June 12, 2025 • 12 mins
A conversation about the 2025 Kansas City Royals and what needs to change. The Athletics are finally breaking ground in Las Vegas, and some Royals stadium news.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome back to this is Baseball.
My name is Brandon Johnson.
We're going to talk a littleRoyals here at the beginning of the
show because I'm a little bitfrustrated with this team right now.
And I know a lot of people arewhere this offense just cannot figure
it out.
They can't score runs nomatter what.
(00:22):
They have just eight runnersin scoring position, doesn't matter.
They end up coming out of theinning empty handed.
And this team is in acompetitive window.
And it got me thinking,there's something missing with this
team, this 2024, 2025 versionof the Kansas City Royals.
(00:45):
And just thinking about the2014, 2015 royals is they had some
guys with some fire in theirclubhouse that they were ready to
go and fight anybody.
They weren't taking crap from anyone.
(01:08):
And I just, I, I remember in2015, early on in the season, it
felt like the Royals were in abench clearing brawl once a week.
And I don't think this currentteam has those guys.
You had Jordano Ventura whowas ready to fight everybody.
(01:30):
You had Mike Mustakis who wasready to go at a moment's notice.
Guys that were just ready toback each other up if anything went
down.
And I'm not advocating forhaving bench clearing brawls.
I think there's a stat that Isaw somewhere where the Royals didn't
(01:53):
have a bench clearing incidentat all in 2024, and I don't think
they've had one in 25 either.
And it got me thinking withthe, the Jazz Chisholm head first
slide into third, where Jazzsaid, if he tags me like that again,
referring to Mikel Garcia, ifhe tags me like that again, I'm gonna
(02:15):
smack him and nobody battingan eye about it.
I'm just thinking, imaginesomebody saying that like if Mike
Mustakis was playing third,I'm just imagining Jazz saying that
to somebody in the Royalsoverhearing it.
(02:37):
That would not fly.
They'd get in his face rightthen and there.
He might have a.
He might be wearing a pitch inhis next at bat and things might
get a little bit ugly.
I know that we try to stayaway from that in today's game, but
I think clearly, I don't knowif this team, this Royals team is
respected by the rest of the league.
(03:00):
And I just think something'sgot to give, something's got to get
this team going.
And I don't know if it's justa little bit of heat between some
players that could get thisgoing, because like I said, something's
got to change.
It's mid June, and I.
(03:22):
I still believe in this team,but it's starting to get to the point
where you're like, guys, we'regonna figure this out at some point,
right?
And I feel like they just needsomething to happen where they can
be brought closer together andhave a tighter bond.
And I don't know if getting ina fight is it, but that's.
(03:45):
That's where I'm at.
I know it's crazy, and it's a weird.
It's a weird way to start theshow, but let's get into a fight.
Royals.
Come on.
No, but all in all, the Royalsor the Yankees coming into town for
the Royals, you knew that wasgoing to be a tough task with everything
going on.
They're one of the best teamsin baseball.
They have Aaron Judge, who goand crown him MVP of the 2025 season.
(04:12):
He hit one of the craziesthome runs I've seen at Kaufman Stadium.
He had a home run 469ft on topof the hall of Fame and left field.
I think the.
I think Mike Trout hit a ballpretty far to left center field several
years back, but one of the.
One of the longest home runs Iremember at least being at was it
(04:33):
was a Jackie Robinson day inlike, 2011 or 2012, and Cleveland
was in town, and Travis Hafnerhit a ball onto the roof of the restaurant
in right field.
I don't know the distance onthat, but that was what Aaron Judge's
home run reminded me of on Tuesday.
(04:55):
But let's move on to somethingthat we've kind of been covering
for what feels like a longtime now.
So the Athletics, who were inOakland, they're currently in Sacramento
right now awaiting theirstadium in Las Vegas.
And there's been this whole,will they.
Won't they actually end up in Vegas?
There was a lot of people thatwere doubting that that stadium was
(05:19):
ever going to happen.
Well, we finally have a datethat has been set for the groundbreaking
ceremony of Las Vegas's $1.75billion ballpark, and that is set
to happen on June 23rd.
So we're a little bit over aweek out from the A's moving to Vegas
(05:47):
actually becoming a reality.
So this is according to Yahoo Sports.
