As I was sitting here, working away today, all of a sudden the Royals wire got very hot. Mike Sweeney was going to make an announcement with the Royals. Quickly the word came that Sweeney was going to retire from baseball and he wanted to do it as a Royal. This not so secret announcement became official about 4pm when Around the Horn KC made the announcement:

The #Royals have signed Mike Sweeney to a one-day contract. Sweeney has announced his retirement from baseball.

March 25, 2011 3:02 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@aroundthehornkc

Official Royals Blog

This hits home for many Kansas City Royals fans. Sweeney has had a mixed reaction in Kansas City when he appeared on the Royals Hall of Fame Ballot this year. I would be surprised if him and Appier are not voted into the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame this year but many people remember him negatively and don’t think anyone other than Appier should get in on the ballot. I tend to always see the positive in the Royals so I asked some of my twitter and facebook followers to describe what Mike Sweeney meant to them.

Some remember Sweeney in a positive fashion. Andrew Johnson lamented he was the most personable Royal when he was a kid. Lana Royer remembered him as beloved, never lazy and someone the fans miss. One of my twitter followers spoke common words among many fans; “Good guy, good player, hated by most royals fans cause he got a (large) contract, got hurt…”. Shizzyrocks on twitter said, “He has always been wrongfully hated.” Many people echoed the part about being unfairly hated because he earned a huge contract for being the “best player on a terrible team,” as griney55 on twitter said.

It is easy for me to say how great the Royals legends are but I think it’s important to really realize how great of an all around human being Sweeny was on top of being a great player. Start with how great of a player he was. Sweeney played 12 years in Kansas City. He was an All-Star 5 of those years (2000-2003, 2005) and received MVP votes 3 of those seasons, never finishing above 11th (2002) in the voting. 2002 was his best season where he hit .340. This is the 2nd highest batting average in Royals history behind George Brett’s near .400 season. Had it not been for a 2-16 final four games, Sweeney would have won the AL batting crown.

Sweeney made no more than 265,000 his first 5 years before getting a bump to $2.25 Million his first MVP caliber season. His contract rose over the next couple years before getting a $55 Million contract. (On a side note what is it with $55 million contracts and the Royals but I digress.) This contract garnered much anger from the public. It could easily be argued he had earned it after having 3 MVP-like seasons and he would have probably still been loved but the later years of the contract were absolutely injury ridden. In fact when I asked how some remembered him at least 20-30% of the responses included injured or injury prone.

Sweeney was sent to the disabled list with nerve irritation in 2003 an injury that would create multiple stints between 2003 and 2006. In 2006 he played only 60 games while making $11 million. This started to turn the home town fans against him. He actually did have good offense during his late years in KC but was restricted to the DH and limited on at bats due to the injuries.

Sweeney was not resigned by Kansas City in 2008 and he signed a minor league deal with the Oakland Athletics. After a strong spring, Oakland did purchase Sweeney’s contract but the injury bug would strike again and Sweeney was laid up with arthroscopic surgery for four weeks on June 11th. He returned but was cut September 9th. 2009 saw Sweeney get a Spring invite to the Mariners and he would make the Opening Day Roster. He was removed from the game due to back spasms in his very first at bat. His first home run as a Mariner was the 200th of his career and ironically came against former club, The Oakland Athletics. Sweeney would return to the K and hit his 100th home run in that venue, this one coming as a member of the visiting team.

Sweeney received another minor league deal with the Mariners and actually beat out Ryan Garko for the starting 1b job. The Mariners sent him to the Phillies for cash later that season. He would make his one and only playoff appearance going 1-1 in the NLDS.

Sweeney signed a 1 day contract March 25, 2011 and retired a Kansas City Royal.

While Sweeney had a decent career, he should also be applauded for what he was as a person. Sweeney was beloved by many from all around the country. When I asked on twitter for people to give what they thought of Sweeney, I had many local responses, some I mentioned above but I also received from Sarah in Texas (@luckiexstar), “pretty much nicest guy ever :)” and from Sam Endicott (@cottman3) “And that when I worked for the SF Giants Spring Training he shook my hand and smiled when I gave him directions to the clubhouse.” These people are not in the Royal Blue Sea every day and they echoed many of the local thoughts of the man. Other local thoughts included Clinton Corley (@clintoninc) “class act player who played the game the right way. Great w/ fans and with players around the league”. And Clinton DeMontel (@Clintonde) “Mike Sweeney is the best man in professional sports. Hard work, dedication, a rich, rightful life. All of these come to mind”. These 2 summed up how many in KC felt. I personally remember the 2010 Royals Fan Fest where he came as a fan and signed autographs as people asked until he got swarmed and his little boy got scared by the mass of people. He then had security around him mostly to protect his child and allow him to enjoy his time. He didn’t have to come to fan fest but he wanted to be around a team he loved. A couple weeks later he was signed by the Mariners, but that day I felt he was a Kansas City Royal again.

