The Royals Pulitzer Awards

Note: This is the last post I automatically post in the “Featured” section of BBTF. I hope I have made my presence known to everyone, so I’ll only be putting up the more general-interest posts in the “Featured” section from now on. For everything else, you’ll have to search out those ‘Royal Ingenuity’ posts in the “Blogpen” or by bookmarking Royal Ingenuity.
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Often, to Royals fans, reading about the team is more enjoyable than watching the Royals themselves play.

The Kansas City Star has fine Royals coverage, from Bob Dutton to Sam Mellinger to Jason Whitlock to Joe Posnanski.  The Royals blogosphere is filled with some insightful Royals opinions and wonderful writing.

I don’t pretend to be some type of expert on sports media or the Royals blogosphere—my own writing should make that obvious. But I do want to use this space to link to some of what I feel is the best Royals writing of the year. As always, comment with your thoughts or some of your own ideas for great Royals writing this year.

The Joe McGuff Best Royals Writing Award

Mainstream media division

Third place goes to…
Sam Mellinger, “Zack is back”

Greinke talked openly of being “scared” his first time through Wichita. He remembered being afraid of Tupman in particular for the way the catcher seemed to scream at everybody. Greinke isn’t scared anymore. He was 19 then, just a year removed from high school. He’s 22 now, a young man.

Two years ago, Greinke “hated” being in Wichita. He was nervous about how he’d perform in front of a crowd, in front of teammates, against live competition.

He’s not nervous now. In fact, he kind of enjoyed it all.

“I had fun,” he said. “That’s an important thing.”

The runner up is…
Joe Posnanski, “Right where he wants to be”

“We’re going to expect positive things,” he barked. Doubt was outlawed. Excuses were banned. “If there’s someone who does not believe 100 percent that we are going to win a championship,” he said, “then they will not work for the Kansas City Royals.” One day, he saw an ESPN announcer make a mocking comment about the Royals. Moore made a note to send that guy a bouquet when the Royals won the division. He meant “When.”

“If,” he said, “is not a word we use around here.”

And the McGuffy goes to…
Joe Posnanski, “How a bust is created”

Somebody has misplaced the baseball bazooka the Wichita Wranglers mascot uses for the pop-up challenge. So, the Wrangler throws the ball in the air instead. You wouldn’t think a man with a glove would have great difficulty catching baseballs thrown by a guy in a horse outfit. He drops two out of three.

“Yeah, I watch all that stuff,” Dee Brown says. “Believe me, I know where I am. I know that I’m Double-A, just like I was when I was 20 years old. I see the promotions, man. I know how far away I am from the big leagues.”

Non-mainstream media division

Third place goes to…
Tom, State of the Sceptre, “Stop… Elartime!”

Like Lima-Time before it, Elartime is on a crash course for disaster. In front of what may be the league’s worst defense for the third year in a row, Elarton isn’t likely to rekindle the kind of season he had in 2005. No, his luck has run out and he’s about to be exposed for what he really is: a scrub. There will be no masquerading in front of this porous Royals defense. There is no place to hide.

Note: Elarton, then ever the lovely surprise for fans, did indeed slowly turn back toward reality after this post was published.

The runner up is…
Royals Review, “Kansas City Royals 2006 Season Recap”

Beyond that, the Royals featured a player getting hit in the face with a routine flyball, a starting pitcher and his catcher exchanging blows during a game and a fan throwing a foul ball back to/at the pitcher during the final home game. The Royals beloved owner David Glass said he was going to fire Allard Baird, then didn’t for weeks, for no apparent reason. At the final Baird press conference, the Royals were unhappy with the pointedness of a few questions and responded by revoking their press credentials. Then, they started their own “blog” to disseminate the truth.

And the McGuffy goes to…
Lee Warren, Royal Reflections, “The Making of a Royals Fan”

I met a man in church a few years ago. Everyone calls him Bear. He hadn’t been to baseball game since the early 90’s when he lived in Pittsburgh. He’s never really considered himself a baseball fan, generally speaking, or of any team specifically. But as we became friends, he listened to me talk about the Royals and how I’ve been a fan since I was a little boy. I never imagined that it would prompt him to turn on the television one night a few weeks ago to watch a Royals game, but that’s what happened.

Best Written Series Award

Mainstream media division
And the McGuffy goes to…
Jason Whitlock going after David Glass and the Royals

Among others:
“Glass incompetence now has credentials”
“Royals manhandle the media unfairly”
“Royals could use Maverick”
(ESPN) “This Glass is empty”

Non-mainstream media division
And the McGuffy goes to…
Brent Giese, The Kauffman Connection, “Assessing the Baird era”—Part I | Part II | The Finale

This series impressed me in its breadth, style and dedication. This took a lot of work for Brent, I would imagine, and the result was impressive.

Building Credibility Within the Royals Blogosphere Award
And the McGuffy goes to…
Royals Corner, “Royals Corner interviews Luke Hochevar...”

RC: Luke, can you give our readers an idea of your repertoire? What pitches do you throw at what speeds, and what would you consider your “go-to” pitch?

LH: I’m very comfortable throwing any pitch in any count. I throw a four-seam fastball at 93-95 and a sinker at 91-93. My change is usually around 80-83, and my curveball is normally between 78-81. I also throw a slider at 85-87. I feel like I have the confidence to go to any pitch in any count. My best breaking pitch is my curveball, but my out pitch is my slider. And my bread and butter is my sinking fastball.

Say what you will, but getting a (quasi) exclusive interview with a number one-overall MLB draft pick the same morning he gets drafted is cool.

Tearing Credibility Away from the Royals Blogosphere Award
And the McGuffy goes to…
Royales With Cheese, “Bringing new meaning to the phrase ‘Pitcher-Catcher Battery’”

I do mean ‘tearing credibility away’ with all respect. I love Royales With Cheese, and that was just the first funny post I can find. If this is your first time hearing of Royales With Cheese, don’t deprive yourself any longer. Click that bad boy and have a gander around. It’s great stuff.

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VERY IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: I don’t intend this as a divisive post where I’m some type of Royals guru who fairly judges the work of others. I’m quite certain there are many, many things I’m forgetting. This year has been a great one—I want to reflect that in this Royals writing ‘awards show’.

So what did I forget? What was I wrong about? What was I right about? What is the best Royals blog out there? What has the best resources? Anything else with Royals writing you’d like to talk about?