I’m going to give you (and myself) a break from the long form post. Mostly photos. “Write less, show more.” [Inside Hamilton joke]
The Polsinelli Firm: I joined my law school friend Jim Polsinelli at his Plaza firm in 1979. We had nine lawyers. Today we have around 800 lawyers in 20 offices around the country. If you are wondering what that has to do with baseball, take a closer look at the photo below. At first glance, you are watching Yadier Molina complete his home run trot. Now let your eyes follow down the left leg of the arch…to our St. Louis office. Wayne Tenenbaum was watching a Cardinals game on TV and gave me the heads-up that the Polsinelli name is in full and constant view at Busch Stadium. I’m guessing Coca-Cola paid more to be seen there.
Moose, Balboni and Cerv: Moose is on the loose. Mike Moustakas now has 29 homers and is on a pace to pass Steve Balboni as the all-time Royals leader. Balboni had 36 in 1985. Moose also has a good chance to surpass Bob Cerv as the all-time Kansas City leader. Cerv hit 38 homers for the Kansas City Athletics in 1958.
I am keeping an eye out for an update of the Balboni Tracker sent out periodically via Twitter by Shaun Newkirk of Royals Review. The one below was updated through July 21, and Moose has three after that. Moose is the orange line, and the three others are Gary Gaetti (yellow, 35 in 1995), John Mayberry (dark blue, 34 in 1975), and Balboni (light blue). If you are wondering why the Gaetti yellow line stops abruptly, it is because the Royals played only 144 games in 1995 due to the late start after a players strike.
American League Leaders: Yankees’ rookie Aaron Judge (6’7”) leads the league in home runs with 32. Houston’s Jose Altuve (5’6”) leads in batting average (by a lot), currently at .365 (.494 in July so far). It’s looking like an epic 2-man race for AL MVP. After Judge hit a double against the Astros in early July, this was the visual of the two stars at second base:
Good News and Bad News: The Royals have the third easiest AL schedule in the second half. But Cleveland has the easiest.
From Worst…To First: This rags-to-riches story of Kansas City baseball from 1955 to 1985 was authored by five journalists who covered the A’s and Royals for the Kansas City Star-Times: Del Black and Sid Bordman (beat writers/official scorekeepers), Bob Sands (local/national sportswriter), Joe Henderson (reporter) and Jim Murray (sports illustrator/graphics design/writer).
The 210-page book was published in 2016 and is full of stories, photos and graphics from the days of the Johnson/Finley A’s to the 1985 Ewing Kauffman Royals who won the World Series. The book had a limited printing, but I found a copy at Rainy Day Books. The store still has three copies if you want some great nostalgia.
Some of the best parts in the book are the illustrations by Jim Murray. Here is a good example – How many do you remember?
Mickey Mantle…Again: Mickey Mantle’s minor league career took him through Independence (KS), Joplin (MO) and Kansas City (the Blues). I have previously posted team photos showing him with the Joplin and KC teams. Hot Stove reader Bill Schutte sent me yet another team photo with Mickey, this one being from his amateur days. The photo was posted by the Kansas Historical Society and shows the 1948 Whiz Kids from Baxter Springs, Kansas (12 miles from Mickey’s hometown of Commerce, OK). Mickey is 8th from the left and autographed this copy. Yankees scout Tom Greenwade scouted the team, primarily to see another player, and it led him to Mickey who he signed in 1949. The pitcher for the team was Ben Craig, 4th from left, who played minor league ball for the Yankees and Browns. Craig later became a Kansas banker whose civic endeavors led to his reputation as “Mr. Johnson County.”
The Artist Formerly Known as Prince: In April of last year, Hot Stove #15 featured Prince after his untimely death. This year, Prince’s hometown Minnesota Twins held a Prince night with a “Purple Rain” umbrella for the fans. Already a hot item on eBay.
Kauffman Stadium: Many of those great photos you see in the Kansas City Star are taken by John Sleezer. I like this one with Cain standing on first and Hosmer at the plate. And the sky.
And although Cain could not stop this home run, I like the photo (and so do the folks at Boulevard Brewing).
Polsinelli (Busch Stadium Revisited): No, there is not a pot of gold for Polsinelli at the end of this rainbow. But it’s a nice thought.
About That Hamilton Tease: This post started with the idea of “Write Less, Show More.” If you can take one more Hamilton reference from me – I was paraphrasing “Talk less, smile more,” one of the memorable lines in the Broadway show. When Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton first meet, Burr cautions Hamilton against speaking his mind so much. He thinks Hamilton should “Talk less, smile more/Don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for…Fools who run their mouth off wind up dead.” Hamilton does not like the idea of being cautious on hard issues, and so he does not take the advice. He goes on to write the bulk of the Federalist Papers and later spars with Thomas Jefferson over the direction of the country. In what becomes a tragic piece of history, Hamilton talks more and smiles less about his opposition to Burr ever becoming president…leading to the duel.
Lonnie’s Jukebox: I usually pick one of my golden oldies for this segment, but the talk about Hamilton and Prince moves me to repeat an item from Hot Stove #15. After Prince died last year, Lin-Manuel Miranda led the Hamilton cast in a joyous version of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.” Makes me smile (more) every time I watch it. Click here.