Sweeney has several awards for Community Involvement. Some of these awards include (but not limited to) The Royals Mr. Baseball award which is the top honor at the Royals award dinner and is named after Ewing Kauffman. The Royals present an award bearing Sweeney’s name annually to the player in the organization who has been the best representative on and off the field. He was also a nominee for the Roberto Clemente award and is still involved in Kansas City’s Mercy Children’s hospital and Boys and Girls Clubs.
Most will remember him as a positive man who loved the city and the city loved back. Some remember him as a zealot while others remember him standing for something he believed in. While many Kansas City fans may have once remembered him as an over paid player, injury prone player , most will remember him as a class act who played the game right. So few players play the game the way he did. Injuries or not, Mike Sweeney was a great player and this is one fan who is happy to know that Mike Sweeney is now and forever a Kansas City Royal.

In closing Sam Endicott asked me: “Do you think the #Royals retire Sweeney’s number??” Sam, I don’t know. I seriously doubt it because when you think about the three retired, they are the best of the best. Let’s see if Sweeney gets into the Royals Hall Of Fame and go from there. If they don’t I will not be surprised but if they do I would be all for it.

Thank you Mike Sweeney for being a great player on some truly awful teams. I hope you call Kansas City your post baseball home because the city would be proud to have you as part of this organization for many years to come.

Troy “KCRoyalman” Olsen can be found on twitter (@kcroyalman) and here on I-70 Baseball every Monday with Bill Ivie at 10pm central time.

Cooperstown.

That is all it takes. In baseball, it does not take much more than that one word to start an argument, inspire awe, or draw some attention. This year, there are 33 names on the ballot for admission into the hallowed halls. On January 5th, the Baseball Writers Association will announce the results of their voting for the next legends to become immortalized with a brass plaque hanging in the Hall of Legends.

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance announced their choices for Hall Of Fame enshrinement. Read the press release right here on I-70.

In just a few days, on I-70 Baseball Radio, we will feature a panel discussion with respected writers from around the country as we break down the 33 man ballot and voice our opinions on who gets in and who gets left out in the cold. We will be joined by Shawn Anderson from HallOfVeryGood.com, Michael Lynch from Seamheads.com, Kary Booher from the Springfield News Leader, and Mark Healey from BaseballDigest.com. This panel of writers will help Matt Kelsey and I break down everyone on the ballot and come to our own conclusions as to who we think belongs in the Hall Of Fame in 2011. You can listen live on Monday, January 3rd at 10 p.m. CST by clicking here.

I will gladly wait and discuss 32 names on that radio show, but one will be discussed right here today. Mark McGwire belongs in the Hall Of Fame.

Yes, you heard me correctly. Yes, I know he rocked the ‘roids. Yes, I am aware that this act is cheating. Yes, I am aware he has confessed this ballgame sin and found his way back into baseball.

I take a very simple stance on this subject. The man was good for baseball, put up seriously good numbers for a long period of time, and he played the game during a time frame where everyone turned a blind eye to what was being done behind the scenes. The “Steroid Era” left a lot of rubble behind in the time frame it existed. The tainting of the sport during that era was as far reaching as to extend to members of the press, coaches, players and fans alike.

The Hall Of Fame is full of players who, in one way or another, cheated the game. It is full of liars, gamblers and thieves (no, I am not referring to Rickey Henderson or Lou Brock). The character of the man has never before prevented a player from being enshrined for his (or her) contributions to the game.

Like it or not, baseball was in shambles in 1997. The game could not recover from the players strike earlier in the decade. Fans did not want to be part of the game. They felt disconnected. They felt like the game was not for them anymore. The home run chase began and people flocked back to the gates to see the ball fly out of parks at a rapid pace. People rumbled even then about the size of the players and the medication they were taking. No one cared. Baseball was back. It was okay to love the game again.

But one season does not make a Hall Of Fame career. McGwire started his assault on record books in 1987 when he hit 49 home runs as a rookie first baseman for the Oakland Athletics. He worked hard over his entire career to achieve a better batting average and take more prolific at bats. He took as much pride, if not more, in hitting .300 then he did in any of his home run totals. He was at the park hours before anyone else and left later than most. The game consumed his life while he played it, dominating his time and his mind for many years.

McGwire would walk away from a guaranteed contract and leave the game he loved behind. His body, his mind, and maybe even his soul had been tarnished by the same game that had consumed him since childhood. He lied when asked about his steroid use. He lied to his fans, his country, and his game. He disappointed everyone.

Ultimately, he saved the game. He did what fans, owners, writers and players expected him and others to do. He brought the fans back to the National Pastime. He brought baseball back to the people. He put thousands of expectations on his broad shoulders and carried them to the nation as a whole. Over his career he performed at legendary levels consistently.

For those reasons, writers need to step down from their own soapboxes and give the man the plaque he so rightly deserves. It is time that everyone take a look inward and honestly evaluate what was felt when he played. If you suspected, as many of us did, yet cheered right along with the rest of us, why do you hold the man back now?

Allow the legends to embrace one of their own in Cooperstown. Take a stand for baseball above your own opinion.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

Continuing the look at the men who have played for both Missouri franchises, we examine the career of Danny Jackson.

