Big Thrill #3

Getting wet by the flying champagne in the crazy locker room after the Royals won the 1980 AL playoffs — my Big Thrill #3. Watching them skip around in their underwear, hamming it up for TV, it was such a blast! After covering and just sort of associating with them all year, being there at that end was especially sweet. I was really happy for them as having lived through the process too. (But of course in journalism you need to be objective and not take sides. Didn’t work that night.)

George Brett had also gotten lots of extra attention that year, flirting with a .400 batting average. But outfielder Willie Wilson (pouring) was only the second player in MLB history to get 100 hits batting from both the right AND left sides (and he stole about 37,000 bases): feats like that got far less media attention than the rabid Brett Watch. I tried to help with an appreciative “way to go” handshake for Willie in the final week of the regular season. He returned a flat “thanks” with the enthusiasm of a poker player.

Maybe this little scene was kind of “pay back”, as Willie tried to publicly cool the Fabulous Brett Phenomenon, for that week anyway ….