| Again, it's important to
consider the settings which Mike Sweeney and his Royals call home. One
could make the case that Kansas City and the land that surrounds it is the
smallest baseball market in America -- at least Milwaukee has Chicago an
hour and a half away, and Montreal's out of the running since a market
cannot be small if it does not exist. Just about every Major League Baseball stadium is nestled in an urban setting and offers a view of a city skyline. Not Kauffman Stadium. If you climb the scoreboard and sit on top of the crown on a clear night, you can look west past the wheat fields and see the lights of Topeka. |
| The Royals settled here and
built this ballpark in 1973, shortly after Kansas City reached the necessary
civic population level to shed the name Kansas Hamlet. Within five
years they had established themselves as contenders, and within twelve they
won a World Series. A spirited rivalry with the New York Yankees
established their place in baseball's memory. After they stopped
winning, the acquisition of sports icon Bo Jackson allowed the Royals to
stay within the national spotlight for another few years, but when he broke
his hip, the world broke town. Since 1990, they have maintained
a winning percentage well below .500, the possibility of reaching the
playoffs is rarely considered and never realized, and when the Yankees come
to town it feels like a Civil War re-enactment sans the fixed bayonets and
dysentery. These days, they can only hope to make SportsCenter if a member of their coaching staff gets jumped by an unruly fan. Royals fans are good people, but there are only so many. And as a result, they are the most forgotten team in baseball.
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