Gary Martz played in one game for Kansas City during the 1975 season, receiving one at bat and fielding one put out. While his times in KC were brief, Gary spent three full seasons at Omaha (1975-1977) where he hit a combined 52 home runs with 189 RBI. A 6-4 first baseman and outfielder, Martz was originally drafted by the Seattle Pilots in the 5th round of the 1969 June Amateur Draft. He recently joined Dave O to talk about why the Pilots folded, coming over to KC, his memories of playing in that one Big League game and much more! (Photo Courtesy Former Omaha Royals)
Steve Renko, a Kansas Sports Hall of Fame inductee, pitched for the Royals during the 1983 season at the twilight of a 15 year major league career. A 6-5 righty, Renko finished his big league career with a mark of 134-146 and a 3.99 ERA in stints with the Expos, Cubs, White Sox, Athletics, Red Sox, Angels and Royals. Prior to his MLB career, Renko was a three-sport athlete at the University of Kansas, playing quarterback in the same backfield as Gale Sayers and also starring on the hardwood. Renko recently joined Dave O to talk about his KU days, as well as awesome stories of Charlie Finley, the 1983 Royals drug scandal, a near tragic but now hilarious fishing trip with George Brett and much more! (Photo Courtesy Kansas City Royals)
Heading into his final two starts of the 2014 season, Jeremy Guthrie needs to pitch just 9.2 innings to once again eclipse the 200 mark, the fifth time in his career he will accomplish such feat. Guthrie currently sits at 11-11 with a 4.35 ERA and recently caught up with Dave O for a completely random ADHD conversation about possible playoffs, favorite Nintendo games, collecting baseball cards, best MLB clubhouses, outside perceptions of Kansas City, dealing with negative comments on Twitter and lots more! (Photo Courtesy Kansas City Royals)
Mike Kingery was signed by the Royals as an amateur free agent in 1979 and after spending parts of seven years in the Kansas City system, made his MLB debut with KC in 1986. That marked the beginning of a ten year big league career that saw Kingery play with the Royals, Mariners, Giants, Athletics, Rockies and Pirates. The left handed outfielder recently caught up with Dave O to reminisce about how the Royals discovered him, coming up through the KC system, debuting as a Royal, being traded away, nearly winning a batting title with the Rockies, how faith and integrity have played a big role in his development as a man and much more! (Photo Courtesy Mike Kingery)
Luke Hochevar has been with the Kansas City organization since becoming the #1 overall pick in the 2006 June Amateur Draft out of the University of Tennessee. From 2007-2012,“Hoch” served as a starting pitcher in KC, before moving to the Royals bullpen in 2013 and becoming completely dominate (to the tune of a 1.92 ERA in 58 games). While Tommy John surgery has forced Hoch to miss the 2014 season, he continues to rehab and travel with the team. Luke recently joined Dave O from Detroit to talk about the pure excitement of the pennant race, how his rehab his coming along, how much he’d like to come back to the Royals in 2015 and lots more! (Photo Courtesy Kansas City Royals)
Calvin Pickering played first base and DH for the Royals from 2004-2005 and hit .318/.456/.774 with 8 home runs in 149 at bats. Besides playing with KC, the U.S. Virgin Islands native also appeared in MLB games with Baltimore, Cincinnati and Boston, finishing with a career line of .329/.428/.757 with 14 HR’s in 310 at bats. Pickering recently joined Dave O to discuss all five of the years he spent at the major league level, with a special emphasis on KC, as well as learning how Pickering got into baseball in the first place, the unlikely source of his first ever baseball glove, working with George Brett and much more! (Photo Courtesy Kansas City Royals)
Rey Palacios played for the Royals from 1988-1990 after being signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1982. Primarily a catcher, Palacios was known for his superb defensive ability and most notably, his arm. In fact, Palacios threw out 33% of would be base stealers during his MLB career. After his playing years were over, Palacios went from baseball hero to a real hero, as he’s a fireman in New York that was among the first respondents on 9/11. Dave O recently had the honor of talking with Rey for two hours about both his times in baseball, filled with AWESOME stories, and his current life of serving his community and country. A completely blunt, nothing off limits interview that you won’t want to miss. (Photo Courtesy Kansas City Royals)
Sam Selman was selected by the Royals in the 2nd round of the 2012 draft out of Vanderbilt University and wasted no time in showing why, as the 6-3 lefty immediately won Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year. The Austin, Texas native originally began his career with KC as a starter but in 2014, has been moved to the bullpen with even greater success. In fact, Selman was one of six Royals recently named to the 2014 Arizona Fall League. Sam recently joined Dave O to talk about pitching in the College World Series, his times at various Royals minor league stops, his thoughts on pitching out of the bullpen, a potential future career in professional golf and lots more! (Photo Courtesy John Owen/Northwest Arkansas Naturals)
Ali Williams is just wrapping up a successful 2014 campaign with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals and for his efforts, has been named as one of six Royals to play in the Arizona Fall League. A 6-2 right hander, Kansas City selected Williams out of Charleston Southern in the 34th round of the 2011 draft as a closer with high upside. Williams recently joined Dave O to talk about his unlikely road to professional baseball, his excitement about being named to the AFL, collecting basketball cards, crammed living arrangements and much more! *** NOTE *** You’ll be in stiches by the end. (Photo Courtesy Northwest Arkansas Naturals)
Jose Santiago pitched for Kansas City from 1997-2001 and in total, spent parts of eight years at the major league level (Royals, Phillies, Indians and Mets). A 6-3 right hander, Santiago appeared in 105 games out of the Royals bullpen, finishing 13-12 with a 4.31 ERA and 4 saves in 152.1 IP. Santiago recently joined Dave O to talk about how Kansas City discovered him out of Puerto Rico, his tremendous memories of the Royals minor league system (with some GREAT stories), how much he loved pitching in Kansas City and much more! (Photo Courtesy Kansas City Royals)