and Bill Lochman. All with the same sad message – Congressman John Lewis had died Friday night.
New plan. Must write about John Lewis. Continue reading
Hot Stove #135 – Play Ball, Tip Your Cap and Enjoy Some Moments
Are you ready for some baseball? Looks like the clouds are parting. Continue reading
Hot Stove #134 – Kadir Nelson on the Negro Leagues, the Pandemic and Black Lives Matter
Two events from last week merged in my mind to prompt this post.
First, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum reopened after being closed three months for the pandemic. So please put on your mask, then head down to 18th and Vine to get a baseball fix while we await the truncated MLB season. Continue reading
Hot Stove #133 – Black Lives Matter – Sports Edition
I could stick to baseball. Or movies. Or music. But not right now.
I am going to talk about current events, but will set the stage with a Jackie Robinson story. In April and May of 1963, Martin Luther King was in Birmingham for civil rights demonstrations. Jackie Robinson was at home in New York and raising money to send to King to help finance the effort. After Robinson watched scenes of police brutality against non-violent protestors, he decided to go to Birmingham to visibly support King. Below, Robinson with King at the church rally where they spoke. Continue reading
Hot Stove #132 – Golf Diaries – Ruth, Kaat and Yogi
This is Day 73 of self-quarantine. And the beat goes on.
Many Hot Stove readers have escaped quarantine by playing golf – a game by its nature a form of social distancing. There have been some changes. Don’t touch the pin. No rakes in the sand traps. No clubhouse. One person per golf cart. Or in some places no carts, meaning you have to carry your clubs or roll them along on a wheeled gadget. As headlined in the Wall Street Journal: “We’re out of toilet paper, hand sanitizer – and golf pushcarts?” Google has documented that the top trending retail category last month was golf-bag accessories, and the most popular subtopics were golf pushcarts, golf pull carts and, selling on eBay at a premium, the Clickgear 4.0. Continue reading
Gregorian Chants in Hot Stove – Daily Theme Songs for KC’s Stay-At-Home Order (2020)
On March 24, 2020, Kansas City became subject to a Stay-At-Home order issued by Mayor Quinton Lucas. The order was in force until May 15, 2020.
Each morning of the order, Kansas City Star sportswriter Vahe Gregorian tweeted a theme song to start the day. Continue reading
Hot Stove #131 – Royals All-Time Roster, Jerry Stiller/Frank Costanza and Three Birthdays
This is Day 63 of our self-quarantine (started St. Patrick’s Day, March 17). But we are no longer under Kansas City’s Stay-At-Home order which expired last Friday.
Going to stay at home anyway – we didn’t get any younger since this started and so remain in a high-risk category. I recommend an excellent primer on measuring risk for your activities – click here (but read your Hot Stove first and then come back to this). The good news – walking outside is virtually risk free. Whatever we do, let’s be careful out there (as Sgt. Esterhaus would say). Continue reading
Hot Stove #130 – Little Richard – The Architect of Rock ‘n’ Roll
This is Day 56 of our self-quarantine and Day 49 of KC’s Stay-At-Home order (currently set to end this coming Friday on May 15).
As of last Friday, I was working on some Royals nostalgia for this Hot Stove edition. On Saturday morning, Joe Downs gave me the news that Little Richard had died. So I made a pivot. Continue reading
Hot Stove #129 – 75 Years Ago in Kansas City – Jackie Robinson’s First Opening Day; 50 Years Ago in Louisville – A Gonzo Kentucky Derby
This is Day 49 of our self-quarantine and Day 42 of KC’s Stay-At-Home order (currently set to end on May 15).
If the baseball season had proceeded as planned this year, all MLB players would have worn #42 on April 15 – the 73rd anniversary of the date Jackie Robinson broke the color line in major league baseball.