ChiefsPlanet - View Single Post - Royals Frank White... GONE *Denny Matthews Voice*

**gblowfish** · 12-03-2011, 11:29 AM

I've been giving a lot of thought to the Frank White firing this morning. If you haven't read Sam Mellinger's take on it, I think he's spot on:

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/12/02...als-frank.html

Messy divorces always have valid points on both sides of the equation. Baseball is a business, yes. But major league sports are different businesses, unique in the lifetime love and devotion generated by fans. The only non-sports companies I can think of that have similar followings are Apple, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Harley-Davidson, etc.

Frank White and George Brett are the faces of this franchise. Frank is KC's equivalent to Frank Robinson in Baltimore, or Bill Mazaroski in Pittsburgh, or Willie Mays in San Francisco. He grew up a KC kid. He went to high school in the shadow of old Municipal Stadium. He literally helped build Kauffman Stadium. He was the star graduate of the historic Royals "baseball academy." He won eight gold gloves. He was the first second baseman in the history of the World Series to hit clean up. He saved the Royals' bacon in game three of the 1985 series by providing a clutch game winning homer, a homer that kept the Royals series hopes alive. A loss would have put them down three games to zero. KC retired his number and put a statue of him in Kauffman Stadium. He is the defensive standard by which all second basemen are measured. He is unique, and special, and beloved in KC.

The Royals have been living off 1985 nostalgia for the last twenty years. Frank White was a major component of that nostalgia. The Royals PR wanks put his face on a Pepsi Zero can last year. The Royals have used his nostalgia value to their advantage time and time again, and Frank has been a good soldier and company man.

I'm sure he was disappointed by being passed over for Trey Hillman during the manager search after Bell quit. He did that three year stretch in Wichita to prove his commitment to managing and pay his dues. In retrospect, it's probably a good thing he didn't get the job. The lack of talent on the team would have killed any manager, and surely would have tarnished Frank's image in the eyes of Royals fans - The same fate that befell Hal McRae and John Wathan.

On the TV side, yes, Frank is NOT a polished, slick broadcaster. But that's a big part of his appeal. What you get is an unvarnished baseball coach and spot on insight. I've watched literally hundreds of Royals baseball games. Frank White was never overly negative -believe me, NOBODY is more overly negative about Royals Baseball than George Blowfish- and he was always honest. Refreshingly honest in an era of sports public relations where everything is about hiding that man behind the curtain. It's hard to be a rah-rah guy when you're an ex-world champion and your team is losing 90 to 100 or more games year after year after year. The Royals as a team may have been in the gutter, but Frank was always a class act.

The actual contract for baseball broadcasters works like this: Fox Sport Midwest chooses the talent and negotiates the contract. The candidate is chosen with the vetted approval of the Kansas City Royals. Apparently, both Fox and the Royals were in agreement that they want to overhaul the TV broadcast. My understanding is they're moving Ryan to radio with Denny, and that's OK. Frank did Fox a great service by filling in when Splitt got sick. I guess they had enough exposure to Frank's broadcast style that the suits wanted somebody who's more blindly optimistic, like Bob Davis. I personally HATE Bob Davis and think he's a brown nosing assbag, but that's a different discussion for a different day.

The elephant in the room for me is, the Royals would NEVER treat George Brett this way. Brett's star shines brighter because he's a hall of famer. White is approachable, has a sunny disposition and he has always displayed a genuine love for Royals fans. Brett's reputation is more checkered. He has a reputation of being grumpy and rude to fans. That's OK, that's just who he is. But Brett has had this mafia-like untouchability in the Royals family. I don't think it's a "George is white and Frank is black" thing. I think it's a "George is in the Hall of Fame and Frank is not" thing. The HOF is a big, huge deal to baseball people. It makes you a "made man.".

It's sad that if the Royals wanted to move Frank off of TV, that they couldn't have found a tangible, mutually beneficial spot for him in the organization. Frank is 61, so he's getting close to retirement age. He may have been happy with a job for a year or two as a roving instructor, or in talent evaluation, or some other baseball nuts and bolts position inside the organization. But divorces are messy. This one may never be resolved and that is a damn sad and lousy shame.

