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
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
After the lockout scare… Continue reading
Baseball is back! Time to talk about spring training and opening day. But first a personal note. Continue reading
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
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
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
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
The baseball lockout continues, but Lonnie’s Jukebox is open for business and spinning records by a special guest. Continue reading
Before I get to my baseball post, I want to pause a moment in remembrance of my long-time friend Wayne Tenenbaum. Wayne died on January 23 at the age of 80. A couple of years ago, I wrote a tribute to Ray Webb who I dubbed the “Most Unforgettable Character I Ever Met.” On reflection, Wayne might be tied with Ray for that title. Or maybe he is the most unforgettable from a different genre. The common trait was that they both made me laugh for decades. Continue reading