The view from Baltimore: Royals’ director of player development, who grew up in Maryland, is loyal to KC now

He grew up not far from Baltimore, wore No. 8 in Little League to emulate Cal Ripken Jr., and has many fond memories of his days as a die-hard Orioles fan.

But if Scott Sharp makes it to Camden Yards for the American League Championship Series, he won’t be wearing a speck of orange or black. Those colors faded long ago for the Sykesville native.

Sharp, 41, is the Kansas City Royals’ director of player development, and he’s quite happy to be sporting royal blue these days as his team prepares to face the Orioles in the ALCS.

“Born and bred in Baltimore, and was always a Baltimore fan,”” Sharp said. “But at this point, I’ve poured a lot of time and energy and sweat into the Royals. I’m a fan of the players on the field here. More than just an employee, I have a lot at stake with them. I’m a huge fan of the Royals now.”

Sharp graduated from Liberty in 1990, played college baseball at George Washington and played in the minor leagues after being drafted by the Cincinnati Reds. He peaked in High-A ball, then worked as a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers before joining Kansas City.

Read more of the story on the Baltimore Sun’s website.

This story was originally published October 8, 2014 at 9:52 PM with the headline "The view from Baltimore: Royals’ director of player development, who grew up in Maryland, is loyal to KC now."