Royals dismiss talk of switching leagues
It is a rumor that pops up every few years, and it is once again the buzz in many baseball forums on the Internet right now: That the Royals want to switch to the National League and the Brewers want to return to the American League.
The latest rumor may have started on an East Coast talk show.
The Royals, for now, are dismissing the talk as pure speculation.
“We haven’t heard a thing about that,” said Royals vice president of communications Mike Swanson. “I’ve talked to Dayton (Moore) and Dean (Taylor), and we were just floored by that (rumor).
“Dayton even kidded that if it’s true, someone better tell him soon because right now he’s putting together a team with a DH.”
The suggestion of a switch is hardly far-fetched, though, because the Royals entertained the notion quite seriously in 1997.
At the time, acting commissioner and Brewers owner Bud Selig wanted Milwaukee to return to its National League roots. But Selig gave the Royals first crack at the move.
The Royals surveyed their fans back then and while a slight majority favored a move to the NL, a vocal minority of fans insisted that Kansas City was and forever should be an American League town. The Royals respectfully declined the offer to move.
Now, though, the move probably would excite an ever greater majority of Royals fans, especially considering how tough the AL Central has become.
The bigger question is why Milwaukee would even consider the move.
The 610 lineup
The folks at WHB (810 AM) fully expected rival KCSP (610 AM) to make some lineup changes after Entercom and KCSP landed the Royals’ radio rights.
Those lineup changes at KCSP came in the morning, not in the mid-day or afternoon where KCSP probably felt that it didn’t have much chance at beating Soren Petro or Kevin Kietzman anyway.
“We knew they’d shake things up a little,” said WHB sales director Sandy Cohen. “Still, it was somewhat surprising to us that they let DA (Damon Amendolara) go. He had some history of some good (ratings) books.”
NHL wholesome
ESPN The Magazine recently commissioned a poll regarding perceptions about the NBA. And when 1,240 respondents were asked whether the statement “players are wholesome” applied to the NBA, only 14 percent agreed.
On the other hand, 34 percent of the respondents indicated they believed the statement did apply to the NHL (another reason for Kansas City to go after the NHL).
Thirty-three percent said major-league players appeared wholesome, and 22 percent said NFL players appeared to be.
To reach Jeffrey Flanagan, call 816-234-4492 and leave a message or send e-mail to jflanagan@kcstar.com
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