A funny thing happened on the way to the park today…
The Royals front office called.
“Hi Ethan, this is Tony** from the front office of the Kansas City Royals.”
My heart skipped a beat.
“Is now a good time to talk?”
In the few seconds it took my brain to register his question and respond to it, my imagination had a field day.
Did the front office see the Cut4 story?
Maybe they are calling to invite me to play catch at Spring Training?
Or a first pitch?
“Fire away, Tony.”
“I noticed that you’ve organized group events at the K in the past and wondered if you’d be interested in doing that again in 2018.”
Ah, it’s group sales time of year. Well played and tip of the hat to you, Tony.
I drove to Meador Park and parked just beyond the right field fence. There is now an open field of grass where I used to play Kiwanis baseball. With a heavy fog still covering most of southwest Missouri — Hammons Tower is completely hidden — Adam willingly(?) met me there, wearing tie and sweet dress shoes.
I was introduced to Adam by a mutual friend because he loves the Royals as much as I do. He attended the epic Wild Card game of 2014 and drove to Game 7 of the World Series that same year. Unwilling to fork over the four-digit asking prices for tickets, Adam “watched” the game from the stadium parking lot with his daughter. I really love that story. I do not love how that story ends, though.
We tossed the ball 30 times and commiserated over yet another painful postseason loss for the Chiefs. We wondered where Hoz and Moose and Cain will end up next season. And we’re both more than ready for baseball. The only difference is Adam’s cheering on the KU Jayhawks to pass the time until Opening Day; I’m just waiting for pitchers and catchers to report.
It’s supposed to be 60 degrees tomorrow. I can guarantee I’ll be dreaming of Spring Training.
*Not Tony. It’s not his fault I have an overactive imagination.
