My Fred White story: in 2011, I got to participate in the Royals' alumni batting practice at the stadium Kind of a one-day version of fantasy camp. By then the team had brought him back as alumni coordinator or something like that. So he's walking around the field, talking baseball with us, and the conversation turned to the big trade from the previous offseason. And then Fred called a certain former Royals pitcher in that trade but who is now back on the team an ... orifice. For someone who grew up listening to Fred and Denny, it was like hearing your kindly old grandma swear!
Haha. That would be weird. It'd be interesting to hear to the lifers' uncensored thoughts on all the players who have come through Kauffman over the years. I know Denny has a book of Royals stories, but I bet the ones he saved to tell his friends over beers are a whole other thing.
Make sure you "grab some Guys nuts" the next time you're in the store. That my friend is a funny story! I remember all those guys, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Great piece! Denny, Denny, Splitt, and Fred were both big parts of my childhood as well. Fred White sounded like a midwestern uncle with his twang. And I'm with you, I thought Trease was supposed to be the star because he was on TV - he also did sports I think for WDAF in Kansas City. Not sure why he left. Glad to have found this site!
Here's a half-explanation a reader gave me for Trease's abrupt departure- unfortunately they didn't post it in the comments where everybody could see it. According to them, when WDAF was bought by new owners who didn't want to retain the Royals' broadcasting rights, KSMO picked them up and offered Splitt a contract. But they decided to go with Dave Armstrong for the play-by-play instead of Trease.
I haven't been able to verify this yet, but I suspect it's true. The problem is it doesn't explain why Trease fell off the map altogether. He was still a fairly young guy and a quality announcer- hard to believe he couldn't have found another similar job in sports, but he appears to have walked away. The answer could be as simple as he wanted to do something else, but I may never know for sure. And I can only assume that my uncertainty keeps him up at night.
My Fred White story: in 2011, I got to participate in the Royals' alumni batting practice at the stadium Kind of a one-day version of fantasy camp. By then the team had brought him back as alumni coordinator or something like that. So he's walking around the field, talking baseball with us, and the conversation turned to the big trade from the previous offseason. And then Fred called a certain former Royals pitcher in that trade but who is now back on the team an ... orifice. For someone who grew up listening to Fred and Denny, it was like hearing your kindly old grandma swear!
Haha. That would be weird. It'd be interesting to hear to the lifers' uncensored thoughts on all the players who have come through Kauffman over the years. I know Denny has a book of Royals stories, but I bet the ones he saved to tell his friends over beers are a whole other thing.
The stories Denny would tell if you gave him a truth serum would be astounding, I imagine.
Make sure you "grab some Guys nuts" the next time you're in the store. That my friend is a funny story! I remember all those guys, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
My pleasure, Ed. Thanks for reading!
Great piece! Denny, Denny, Splitt, and Fred were both big parts of my childhood as well. Fred White sounded like a midwestern uncle with his twang. And I'm with you, I thought Trease was supposed to be the star because he was on TV - he also did sports I think for WDAF in Kansas City. Not sure why he left. Glad to have found this site!
Glad you found it too!
Here's a half-explanation a reader gave me for Trease's abrupt departure- unfortunately they didn't post it in the comments where everybody could see it. According to them, when WDAF was bought by new owners who didn't want to retain the Royals' broadcasting rights, KSMO picked them up and offered Splitt a contract. But they decided to go with Dave Armstrong for the play-by-play instead of Trease.
I haven't been able to verify this yet, but I suspect it's true. The problem is it doesn't explain why Trease fell off the map altogether. He was still a fairly young guy and a quality announcer- hard to believe he couldn't have found another similar job in sports, but he appears to have walked away. The answer could be as simple as he wanted to do something else, but I may never know for sure. And I can only assume that my uncertainty keeps him up at night.
He talks about it a bit here. He has moved back to the area, sounds like a good guy.
https://www.dannyclinkscale.com/podcast/2021/7/1/kansas-city-profiles-presented-by-easton-roofing-