The Kansas City Royals drafted Jackson with the number one pick in the January (secondary) phase of the 1982 amateur draft. Jackson was born in San Antonio but attended secondary school in Aurora Colorado, and was playing for Trinidad Junior College (also in Colorado) when the Royals selected him. He zoomed through the minors and made his major league debut on 9/11/1983 in Minnesota, throwing 3 shutout innings in middle relief and getting the win. He bounced between Kansas City and their AAA affiliate in Omaha in 1984, but became a full-time member of the rotation in 1985.

Jackson was a workhorse for the World Champs. He tied for third (with Mark Gubicza) on the team in wins (14), and was third among the starters in ERA (3.42) and innings pitched (208). Despite that success he wasn’t one of the three starters manager Dick Howser initially selected to pitch in the ALCS. When the Royals went down 3-1 in that series to Toronto, Howser passed up his game two starter Bud Black and gave the ball to Jackson for the final Kansas City home game. Danny was fantastic, scattering 8 hits over 8 shutout innings and beating Jimmy Key 2-0. His start began the Royals improbable comeback to win the AL, as they took games 6 and 7 from Toronto in Toronto.

Jackson’s success in that series was rewarded in the World Series, as he got the Game 1 start. He pitched well, allowing 2 runs in his seven innings, but Cardinal lefty John Tudor was better, and Jackson lost Game 1 3-1. He found himself the starter in another Game 5, with his team down in games 3-1 again. The Royals jumped on Bob Forsch for 4 runs in the first 2 innings, and Jackson cruised to a 6-1 victory. Kansas City came back to win in seven games. Other than Bret Saberhagen, Jackson was the best pitcher the Royals had against St Louis.

His 1985, 1986, and 1987 statistics are fairly similar in terms of innings pitched, home runs allowed, strikeout to walk ratio, and so on. Unfortunately, that consistency did not translate to success in terms of games won. Jackson was one game under .500 in 1986 (11-12), then suffered a 9-18 season the following year. Royal management must have thought Jackson was a flash in the pan, with the flash being his 1985 season, because they traded him to the Cincinnati Reds following the 1987 season.

Jackson responded with his finest season as a pitcher, winning 23 games and finishing second in the NL Cy Young voting to Orel Hershiser. He returned to the post season two years later with those Reds, helping them knock out the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NLCS (he won Game 3, and left Game 6 tied 1-1). He did not have much success in the World Series, but the Reds swept Oakland’s Bash Brothers, giving Jackson his second World Series title.

He was a free agent after the 1990 season, and signed on with the Chicago Cubs. He missed all of May and all of July 1991 to injury, and so threw the fewest innings he had since his 1983 call-up (70.2). He was healthier and threw better in 1992, but the Cubs decided he was expendable and traded him to the Pirates in July. He pitched fairly well for the Pirates down the stretch, but was cuffed around in his lone NLCS appearance, not surviving the second inning of a game Pittsburgh eventually lost 13-5. The Pirates left him unprotected in the 1992 expansion draft and Florida grabbed him, however he never played for the Marlins as they traded him to Philadelphia the same day.

Jackson enjoyed his best back-to-back seasons with the Phillies, helping Philadelphia to an improbably NL title in 1993 and finishing 6th in the Cy Young voting in 1994. A free agent after the 1994 season, he signed a 3-year, $10 million deal to join the Cardinals. By this point, Jackson had won a league title in both leagues, and pitched in 3 World Series, over a nine-year span. Unfortunately the magic carpet ride was over.

He was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer before the 1995 season, and had his thyroid removed. The cancer went into remission after the gland removal, allowing Jackson to make a full recovery, but that was not the end of his trouble. Jackson also severely injured his right ankle during spring training in 1995, and although he did recover he was never the same pitcher. Jackson had a rather unique delivery in which he pushed off violently from the rubber and landed full force on his right ankle, sometimes in a heap on the front of the pitcher’s mound. With an unsteady ankle as his landing gear he did not have the same control he once had.

Jackson suffered through a miserable 1995 going 2-12 for a forgettable Cardinals team that finished 19 games under .500. In 1996, Jackson continued to fight the injury bug, throwing only 36.1 innings the whole season. Those Cardinals won the NL Central, sending Danny on his fourth trip to the post-season in 12 years, but he made only one appearance, a three-inning stint in relief of Todd Stottlemyre in Game 5.

After making 4 starts for the Cardinals in 1997, he was traded in June to San Diego for another fading left-hander (Fernando Valenzuela). Jackson finished out the season with the Padres, then retired.

Danny Jackson will be remembered as one of the best left-handed pitchers in the game from 1985-1994. How his career ended won’t change that one bit. Tough, durable, and consistent, he was a significant contributor to three pennant-winning teams over that stretch, starting with the World Champion KC Royals. Of all the games he started over his big-league career (he made 324 starts, not counting the post-season), the biggest by far were the two he made in the 1985 Playoffs. Both Game 5′s, both with his team facing immediate elimination if he did not perform. He allowed one run combined in those two games, and won each one. At the tender age of 23.

Danny Jackson was a quality major league pitcher, but he is a Legend for his performance over 2 weeks in October, 1985.