Best and Worst Memories At Royals Stadium/"The K"

[KC Royals Nation]

I'll copy what I posted over at RoyalBoard.com.

..........................

I've decided to begin a discussion of everyone's best and worst memories at the "K". Here are mine...I'm trying to keep these in as best chronological order as I remember:

Best memories:

- Ken Harvey's walkoff homerun against the Tigers (May 2004?)
- Every Buck night in existence when the Royals have won
- Fireworks Fridays when the Royals have won
- 11-8 shelling against the Yanks (Summer 03)
- Michael Tucker's walk-off HR to cap a 9-game winning streak (Summer 2002)
- George Brett kissing home plate in final Home Game (September 1993)

Worst memories:

- Royals losing to the Montreal Expos in 2nd game of doubleheader...it was as dreary as Hell that day...there was literally no sun...the fans booed the team after every half inning (June 2004)
- Witnessing the terrible duo - Service and Whisenant - blow another Royals late-inning lead...of course a dissatisfied granny I was sitting next to was literally rude to everyone around her. (Summer 1999)
- Witnessing fans with posterboards protesting the looming baseball strike..ironically, I didn't even know what a "strike" was until my dad had to explain it to me...I was 8 at the time. (July 1994)
- Loud, obnoxious Tigers fans yelling profanities in section above me the entire game (Summer 1993?)
- All the dozens of blown leads I've witnessed.

Geez, it seems there have been more bad memories than good ones. Although honestly, I think whenever there's no bad memory, it's a good memory in and of itself.

I'll add more as time goes on. Does anyone have any more?

[gilgameche]

My best was seeing Johnny Damon hit a Inside the park HR( forget who KC was playing but that is the coolest thing to see live)

Worst was seeing us blow a game to STL last year(the Redman game when we were up like 5 or 6-0)

[hawksnroyals]

1. G. Brett playing period
2. Watching Nolan Ryan pitch in his farewell season
3. Cal Ripken Jr. breaking the all time world record for consec. games played
4. Bob Hamelin Walk off HR in his ROY season
5. Kirk Gibson opening day triple.
6. Any Krispy Kreme 12 hit night
7. Buck nights

Worst:

The parade of 100 loss seasons
and one that has not yet happened but will.......somebody else in Buck O'neil's seat behind home plate.

[dejesus9]

Buck nights... good times.

I saw Grudzielanek hit an inside the park homer with a man on in the bottom of the ninth...we still lost.

[mdinaz]

I can relate several memorable games. Many great memories at Royals Stadium.

1. Horrible, cold, rainy night with about 500 people in attendance. I was behind 1st base in the lower level, and there wasn't another person within 100 yards of me. I'm sure I was on TV quite a bit ("look at this idiot sitting in the rain"). Nolan Ryan pitching for the Rangers, Royals were up 3-0 when the Ranger scored 4 in the 6th. Relief came in and in the bottom of the 9th inning, Pat Tabler comes to bat, pinch hitting. One on, no outs. If you remember, Tabler hit like 2 HR a year, if that. But he also had a knack for clutch hits in down situations. He strokes a short homer over the left field fence off Kenny Rogers (it cleared, barely), while the rain was coming down. You would have thought the Royals had just won the World Series. The whole team came out, running and sliding in the mud, a truly great win. Sept. 12, 1989.

2. Royals vs. Red Sox, May 14, 1990. Clemens on the mound for the Sox, Storm Davis for the Royals. Game goes into extra innings, tied 5-5. Mark Davis allows a couple hits in the 10th, but gets through okay. Jeff Reardon in for the Sox. Bases are loaded in the bottom of the 10th, and the 3rd string catcher for the Royals, Rey Palacios, comes to bat. Another 1-HR-a-year hitter. And natch, he strokes a bomb over the center field fence, a good 420 feet for the Grand Slam. Again, you would have thought the Royals had just won the Series. Another great win.

3. I wish I remembered the dates, I but I watched both George Brett and John Mayberry hit for the cycle.

4. Any game Quisenberry was in. My favorite pitcher and player of all time.

5. Watching Bo Jackson the first time he broke a bat over his knee. I wasn't even sure I witnessed what I just had seen.

6. Watching Bo Jackson field a ball with his back to the left field fence, and throw a perfect strike all the way to home plate, the ball never touching the ground, and getting the runner out. Absolutely the MOST amazing play I've ever personally witnessed.

7. Again, Bo Jackson, running three steps up the left field wall and catching the out. Amazing.

8. All the scheduled double header day games they used to have during the 70s. Great fun.

9. The extremely long, if I remember correctly, 18 inning game that lasted until 1 am. I don't even remember who won, but I believe the Royals won that very low scoring game.

10. Seeing Jim Colborn's no hitter vs. Texas in 1977. Also having the privelege of seeing so many great pitchers and players over the years.

Bad memories - hard to have any at Royals Stadium but here's a try

1. Day game vs. the Twins. Top of the 6th, Twins crack a big homer to take the lead. The moment the ball clears the fence, the sky explodes and it starts raining like you wouldn't believe. The game is called, but considered complete, Twins win.

2. Early April games when it was 38 degrees at game time, drizzling, and windy. Not fun, but fun anyway, especially when Tom Gordon won 4 games in relief in April 1989, 3 at home.

