As a young man, Frank White actually worked on the construction crew that built Kauffman Stadium. A local product, White signed with the Royals in 1970 after a tryout of all things and made it through their local baseball academy. And, of course he went on to enjoy an 18-year career in Kansas City, winning eight gold gloves, a World Series ring and eventually being inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame.
All of which makes this story from Jeff Passan unfortunate. Several years ago the Royals had a falling out with the man who, arguably, is the franchise’s most popular player. As a Royals minor league manager he was passed over for the major league job a couple of times. Later, the team slashed his salary for a community relations/P.R. gig he, like a lot of former players, enjoy in retirement. Finally, he was fired as a Royals broadcaster in part, many suspect, because he was critical of the team. As if being critical of the Royals before this year was unreasonable or something.
As Passan notes, there has been no rapprochement between White and the Royals, not even with the current baseball renaissance in Kansas City.