They've apparently they'vealready been doing some early construction
as early, as recently asApril, but their plan for the ballpark
is to be finished and ready bythe start of the 2028 season.
So, honestly, the Las VegasAthletics will be a reality before
(06:11):
we know it.
And this has got me thinkingabout the Royals and their whole
stadium situation.
Another thing that we've beenfollowing for quite a while where
one of John Sherman, the ownerof the Royals, one of the really
first things that he kind ofput into motion was that the Royals
are not going to be at KaufmanStadium at the end of their lease.
(06:33):
So by 2031, at least they willbe in a new ballpark.
The whole idea was for them tohopefully be at a downtown stadium.
There was a couple ofdifferent proposals that have been
circulating through.
It started with the East Village.
There was the Crossroads sitethat actually went to a vote in April
(06:56):
of 2024 that the county votedno on, which looking back at that,
there was a pretty wishy washy plan.
A lot of confusion and movingback and forth with what that actually
looked like.
And it was tied to the KansasCity Chiefs.
And the Kansas City chief'sproposal for renovations to Arrowhead
(07:20):
Stadium was pretty lacklusteras well.
So it was a pretty emphatic nofrom Jackson County.
And you had the.
The Clay county up northlocation as well.
That was being talked about.
Which as far as renderings areconcerned, that's the.
That's the renderings I likedthe best.
Obviously, renderings are just that.
(07:41):
And they're not concrete or anything.
So there's the WashingtonSquare park site.
That has been kind of one ofthe more recent things.
And the Royals have bought some.
Have purchased some land overin Kansas as well.
So that could just be assimple as they bought it and they
(08:05):
might not use it.
Or the reality is maybe theRoyals are going to be going to Kansas.
Well, I think we'll knowwhat's going to happen with the Royals
this summer, hopefully in thenext two or three weeks.
I know the deadline for theStar Bonds In Kansas is June 30,
(08:26):
but something interesting thathas happened is the Missouri House
has passed stadium fundingthat would go towards both keeping
the Royals and Chiefs in Missouri.
Now the governor just needs tosign it and we'll see where it goes
from that.
It's going to be a veryinteresting few weeks on the sports
(08:49):
front as far as stadiums areconcerned in Kansas City, obviously
I want it to be in Kansas City.
Stay, stay on the Missouri side.
I really hope they find a wayto put it downtown because I think
that downtown is a greatatmosphere for baseball.
(09:10):
I'm thinking of Busch Stadiumpops out in particular.
Same with Coors Field.
Just being able to parksomewhere downtown, grab a bite to
eat or something before the game.
And Then just walk over to thestadium is a really awesome experience.
Being able to have the, theskyline be kind of the backdrop as
(09:33):
well as for the stadium is ahuge draw for me.
Just great scenery and I loveKaufman Stadium.
I have a ton of great memoriesin there.
I was present for two of themost iconic moments in Royal's history
in Salvador Perez's walk offin the Wild card game in 2014.
(09:56):
And then I was in the buildingfor game one of the World Series
when Alex Gordon hit his gametying home run in the ninth inning.
So those are moments that, youknow, I, I witness history there
and it'll stink to, to not beable to be in Kaufman Stadium anymore
(10:17):
where I saw those.
But I just know the benefitsand my positive experiences in downtown
stadiums that I just, I justthink would do so much good for the
Royals and for Kansas City asa whole.
I think for, for the peoplethat want Kaufman Stadium to stay
(10:41):
put.
I understand the history there.
I understand not wanting tofoot the bill for it, but I think
if it's Kaufman's fine, leaveit alone.
I think there's been enoughevidence and information to come
out that there is concernsabout the structural integrity of
(11:03):
Kaufman Stadium for the long haul.
And I also think the Kaufmanis fine crowd are probably a lot
of people that maybe haven'texperienced downtown baseball in
other cities.
And I would, I would say ifyou went in, had that experience
(11:25):
elsewhere, you would see thedraw for it and would probably be
more into the idea of havingit here.
But maybe it's just a mething, but we'll be following this
all pretty closely as it all unfolds.
I think we'll know hererelatively soon, so stay tuned for
(11:50):
that.
But in regards to the shownext week, there will be no shows.
I'll be off all of next week,so tune in a couple weeks from now.
We might be right in the thickof things as far as stadium news
goes.
