Here’s a bold statement: Baseball didn’t capture my heart until I was a little older, and even then, it wasn’t the Royals’ World Series run that did it. But here’s where it gets controversial—what really grabbed my attention was the guy in the red uniform doing backflips on the field, not the players themselves. At school, we were asked to draw our favorite Royals player. I had no clue who to choose, so I asked my teacher who played left field (my position in t-ball at the time). She told me Lonnie Smith. Problem was, I had no idea what he looked like, so I drew a white guy with curly blonde hair. Spoiler alert: Lonnie Smith is not a white guy with curly blonde hair. And this is the part most people miss—sometimes, it’s the smallest, most unexpected moments that spark a lifelong passion.
Everything changed in 1987. My next-door neighbor set up a tiny TV in his garage, and we watched the American League Championship Series between the Twins and Tigers. Here’s the twist—the Tigers were my family’s ancestral team. My dad grew up in Detroit, even attending an Al Kaline camp, and I was born there before we moved to Kansas City when I was just a toddler. So, I was rooting for the Tigers, but something shifted during that series. I started getting hooked on baseball. That offseason, I devoured every book, magazine, and article about the sport I could find. By the next season, I was all in.
The 1988 Royals were my team. I could rattle off the entire roster from memory: Bo Jackson, George Brett, Rey Palacios, José de Jesús—you name it. It was a dream team to follow. Bo was becoming a superstar, George was still in his prime, and there were recognizable veterans like Willie Wilson and Frank White. The young players like Danny Tartabull and Kevin Seitzer were electric, and the pitching staff? Phenomenal. Bret Saberhagen, Mark Gubicza, and the quirky submariner Dan Quisenberry made every game exciting. But here’s the kicker—despite their talent, they struggled to stay above .500 and were overshadowed by the emerging Oakland ‘Bash Brothers’ dynasty. They finished third, 19.5 games back, with just 84 wins. Yet, for me, it was magical.
I watched as many games as I could—30 to 40 on TV, which was a lot back then! I listened to the rest on my radio, sometimes holding it close in bed during late-night West Coast games, drifting off to sleep as Denny Matthews painted the picture of Charlie Leibrandt facing Claudell Washington. I devoured the sports section of The Kansas City Star, following writers like Dick Kaegel, Gib Twyman, and Jonathan Rand. I begged for Royals Starting Lineup figures for Christmas, hung a Bo Jackson poster in my room, and proudly wore my first Royals cap. That season, I wasn’t just a fan—I was all-in.
Now, here’s the question that might spark debate: What was the first Royals team that truly hooked you? Was it a superstar player, a memorable season, or something entirely unexpected? And if you’re not a Royals fan, what team or moment made you fall in love with baseball? Let’s hear your stories—agree or disagree, I want to know!
