This weekend, the Kansas City Royals commemorated their two World Championship teams as former players from 1985 and 2015 were on hand. Also on hand were the St. Louis Cardinals, the organization whose fans probably hate KC more than anyone else, still contending they were cheated in the 85 World Series. They can feel any way they want; we have the trophy.
Most everything through the weekend was through the lens of happiness and joy, but one under-reported aspect seems not only wrong, but a total lack of love and respect for the man who may more embody the spirit of the Kansas City Royals than any other player. I was not in attendance at Friday night’s game, but I have read that when Frank White was introduced with his 1985 teammates, a large percentage of the noise was in the form of boos. Booing Frank White on a baseball field, especially one in Kansas City is one of the most despicable acts I can imagine for such an influential person.
I know the boos are directed at his current work as Jackson County Executive. He has received a great deal of criticism as one of the officials who hurt the Royals’s chances for a new ballpark last year when he, in his official capacity, came out opposed to the tax plan. It can be argued for days whether or not the voters did right or wrong in voting down the tax measure. I could make very strong arguments both ways. If Kansas City fans want to boo Frank White in his political capacity, I have no grievance with that. But when the arguably second-greatest player in Royals history is wearing a jersey with Royals across the front and the No. 20 on the back, he deserves nothing but love from the real fans.
Following the Royals for 56 seasons means a lot of lowlight memories. But there were some shining moments, and none shined brighter than the seasons of 1973 to 1990, which was the time White spent in Kansas City. The details of his Royals’ career are legendary. First off, he was from Kansas City. He was vilified in the early parts of his career because he took the place of Cookie Rojas, who was an early hero of the franchise history. The first couple years of his career we iffy with batting averages of .223 and .221 in 1973 and 74. While his KC career batting average was just .255, he also became not only the heart and soul of the team, but also was one of the greatest clutch performers in team history.
White was the MVP of the American League Championship in 1980, batting .545 and in the midst of virtually every scoring rally as the Kansas Citians swept the Yankees in three games. In 1985, White had the task of batting clean up for the Royals in the postseason and he hit a key home run in game three and had six RBI in the World Series win over the Cardinals. All this was from a guy who primarily identified as a defense-first player.
Frank White was one of the very first baseball players I met as a reporter. My first night in the locker room post-game, White spoke to me and actually chuckled about the myths people of the era had of ballplayers. For the rest of the time I spent “covering” the Royals in those days, Frank White was always one of the guys I could go to if I needed something explained or a comment for something I was writing. He was always helpful, nice and unless it was after a loss, smiling.
I understand a career .255 batting average is probably not sufficient to earn quick admission into the Baseball Hall of Fame and that is a shame because by defense and every other measure, he is hall of fame worthy. His career WAR was 34.8.
I know there were some hard feelings when White’s career with the Royals ended. He eventually came back to the team as a coach and then spent three years managing the AA team in Wichita. Under his tutelage, some of the upcoming stars learned the game, such as Alex Gordon. During that tenure, I again crossed paths with White on a couple of occasions and while he certainly didn’t remember me from our earlier acquaintances, he was just as nice and accommodating as he had been.
There were again hard feelings reported when he was passed over for the Royals manager job in 2007, but considering how those teams performed, he may have been blessed to be far away from that mess. He returned to the front office and was an announcer for the team’s TV network from 2008 to 2011. It was announced in December of that year he would not be coming back for the 2012 season and there were rumors that his critique of the team during broadcasts were too negative. Again, there were hard feelings, and he has rarely reappeared at Royals functions, although he works with the independent league team, the KC Monarchs.
History resumes when the Royals were seeking the tax renewal from Jackson County voters last year and White vetoed the plan saying $2 billion for the Royals’ and Chiefs’ stadiums without long-term commitments was reckless. How much of his objection was based on political realities and how much on personal animosity can forever be debated. White is likely the only person who could really answer the question.
So, while he might not be the most-popular politician in Kansas City, there is no denying what his career as a member of the Royals as a player, coach, minor league manager, or announcer meant to the team and the city. I can’t think of imagine any real Kansas City fan ever booing Frank White, but apparently of Friday night some did.
