Royals Rumblings - News for May 12, 2020

Royals Rumblings - News for May 12, 2020

Bobby Witt, Jr. talks about what he has been doing while baseball is off.

But now, Witt is relegated to Zoom meetings with the Royals each week, and he follows a strict workout regimen provided by the club.

As for hitting? That’s where his father, former Major League pitcher Bobby Witt Sr., helps by lobbing baseballs to his son in the front yard of their home.

“I’ve just been doing little soft toss into a net out in the front yard and then been able to play catch and just take some ground balls whenever, so just been doing that and just really trying to stay ready,” Witt said.

Jeffrey Flanagan ranks his top right fielders in Royals history.

Tartabull was traded to the Royals in the winter before the 1987 season for Scott Bankhead, Mike Kingery and Steve Shields — what were the Mariners thinking? Of course, in Seattle’s defense, Tartabull was anything but a great defender, and he had issues in the clubhouse, once reportedly getting into a fight with budding Royals star Bret Saberhagen.

But Tartabull could flat out hit. In his first season in Kansas City, he hit 34 home runs with 101 RBIs in cavernous Kauffman Stadium (then Royals Stadium). His best season came in ‘91, when he led all of MLB with a .593 slugging percentage.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter looks at the Asian and Asian-American ballplayers that have played for the Royals, like Nori Aoki.

Aoki was acquired by the Royals from the Brewers in a trade that shipped left-handed reliever Will Smith to Milwaukee. At the time, the Royals had let outfielder David Lough go, and the club hoped that Aoki could fill in or improve upon Lough’s production at the right field position to help the Royals end their 29-year playoff drought. Aoki did just that, in a solid, though unspectacular fashion. He posted a .710 OPS, stole 17 bases, and provided good defense in right during the Royals first playoff season since 1985. While he could have provided more power (only 1 home run), Aoki’s lone season in Kansas City was a good, if unmemorable campaign. After the season, he ended up signing with the San Francisco Giants that Winter, who beat the Royals in the World Series, and Alexis Rios took his place in right field.

Kiley McDaniel at ESPN has his latest mock draft with Georgia pitcher Emerson Hancock to the Royals.

The Royals are in the tough spot of picking fourth in what is generally seen as a three-player draft. Given their traditional scouting, high-upside-seeking reputation, Kansas City has somewhat quietly taken almost only college players early in the past two drafts. Hancock had a slow start to this season, but some thought he’d work his way into that top tier with a strong spring.

Pete Grathoff writes about the mistakes Jose Bautista made in the 2015 ALCS.

Will Leitch at MLB.com looks at the coolest player on each team.

What players with an underlying health concern say about resuming play.

The MLBPA objects to the owners’ proposed revenue-sharing idea.

The World Baseball Classic is likely postponed until at least 2023.

The Japanese baseball league is looking at a June start.

Matt Williams talks about why he left being a coach in the U.S. to manage a team in Korea.

A look at Michael Jordan’s baseball career.

Matt Harvey talks about how he may be out of chances in MLB.

A former Expos groundskeeper alleges Pete Rose corked his bat while with Montreal.

A look at the greatest post-season performances on losing teams.

Twinkie Town looks at the flaws in batting average.

The UK government approves a June 1 start date for the Premier League.

What fifth-year option decisions tell us about the 2017 NFL draft.

Jeffrey Katzenberg blames the pandemic for Quibi’s poor start.

Shanghai Disneyland opens as a litmus test for other amusement parks.

Jerry Stiller’s greatest moments on Seinfeld.

Your song of the day is Paul Simon with The Boy in the Bubble.