Joe Posnanski writes long awaited Frank White column
 

This thing is way too long to cut and paste.

That's a good read.

There's really very few answers in that article. I would like a little more conclusive take. I guess I'm definitely an outsider because I don't know much about how it all went down, and after having read that, I still don't.

It's funny, I wasn't a Royals fan when I was a kid. I wasn't a Royals fan until Chiefsplanet, actually.

I don't know Frank White, the player. I only know Frank White, the radio/public personality, and a lot of times, he comes off like kind of a dick.

Frank White was an excellent player for the Royals. Unfortunately, one of Frank White's problems was that he was utterly convinced that he was the greatest Royals player of all time, and he was bitter that the Royals didn't see it that way. Frank White may have been in the top five, but he wasn't #1, and it wasn't even close.

I loved watching Frank White play second base. He was an excellent second baseman, and nobody can deny that. But the man has always been a complainer. More than once I saw him boot a ball at second base and then bitterly complain after the game because the official scorer charged him with an error. Before his playing days were over he was already complaining that the Royals never did treat him with the respect he thought he deserved. At the time I thought "Geez, give it a rest Frank".

People were ripping on Mitch Holthus in another thread because he's so upbeat and positive when he's doing his job for an abysmal team. Holthus does it because he's smart enough to know that it's in his own self-interest to remain positive in his role. It's part of his job.

It's fine for announcers to rip players, and it's fine for announcers to rip organizations. If you work for ESPN or FOX or NBC or the NFL Network, then it doesn't matter. But if you work for the organization you are ripping (either directly or indirectly), don't be surprised if you lose your sweet announcing gig after you blast the organization that pays your salary.

Frank White made his bed. Now he has to sleep in it.

Pretty much how i feel. Although i agree with his critques of the Royals organization, YOu cant bite the hand that feeds. Thats life.


Pretty pathetic what they have become. Theres a paragragh in there where JoPo states what ive been saying for awhile now. The Royals have lost the generation 30 and younger.

Watched just about every game that Frank called in 2011. I don't know where they come up with him being negative towards the team. If he had said half the negative things that Hudler said last year I'd consider it legit. It just didn't happen

Frank White has always been one of my all time favorites. When I was a kid I always played ball as Frank White.

All of that may be true, but he still deserved better than what he got. Lots of people wanted to see him as Royals manager. I mean, what could it hurt?

I gurantee you he would have been no worse than Bubby Bell or Trey Hillman.

Exactly.

We'd likely be in this exact same spot had Frank became manager.

That was a pretty useless article. Fell well short of Poz's standards.

No new ground broken. Frank is right, the Royals are wrong. This may be true, but Frank complains a lot.

And he would've gotten fired and been bitter about that.

pretty much.

The Royals could have handled things better, and Frank White could have not been an angry, bitter ass. There is no winner here.

Unfortunately for Frank White, if we must declare a winner, it'll be the Royals because I'm not going to go watch the T-Bones play, and he's just going to be known as a good player with a statue who 30 years from now people will go "didn't something ugly happen with him after his career? Was it the 90's or 2000's? What happened again? I don't know, I forget. That statue's cool. Hey lets go get a hotdog and a beer before the game starts"

I was an avid fan of the Royals during the whole Frank White era. He was very good, probably taken for granted, but now he is legend.

Look at how the Royals have treated George Brett.
Look at how the Royals have treated Frank White.

Nuff said.

Uhhh....

Very well?

I'm not a baseball fan but I was from about '72 through '85. I only remember Frank White as a player. In my memory he ranks well behind Brett, about the same as AO, and a little ahead of Mayberry and McCrae among players, not including pitchers. Really enjoyed watching him play.

If Frank was white, the Royals never would have done him like this.

This part makes me sad.

My 11 year old works out with Frank and his son at "The Yard" in Lee's Summit... and Frank is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. When you talk with him, he treats you like you are one of his lifelong friends.

Love that guy.

I only know Frank White as the lonely drunk black man that gets bombed at the local Brew Top in Lees Summit.

You're too smart to actually believe this, so I assume you are joking.

The Royals treat George Brett differently than Frank White for the same reason the Yankees will treat Derek Jeter differently than Brett Gardner after both players retire.

What, built a statue of him at the ballpark?

Brett has a make-work VP job because he is the best player in franchise history.

Frank is one of the top 5 all-time Royals. He has been inducted into the team's HOF, had his number retired, had a statue erected in his honor (only Brett has had all those honors). He's been a minor league manager, a major league coach and a broadcaster.

Duke Wathan got fired by the Royals. Hal McRae got fired by the Royals.

Let's not act like Frank was completely shit on by the Royals just because he lost a goddamn broadcasting job that he was mediocre at. To accuse them of racism is just obnoxious and WRONG.

Frank? Is that you? Isn't this what White has been covertly implying? I hope you are being sarcastic.

You must be kidding.

It's a broadcasting job, FF'sS. Fortunately I'm old enough to remember that he was the first 2B since Jackie Robinson to hit cleanup in WS game. And in that game he hit one of the longest HR's into LC field I've ever seen at (now the "Old") Busch Stadium to keep the Series alive.