But I will see you in a couple weeks.
(12:13):
Thanks for listening.
I will see you next time.
Welcome back to this is Baseball.
My name is Brandon Johnson.
We're going to talk a littleRoyals here at the beginning of the
show because I'm a little bitfrustrated with this team right now.
And I know a lot of people arewhere this offense just cannot figure
it out.
They can't score runs nomatter what.
(00:22):
They have just eight runnersin scoring position, doesn't matter.
They end up coming out of theinning empty handed.
And this team is in acompetitive window.
And it got me thinking,there's something missing with this
team, this 2024, 2025 versionof the Kansas City Royals.
(00:45):
And just thinking about the2014, 2015 royals is they had some
guys with some fire in theirclubhouse that they were ready to
go and fight anybody.
They weren't taking crap from anyone.
(01:08):
And I just, I, I remember in2015, early on in the season, it
felt like the Royals were in abench clearing brawl once a week.
And I don't think this currentteam has those guys.
You had Jordano Ventura whowas ready to fight everybody.
(01:30):
You had Mike Mustakis who wasready to go at a moment's notice.
Guys that were just ready toback each other up if anything went
down.
And I'm not advocating forhaving bench clearing brawls.
I think there's a stat that Isaw somewhere where the Royals didn't
(01:53):
have a bench clearing incidentat all in 2024, and I don't think
they've had one in 25 either.
And it got me thinking withthe, the Jazz Chisholm head first
slide into third, where Jazzsaid, if he tags me like that again,
referring to Mikel Garcia, ifhe tags me like that again, I'm gonna
(02:15):
smack him and nobody battingan eye about it.
I'm just thinking, imaginesomebody saying that like if Mike
Mustakis was playing third,I'm just imagining Jazz saying that
to somebody in the Royalsoverhearing it.
(02:37):
That would not fly.
They'd get in his face rightthen and there.
He might have a.
He might be wearing a pitch inhis next at bat and things might
get a little bit ugly.
I know that we try to stayaway from that in today's game, but
I think clearly, I don't knowif this team, this Royals team is
respected by the rest of the league.
(03:00):
And I just think something'sgot to give, something's got to get
this team going.
And I don't know if it's justa little bit of heat between some
players that could get thisgoing, because like I said, something's
got to change.
It's mid June, and I.
(03:22):
I still believe in this team,but it's starting to get to the point
where you're like, guys, we'regonna figure this out at some point,
right?
And I feel like they just needsomething to happen where they can
be brought closer together andhave a tighter bond.
And I don't know if getting ina fight is it, but that's.
(03:45):
That's where I'm at.
I know it's crazy, and it's a weird.
It's a weird way to start theshow, but let's get into a fight.
Royals.
Come on.
No, but all in all, the Royalsor the Yankees coming into town for
the Royals, you knew that wasgoing to be a tough task with everything
going on.
They're one of the best teamsin baseball.
They have Aaron Judge, who goand crown him MVP of the 2025 season.
(04:12):
He hit one of the craziesthome runs I've seen at Kaufman Stadium.
He had a home run 469ft on topof the hall of Fame and left field.
I think the.
I think Mike Trout hit a ballpretty far to left center field several
years back, but one of the.
One of the longest home runs Iremember at least being at was it
(04:33):
was a Jackie Robinson day inlike, 2011 or 2012, and Cleveland
was in town, and Travis Hafnerhit a ball onto the roof of the restaurant
in right field.
I don't know the distance onthat, but that was what Aaron Judge's
home run reminded me of on Tuesday.
(04:55):
But let's move on to somethingthat we've kind of been covering
for what feels like a longtime now.
So the Athletics, who were inOakland, they're currently in Sacramento
right now awaiting theirstadium in Las Vegas.
And there's been this whole,will they.
Won't they actually end up in Vegas?
There was a lot of people thatwere doubting that that stadium was
(05:19):
ever going to happen.
Well, we finally have a datethat has been set for the groundbreaking
ceremony of Las Vegas's $1.75billion ballpark, and that is set
to happen on June 23rd.
So we're a little bit over aweek out from the A's moving to Vegas
(05:47):
actually becoming a reality.
So this is according to Yahoo Sports.
They've apparently they'vealready been doing some early construction
as early, as recently asApril, but their plan for the ballpark
is to be finished and ready bythe start of the 2028 season.