3. Royals ahead vs. White Sox, 9-0. Until the Sox scored 8 runs in the 7th. I about had a cow. The Royals still won, but barely. Ugly ugly.

4. Even uglier. Stan Clarke comes in for his first major league start. Big fanfare because his catcher is Rey Palacios, and both were battery mates at Toledo. Stan proceeds to give up 7 runs in the first inning vs. the Twins. Royals lose 7-1. May 30, 1989. He pitches again a week later and gives up 5 more in 6 innings. His time with the Royals is over. He plays two games with the Cards the following year and leaves baseball.

5. Watching a great player like Harmon Killebrew play poorly in his one year with the Royals. A sad end to a great power hitter. He only hit .199 that year in 106 games (1975). My dad was a big Killebrew fan.

6. Missing the entire 1985 season as I was stationed in Germany at the time. I got to see it on TV and still have all the videotapes, but didn't get to see that great team in person at all that year.

7. Some guy in the upper deck pouring beer on my dad's head while we sat in the lower deck. My dad goes upstairs and breaks the guy's jaw. He comes back down stairs and doesn't say anything (I didn't know what he did when he went up there). Six months later cops show up at the house to arrest him for assault. At his trial, the guys mouth is still wired shut. Witnesses all state the stupid drunk started it, and mouthed off when my dad went up to confront him. Judge agrees and says he would have punched him too. Case dismissed.

Best memory with the Royals not at Royals Stadium

Game vs. the Rangers, May 15, 1988. Willie Wilson's in the park home run in the 1st inning, followed by Danny Tartabull's grand slam home run two innings later, vs. Charlie Hough.

There's plenty more, but that's more than enough. Lots of great memories with a great team.

[gilgameche]

dejesus9 said:

Buck nights... good times.

I saw Grudzielanek hit an inside the park homer with a man on in the bottom of the ninth...we still lost.

I was at that game and left before it happened...It sucked

[royalsfan2008]

mdinaz how longs it been since you went to a game jeez all your memories are ancient.

[agordon4]

Best-
Watching Jon Nunnally hit a walk off HR in the 14th Inning against Detroit his rookie year.
Mike Sweeney hit a walk off HR against the Cardinals(can't remember what year)
Anytime I got to see George Brett play
Getting to meet Buck O'Neill
The 85 World Series Champions Reunion Weekend- Got to meet Sabes,White,Balboni,Leonard,Leibrant,Motley,Wathan,Pryor,Farr,May,Sundberg,Cobb and one other but not sure who he was and can't make out his auto. Got all of them to autograph my SI from 85 that celebrates the championship,pics taken with Sabes and then got to watch him get inducted into the Royals HOF.
Worst-
Like most I have sit thru some real terrible games but I would have to say my worst was having to sit next to a group of Tigers fans that was drunk and annoying and also a drunk group of fans that heckled Bobby Bonilla when he played for the Cardinals.
I love going to the K any chance I get, some fans have been the only thing that gives me bad memories.

[mdinaz]

royalsfan2008 said:

mdinaz how longs it been since you went to a game jeez all your memories are ancient.

I don't live in KC anymore so I haven't been to many games. After the 1994 strike I didn't watch a single game on TV or live for at least four years. I've only been to about 20 games in the last 8 years, many of those in other stadiums and other teams. I live in the Phoenix area and not a Diamondbacks fan, plus getting to the stadium is a huge pain in the a$$, especially during the week. The last game I went to was when they played the Royals here. Generally I only see one or two Royals games a year, if I go back to KC to visit and they are at home. I lived in KC from 73-83, and again from 88-90, so most of my memories are from that time. Hey, at least the Royals were good then. Seeing games the last few years has been exercises in futility. The '89 team was one of my favorites.

[gilgameche]

agordon7 said:

Getting to meet Buck O'Neill
.

Oh man you are really lucky

[agordon4]

yes i know

[ror1fan]

Best
1.My first game at the K 2004 a friend from church gave me the tickets when he saw I was a huge Royals fan the seat where right behind homeplate and I got to meet BUCK O'NEILL in my first game! He was such a great man.Anyway we lost as Johan Santana gave us like 2 hits and Jimmy Gobble was pretty bad in the start.

2.Bottom of the 9th we are playing I think Boston and Mac is trying to save the game.Gets 2 outs the Sox get the tying run at the plate. He gets to the 3-2 pitch K. It starts pouring down rain that was cool.
3.Their is a small plane flying by the stadium than a miracle an Angel Berroa HR.The fireworks go off and that plane got out of their fast.
4.Beating the NYY 9/5/06 was a great game a lot of fun.
Worst
Losing the first 4 games I was at.
1-4
4-7
2-3 in 10
6-7

[royalsmaniac5]

Best:
This last Year got to attend several games most notably the series against the Redsoxs when we swept them.

1999 I70 series- Score was really high like 18-10, Mark Mcgwire was on fire and the place was packed. I got to go to all 3 of those games.

Worst

watching us repeatedly get beat by the twinkies and watching their obnoxious fans take over the K and listen to them constantly talk smack.

[dejesus9]

Those Twins fans bugged me too...

I saw all three of the Red Sox games, too, and THEIR fans took over to K, too... it was pathetic..we showed them though, we won all three, hee hee hee.

[ror1fan]

Yeah the Twins fans are horrible.