Bill Self and other coaches second-guessed Ned Yost but still dig the Royals

Bill Self has a throwback Royals story. He was a Kansas graduate assistant who jumped into the Jeep of volunteer assistant R.C. Buford. They took along a tailgating keg but got to game seven of the 1985 World Series in the first inning.

They parked in front of then-Royals Stadium, bought two tickets from a scalper at face value and sat along the right-field line, about 10 rows off the field.

“(Joaquin) Andujar went nuts,” Self said.

Yes, the Cardinals pitcher got a bit crazy that night as the Royals won the World Series. This is the team’s first playoff appearance since that year, and area college basketball coaches, including Kansas’ Self, who gathered Tuesday for the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Tip-Off Reception at Municipal Auditorium, are among those who have caught baseball fever.

With college basketball’s regular season more than a month in the distance, Missouri’s Kim Anderson, Kansas State’s Bruce Weber, Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall and UMKC’s Kareem Richardson are still trying to get a handle on their teams.

But they can run down nearly every pitch, at least the big ones, of the Royals’ postseason run. Anderson grew up a Royals fan in Sedalia, Mo., and took in many games when he coached at Central Missouri. He threw out a first pitch for a Cardinals game at Busch Stadium a couple of weeks after he was hired at MU.

“I’m pulling for an I-70 World Series,” Anderson said.

Richardson said he’s been swept up in the civic excitement, and Marshall insists Wichita is just as jazzed.

They even second-guessed Ned Yost’s decisions, especially one in the AL Wild Card Game victory over the A’s.

“I didn’t agree with his decision to pull James Shields in the fifth inning,” Marshall said. “But you watch all the moves he’s made in playoffs. … We all get second-guessed. That’s the beauty of fandom. But you’re not down there making those decisions.

“The bottom line is, he’s made the moves to get them in this position. I don’t know Mr. Yost but I hear he’s a tremendous players’ manager. They like him. They fight for him. They’re playing very well.”

Weber, who also cringed when Yost pulled Shields, says that’s what he appreciates most about the Royals.

“You can say the stars are aligned or it’s destiny,” Weber said. “But I talk about this all the time. We can have nice pieces, we can have mature players, but the key will be the locker room, the chemistry. They look like they have it.”

So, basketball coaches, constantly second guessed, can also become inquisitors.

“Everybody gets second-guessed,” said Self, who took in the division series clincher against the Angels. “I get 16,000 every night we play. Ned is getting 41,000 every time they play from assistant coaches. The bottom line is, there’s no guarantee the second guess works either.”

For Hosmer, bar tab was payback

When Eric Hosmer and several other Royals hit McFadden’s in the Power & Light District after Sunday’s series-clinching victory over the Angels, the idea was to repay some enthusiasm.

“It’s something me and the boys wanted to do for the fans,” Hosmer said. “This atmosphere for the playoffs, the way the fans have been representing on the road, it’s been incredible.

“We’ve truly been feeding off their energy, and other teams have talked about this crazy atmosphere. We wanted to show how much we appreciated them.

“I’m the one getting all the credit but I’m just the guy who put the credit card down.”

And was charged some $15,000. Though Hosmer only paid $3,000 of it, while his teammates chipped in for the rest.

This story was originally published October 7, 2014 at 7:54 PM with the headline "Bill Self and other coaches second-guessed Ned Yost but still dig the Royals."