He has a statue built. Is a member of the Royals HoF. I don't want him to be manager. **** that franchise. They don't deserve to have Frank as the MGR. And if Frank bitched at an official scorer, it was because he got to a ball and maybe muffed it, that 25 other 2B didn't have the range to get near.

GTFOOMF with that bullshit.

Well.. F. I guess I should have the rest of the thread.

Pathetic Royals fans will make up any excuse to support that shithole of a franchise.

I've known Frank most of my life. He is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. He also has a huge chip on his shoulder, and it is one of his own making.

The Royals have given him job after job after job to keep him happy, but it's never been enough. They don't owe him a managerial position. They hired John Wathan. They hired Hal McRae. I'm certain there is a reason they never hired Frank.

Eventually, you realize that he's always going to be a malcontent, and you have to part ways. It sucks. He was one of my heroes growing up, and then he and his family became close friends of mine. None of this changes the fact that he felt that he was owed something that he wasn't.

Frank White set the standard for how 2nd Base was played....and what William said is right about the Official Scorers. Frank had a right to bitch because the plays he made the bobble's on 99% of the other IF's never had a dream of coming close to making.

People forget that Frank was robbed of a Golden Glove when they gave it to the Orioles
2nd Basemen who had double the number of errors with almost the same number of chances. I never blamed Frank for being pissed about that one.

I honestly don't blame him for having a bit of a chip on his shoulder....and quite frankly (no pun intended) that is what probably drove him to be so damn good.

I am also in the camp that I wouldn't want Frank to take the job managing the Royals because they don't deserve him.

To me...when they talk Royals I think Brett first, then White and Otis. Those were the guys who truly exemplified what was Royals baseball when we all loved it. Amos Otis hit one of the most mammoth HR's I have ever seen it.....it hit the flag pole in dead center field and was still on the rise.

I know guys loved Hal McRae....but honestly the chip on his shoulder made Frank White's look like a speck of sawdust.

Frank White use to come into my fathers dealership, as did George Brett and numerous other players. I was young elementary school age when I got to meet all these players. What I remember most was the top three Royals in my opinion of all time constantly being talked about on TWIB, and how even opposing teams were in awe of these players (Brett, Wilson, and White) when they played against them.
I have been wishing for White to be the Royals manager since he first declared he wanted to be. To everyone who says he is just an ass who complains all the time, consider if you worked your ass off to gain a position you were made to feel you could possibly get if you worked your way up. After years and years of nothing but the organization doing everything it can to keep you from it eventually you are just fed up.
He would bring the same attitude to the Royals as we so desperately desire for the Chiefs to have.
Accountability, fundamentals, work ethic and pride. The Royals would be lucky to have him as manager, and are lucky he even asked.

Wasn't that the Mariners? Harold Reynolds?

EDIT: Yeah, it was Harold Reynolds for the Mariners in 1988.

Reynolds: 18 errors on 792 chances, .977 fielding %
White: 4 errors on 723 chances, .994 fielding %

Complete hose job, that was.

Thanks for correcting me on that one....I was posting that off the top of my head. I just remember the travesty....

Very good memory. Only it was the LF GA pole. Into a stiff April breeze and I'm telling ya, that ball was going to leave the park. That damn thing hit the foul pole so hard it sounded like Big Ben in London tolling.

They don't/didn't owe him, but I can understand why Frank might be ticked about it. Aside from being an excellent long-time player for the team, he coached and took crappy minor-league positions. He was obviously willing to pay some dues. Then to get passed over in favor of Buddy Bell and Trey freaking Hillman? Its not like they hired Tony LaRussa or Jim Leyland instead.

I thought he was respected and well-liked by the players. I mean, he SEEMED qualified. In way, I was glad he wasn't hired because I always liked him and any manager of the Royals at that time (or now) is doomed to failure and he'd be fired in a couple years anyway. But, it did kind of seem like a natural fit--unless there's a bunch of stuff that we just don't know. That article sure didn't shed any light on it.

Lots of guys coach in the minors without ever getting to manage in the big leagues. It's not like he was promised to get the job when he decided to coach down there. He got a ton of opportunities handed to him because of his playing career, and it wasn't enough. He wanted everything, or he wasn't going to be happy.

Frank White's son played on the baseball team that I managed. The league sought me out because Frank had told them the criteria that he wanted in a coach. He wanted no part of being a hovering parent or offer any advise. We were the type of team he wanted his son to play on.

His kid wasn't that good. But, I accepted just because he was Frank White's kid. How bad could he be?

Frank came to about 75% of the regular season games and about 25% of the tournaments. He never said a word to me about baseball. I promised to never ask him advise or to help out and I never did.

He was just a parent. He would cheer just like any other parent. He tried to keep a low profile. Standing beside the stands on the side. Wearing hats and sunglasses. His wife told me he just wants to be normal and support his kid by being there. He doesn't want to be Frank White the Royal, but just Dad.

Thanks...for some reason I thought it was the Flag Pole...all I remember was the very loud crack of the bat, the rifle shot out, and the above mentioned resounding hit off the pole.

I remember a former player once saying that if it hadn't hit the pole he swore it would have landed on I-70. (He was using hyperbole but you get the drift)

What did KC do to deserve these franchises? Holy shit!