So, honestly, the Las VegasAthletics will be a reality before
(06:11):
we know it.
And this has got me thinkingabout the Royals and their whole
stadium situation.
Another thing that we've beenfollowing for quite a while where
one of John Sherman, the ownerof the Royals, one of the really
first things that he kind ofput into motion was that the Royals
are not going to be at KaufmanStadium at the end of their lease.
(06:33):
So by 2031, at least they willbe in a new ballpark.
The whole idea was for them tohopefully be at a downtown stadium.
There was a couple ofdifferent proposals that have been
circulating through.
It started with the East Village.
There was the Crossroads sitethat actually went to a vote in April
(06:56):
of 2024 that the county votedno on, which looking back at that,
there was a pretty wishy washy plan.
A lot of confusion and movingback and forth with what that actually
looked like.
And it was tied to the KansasCity Chiefs.
And the Kansas City chief'sproposal for renovations to Arrowhead
(07:20):
Stadium was pretty lacklusteras well.
So it was a pretty emphatic nofrom Jackson County.
And you had the.
The Clay county up northlocation as well.
That was being talked about.
Which as far as renderings areconcerned, that's the.
That's the renderings I likedthe best.
Obviously, renderings are just that.
(07:41):
And they're not concrete or anything.
So there's the WashingtonSquare park site.
That has been kind of one ofthe more recent things.
And the Royals have bought some.
Have purchased some land overin Kansas as well.
So that could just be assimple as they bought it and they
(08:05):
might not use it.
Or the reality is maybe theRoyals are going to be going to Kansas.
Well, I think we'll knowwhat's going to happen with the Royals
this summer, hopefully in thenext two or three weeks.
I know the deadline for theStar Bonds In Kansas is June 30,
(08:26):
but something interesting thathas happened is the Missouri House
has passed stadium fundingthat would go towards both keeping
the Royals and Chiefs in Missouri.
Now the governor just needs tosign it and we'll see where it goes
from that.
It's going to be a veryinteresting few weeks on the sports
(08:49):
front as far as stadiums areconcerned in Kansas City, obviously
I want it to be in Kansas City.
Stay, stay on the Missouri side.
I really hope they find a wayto put it downtown because I think
that downtown is a greatatmosphere for baseball.
(09:10):
I'm thinking of Busch Stadiumpops out in particular.
Same with Coors Field.
Just being able to parksomewhere downtown, grab a bite to
eat or something before the game.
And Then just walk over to thestadium is a really awesome experience.
Being able to have the, theskyline be kind of the backdrop as
(09:33):
well as for the stadium is ahuge draw for me.
Just great scenery and I loveKaufman Stadium.
I have a ton of great memoriesin there.
I was present for two of themost iconic moments in Royal's history
in Salvador Perez's walk offin the Wild card game in 2014.
(09:56):
And then I was in the buildingfor game one of the World Series
when Alex Gordon hit his gametying home run in the ninth inning.
So those are moments that, youknow, I, I witness history there
and it'll stink to, to not beable to be in Kaufman Stadium anymore
(10:17):
where I saw those.
But I just know the benefitsand my positive experiences in downtown
stadiums that I just, I justthink would do so much good for the
Royals and for Kansas City asa whole.
I think for, for the peoplethat want Kaufman Stadium to stay
(10:41):
put.
I understand the history there.
I understand not wanting tofoot the bill for it, but I think
if it's Kaufman's fine, leaveit alone.
I think there's been enoughevidence and information to come
out that there is concernsabout the structural integrity of
(11:03):
Kaufman Stadium for the long haul.
And I also think the Kaufmanis fine crowd are probably a lot
of people that maybe haven'texperienced downtown baseball in
other cities.
And I would, I would say ifyou went in, had that experience
(11:25):
elsewhere, you would see thedraw for it and would probably be
more into the idea of havingit here.
But maybe it's just a mething, but we'll be following this
all pretty closely as it all unfolds.
I think we'll know hererelatively soon, so stay tuned for
(11:50):
that.
But in regards to the shownext week, there will be no shows.
I'll be off all of next week,so tune in a couple weeks from now.
We might be right in the thickof things as far as stadium news
goes.
But I will see you in a couple weeks.
(12:13):
Thanks for listening.
I will see you next time.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.