Did the Kansas City Star do fans, and the Royals a disservice?

On a day after a come from behind walk-off Alex Gordon home run, we should be discussing how great the overall game was last night for the Kansas City Royals. I would like to discuss the Royal’s 73-58 record, or Danny Duffy’s 4 hit/6.2 inning performance, or the Gold Glove caliber plays by Alcides Escobar, but instead I feel the need to address The Star’s article by Sam Mellinger titled “On a glorious night for the Royals, Ned Yost manages to dump on fans.”

In the past I have agreed with a lot of things Sam Mellinger has said about the Royals and Ned Yost, but I can’t help but be angry, no, disappointed with Mr. Mellinger regarding his article. Yost made comments Tuesday night about the 13,847 fans and how he wanted more fans at the game. As Yost typically does he brought up Atlanta, I’ll wait while the shock wears off… and was quoted as saying:

“We’re in a pennant race, yeah. We’ve been working on trying to build this team for the last three or four years to put ourselves in a position where we can contend for a championship. And not only the division, but we want to contend for a world championship. It’s really, really important we have our fans behind us at the stadium.”

“I know it’s a school night. But I’ve been through this before in Atlanta ‘91, where it didn’t matter what night it was, that place was packed at the end of August and September. The fans really got into it.”

“I know there’s different things you can do. You can watch it on the Internet. You can watch it on TV. But there’s a real need for our fans to be a part of this. We had a great crowd last night, and I was kind of hoping we’d have another great crowd tonight, and we really didn’t.”

“They’re a big part of our success, especially at home. Because the electricity they provide, the energy they provide, helps you get through games like this. You know? We’ve been working hard to make our fans happy and make our fans proud for a lot of years, and we’d like them out here to enjoy a night like this with us. Because this was a special night. This was a fun night. I just wish there could’ve been more out here to enjoy it with us.”

I would hardly call this dumping on fans, and having heard the comments myself, it didn’t sound like manager Ned Yost was dumping on anyone. It sounded more like a plea in two parts. First, fans are missing great Baseball, and they really are. Secondly, the energy fans bring to the stadium is fantastic and Yost wants the fans, the city, and his players to experience the greatness of a packed stadium cheering their hearts out for our beloved Kansas City Royals.

Instead of the national media discussing the MVP caliber season of Alex Gordon, or the Royals doing something they haven’t done in 28 years, or Danny Duffy changing before our eyes into a number 1 pitcher, we are left to discuss an article written, and taken, out of context.

That is my true disappointment with Sam Mellinger and the Kansas City Star today. This is an article that could have been written this morning, or could have been discussed as a minor footnote on a glowing piece about what type of season this has been so far. I have never missed an opportunity to throw Ned Yost under the bus, but I simply can’t do it today, especially after what I witnessed last night.

To end this piece on a positive note, Alex Gordon’s walk-off home run was the first come from behind walk-off home run since Gordon’s last one on July 30^th, 2010. Since the All-Star break Gordon has been hitting .319 with 7 home runs. Danny Duffy’s ERA is now 2.47, good for sixth among all MLB starters.  The Royals are a game and a half up on the Detroit Tigers and remain fifteen games above .500.