Joe Posnanski writes long awaited Frank White column

This thing is way too long to cut and paste.

The day before the event, the Kansas City Royals released a statement.

“Frank White holds a special place in Royals history and with our fans -- evidenced by his statue at Kauffman Stadium, his retired jersey and the many years he was employed by the franchise.

“Following his retirement as a player, the Royals arranged for him to hold a number of positions with the team. While Frank’s role evolved over time based on his own requests as well as the needs of the organization, we were disappointed when he made the decision to leave his position as a community ambassador.

“We continue to respect what Frank has done for our city and the role he played in Royals history, and he always will be a part of the Royals tradition.”

One man in the hallway wanders up from behind and taps me on the shoulder. He asks if I am the sportswriter. I nod.

"Write this," he says. "Frank White is the greatest baseball player ever to play in Kansas City. You hear me? The greatest to ever play here.”

I nod again.

“And write this,” he says. “The Royals are a disgrace.”

http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/40420012

[Mr. Flopnuts]

That's a good read.

[Jenson71]

There's really very few answers in that article. I would like a little more conclusive take. I guess I'm definitely an outsider because I don't know much about how it all went down, and after having read that, I still don't.

[htismaqe]

It's funny, I wasn't a Royals fan when I was a kid. I wasn't a Royals fan until Chiefsplanet, actually.

I don't know Frank White, the player. I only know Frank White, the radio/public personality, and a lot of times, he comes off like kind of a dick.

[Lex Luthor]

Frank White was an excellent player for the Royals. Unfortunately, one of Frank White's problems was that he was utterly convinced that he was the greatest Royals player of all time, and he was bitter that the Royals didn't see it that way. Frank White may have been in the top five, but he wasn't #1, and it wasn't even close.

I loved watching Frank White play second base. He was an excellent second baseman, and nobody can deny that. But the man has always been a complainer. More than once I saw him boot a ball at second base and then bitterly complain after the game because the official scorer charged him with an error. Before his playing days were over he was already complaining that the Royals never did treat him with the respect he thought he deserved. At the time I thought "Geez, give it a rest Frank".

People were ripping on Mitch Holthus in another thread because he's so upbeat and positive when he's doing his job for an abysmal team. Holthus does it because he's smart enough to know that it's in his own self-interest to remain positive in his role. It's part of his job.

It's fine for announcers to rip players, and it's fine for announcers to rip organizations. If you work for ESPN or FOX or NBC or the NFL Network, then it doesn't matter. But if you work for the organization you are ripping (either directly or indirectly), don't be surprised if you lose your sweet announcing gig after you blast the organization that pays your salary.

Frank White made his bed. Now he has to sleep in it.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Brainiac

It's fine for announcers to rip players, and it's fine for announcers to rip organizations. If you work for ESPN or FOX or NBC or the NFL Network, then it doesn't matter. But if you work for the organization you are ripping (either directly or indirectly), don't be surprised if you lose your sweet announcing gig after you blast the organization that pays your salary.

Frank White made his bed. Now he has to sleep in it.

Pretty much how i feel. Although i agree with his critques of the Royals organization, YOu cant bite the hand that feeds. Thats life.


Pretty pathetic what they have become. Theres a paragragh in there where JoPo states what ive been saying for awhile now. The Royals have lost the generation 30 and younger.

[stonedstooge]

Watched just about every game that Frank called in 2011. I don't know where they come up with him being negative towards the team. If he had said half the negative things that Hudler said last year I'd consider it legit. It just didn't happen

[threebag]

Frank White has always been one of my all time favorites. When I was a kid I always played ball as Frank White.

[Silock]

All of that may be true, but he still deserved better than what he got. Lots of people wanted to see him as Royals manager. I mean, what could it hurt?

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Silock

All of that may be true, but he still deserved better than what he got. Lots of people wanted to see him as Royals manager. I mean, what could it hurt?

I gurantee you he would have been no worse than Bubby Bell or Trey Hillman.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

I gurantee you he would have been no worse than Bubby Bell or Trey Hillman.

Exactly.

[KCUnited]

We'd likely be in this exact same spot had Frank became manager.

[alnorth]

That was a pretty useless article. Fell well short of Poz's standards.

[BlackHelicopters]

No new ground broken. Frank is right, the Royals are wrong. This may be true, but Frank complains a lot.

[siberian khatru]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

I gurantee you he would have been no worse than Bubby Bell or Trey Hillman.

And he would've gotten fired and been bitter about that.