Disgruntled Royals Fans Call on Owner to Sell
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After just one winning season since 1995, enough is enough, and there needs to be a change at the top.
That’s the message from some disgruntled Kansas City Royals fans to team owner David Glass in an open letter signed by over 150 Royals fans and printed in the sports section of the Kansas City Star on Thursday.
The letter asks Glass to sell the team to someone that they hope will help bring a winning team to a city that hasn’t seen post-season baseball since the Royals won the 1985 World Series.
“Over the years you cant help but be cynical that we’ve rebuilt and retooled and redone everything countless times,” said Royals fan Nick Palmer, who helped write the letter with a friend – another frustrated Royals fan. “We invest a lot of taxpayer dollars. We invest a lot of time, emotion into a team you know here locally, and we think we deserve more.”
Palmer and his friend bought the half-page newspaper ad – paid for by online donations from more than 150 fans – asking Glass to sell the team.
“I just don’t feel the commitment to win and really commitment to the community,” said Palmer.
The Royals say that they appreciate the passion and dedication of their fans, but they admit that the letter was disheartening.
“I don’t think this season is going the way any of us thought it would go,” said Royals vice-president of Business Operations Kevin Uhlich. “Mr. Glass is the owner, he’s the biggest target and I know people are very frustrated. We’re frustrated.”
Uhlich says that the picture painted by the letter isn’t entirely correct, saying that the team has outspent nearly every team in baseball except the New York Yankees in scouting and player development.
And, Uhlich says, the team has a plan.
“So while the last 20 years aren’t a bright spot in Royals history, we think the last five we’ve shown a lot of progress and hopefully fans realize that,” said Uhlich.
The Royals said neither Glass nor his son, team president Dan Glass, were in town to comment on the letter. The team also says that Glass has no plans to sell the team.
