Royals radio announcer plans another year
T he annual question this time of year for Hall of Fame announcer
Denny Matthews: Is he going to come back for another season with the Royals?
Despite some hedging and hawing, it would appear so.
“Don’t ask me that right after the season like this,” Matthews said, laughing. “Really, it’s something I usually start thinking about in November. I know that come spring, I’ll feel energized again and say, ‘Yeah, I can do this.’
“I would think I would have one more year in me.”
Just one? Is Matthews, 65, really that close to retiring?
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “It has really helped to be able to take about half of the road trips off. It keeps you fresher.
“If you think about it: If you’re going to do a full slate of spring-training games and then 162 regular-season games and you devote your full energy to every inning the way you should, that’s going to be too much.
“But as long as I get the road trips off that I do, I can keep the energy level up. As far as when it will all come to an end, I don’t know. I’m cutting back toward that.”
Matthews, who just finished his 40th season with the Royals, added that he has purposely tried not to predict the future.
“It’s like that old country song goes, ‘That if you want to make God giggle, just tell him what your plans are,’ ” Matthews said.
If Matthews indeed comes back, he said he expects the Royals’ radio rotation to remain intact — that would include partner Bob Davis and fill-in Steve Stewart.
“I haven’t heard anything to the contrary,” Matthews said.
Watson surgery
The legendary Tom Watson reports that his hip-replacement surgery last week “went well” and that he is back in Kansas City recuperating.
Watson cut his Champions Tour season short to have the surgery Thursday at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif.
Watson said just before the surgery: “This will be the first surgery I’ve had in my life. The only reason I’m doing it is to get rid of the pain. It’s a quality-of-life decision. Fortunately, the medical world knows how to do this procedure very well. They have a great track record.”
KC is No. 55
The Sporting News just finished up its 15th annual ranking of the best sports cities in North America, and Kansas City came in a dismal 55th.
The ranking is based on won-lost records, playoff appearances, attendance, etc. (Hey, we’re going to have two fourth-place teams, what do they want from us?)
Boston, Detroit and Dallas finished 1, 2, 3.
Lawrence came in at No. 15, while Columbia came in at No. 60. Manhattan, Kan., was No. 76.
@ Go to
KansasCity.com to read more from Jeffrey Flanagan in his blog “Over the Top.”
To reach Jeffrey Flanagan call 816-234-4492 and leave a message or send e-mail to jflanagan@kcstar.com