12-03-2011, 11:29 AM	#129
gblowfish Be Kind To Your Pets Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Glorious Independence, MO Casino cash: $16896178 VARSITY	I've been giving a lot of thought to the Frank White firing this morning. If you haven't read Sam Mellinger's take on it, I think he's spot on: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/12/02...als-frank.html Messy divorces always have valid points on both sides of the equation. Baseball is a business, yes. But major league sports are different businesses, unique in the lifetime love and devotion generated by fans. The only non-sports companies I can think of that have similar followings are Apple, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Harley-Davidson, etc. Frank White and George Brett are the faces of this franchise. Frank is KC's equivalent to Frank Robinson in Baltimore, or Bill Mazaroski in Pittsburgh, or Willie Mays in San Francisco. He grew up a KC kid. He went to high school in the shadow of old Municipal Stadium. He literally helped build Kauffman Stadium. He was the star graduate of the historic Royals "baseball academy." He won eight gold gloves. He was the first second baseman in the history of the World Series to hit clean up. He saved the Royals' bacon in game three of the 1985 series by providing a clutch game winning homer, a homer that kept the Royals series hopes alive. A loss would have put them down three games to zero. KC retired his number and put a statue of him in Kauffman Stadium. He is the defensive standard by which all second basemen are measured. He is unique, and special, and beloved in KC. The Royals have been living off 1985 nostalgia for the last twenty years. Frank White was a major component of that nostalgia. The Royals PR wanks put his face on a Pepsi Zero can last year. The Royals have used his nostalgia value to their advantage time and time again, and Frank has been a good soldier and company man. I'm sure he was disappointed by being passed over for Trey Hillman during the manager search after Bell quit. He did that three year stretch in Wichita to prove his commitment to managing and pay his dues. In retrospect, it's probably a good thing he didn't get the job. The lack of talent on the team would have killed any manager, and surely would have tarnished Frank's image in the eyes of Royals fans - The same fate that befell Hal McRae and John Wathan. On the TV side, yes, Frank is NOT a polished, slick broadcaster. But that's a big part of his appeal. What you get is an unvarnished baseball coach and spot on insight. I've watched literally hundreds of Royals baseball games. Frank White was never overly negative -believe me, NOBODY is more overly negative about Royals Baseball than George Blowfish- and he was always honest. Refreshingly honest in an era of sports public relations where everything is about hiding that man behind the curtain. It's hard to be a rah-rah guy when you're an ex-world champion and your team is losing 90 to 100 or more games year after year after year. The Royals as a team may have been in the gutter, but Frank was always a class act. The actual contract for baseball broadcasters works like this: Fox Sport Midwest chooses the talent and negotiates the contract. The candidate is chosen with the vetted approval of the Kansas City Royals. Apparently, both Fox and the Royals were in agreement that they want to overhaul the TV broadcast. My understanding is they're moving Ryan to radio with Denny, and that's OK. Frank did Fox a great service by filling in when Splitt got sick. I guess they had enough exposure to Frank's broadcast style that the suits wanted somebody who's more blindly optimistic, like Bob Davis. I personally HATE Bob Davis and think he's a brown nosing assbag, but that's a different discussion for a different day. The elephant in the room for me is, the Royals would NEVER treat George Brett this way. Brett's star shines brighter because he's a hall of famer. White is approachable, has a sunny disposition and he has always displayed a genuine love for Royals fans. Brett's reputation is more checkered. He has a reputation of being grumpy and rude to fans. That's OK, that's just who he is. But Brett has had this mafia-like untouchability in the Royals family. I don't think it's a "George is white and Frank is black" thing. I think it's a "George is in the Hall of Fame and Frank is not" thing. The HOF is a big, huge deal to baseball people. It makes you a "made man.". It's sad that if the Royals wanted to move Frank off of TV, that they couldn't have found a tangible, mutually beneficial spot for him in the organization. Frank is 61, so he's getting close to retirement age. He may have been happy with a job for a year or two as a roving instructor, or in talent evaluation, or some other baseball nuts and bolts position inside the organization. But divorces are messy. This one may never be resolved and that is a damn sad and lousy shame.
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