I am so excited for all of you to get your hands on my new book, “The Kansas City Royals: An Illustrated History”. I grew up in Omaha a HUGE Royals fan. During my childhood, I listened to most games on the radio as only a few Royals games were ever on TV. If they were, you bet you’d find me in front of the television, watching Mark Gubicza strike out Don Mattingly. We didn’t go to a lot of games in Kansas City as my parents didn’t have the means, but we went to a few – and I went to a lot more once I moved to KC in 2004. My first year as a fan was 1987 – I was in seventh grade. I just missed their first World championship, but I’ve followed them religiously through the good times and the bad. I rejoiced in 2014 and 2015 when we went to two consecutive World Series, and now I am patiently waiting for the current Royals brass to turn this team around with young talent like Bobby Witt Jr. and give us a team to root for once again.

When Reedy Press asked me to write a follow-up to my “Unique Eats and Eateries of Kansas City” book, we discussed potential topics. I was interested in writing another restaurants book as I missed many great ones due to page constraints. They thought that might be a better book later. We then discussed sports. Reedy recently published a Chiefs Illustrated book, so I suggested the Royals. “But they aren’t any good right now. You’ll struggle to sell it.” “No, not at all,” I said. “If you know Royals fans, they a passionate whether the team is winning or losing. With the awesome history of this team, there are a TON of Royals fans who will want this book.” I spent hundreds of hours pouring over the team’s history to get every detail right. I fact-checked with Curt Nelson, the Director of the Royals Hall of Fame. I picked all the essential stories throughout the decades that truly told the story of this team. I approached it as a journalist. I write about the cocaine scandal of 1983, how hemorrhoids affected George Brett in the 1980 World Series, and how David Glass brought a Walmart philosophy to the team – and caused them to lose many games. I detail every single year and the important stories of those years. I profile some of the greatest players of the team – many who saw greater success elsewhere but got their start in KC. I even profile such Royals legends as Denny Matthews, George Toma, Art Stewart, and of course, Ewing Kauffman, the man who saved baseball for Kansas City. This is an essential read for all Royals fans, whether you are a die-hard or casual fan. There are more than 160 pictures, fascinating stories, and a fresh perspective on our team. I hope you give it a try!