Ned Yost Named To AL Coaching Staff in 2012 MLB All Star Game

Royals Manager Ned Yost and Head Athletic Trainer Nick Kennedy have been named members of the AL coaching staff for the upcoming 2012 MLB All Star game, July 10 at Kauffman Stadium. The two will join AL manager Ron Washington’s staff, who will be coaching his second consecutive All Star game. Oakland Manager Bob Melvin will join Yost and Washington. Washington has told the media that he picked Yost due to the impressive job he has done with a young Kansas City team this season.

The National League will be managed by Tony La Russa, who lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a world series championship last year. La Russa’s staff also includes Ron Roenicke of the Milwaukee Brewers and Terry Collins of the New York Mets.

This will be Yost’s fifth All Star game appearance; he also was included on the staffs in the 1996, 1997, 2000 and 2005 games. This will be the first All Star appearance for Kennedy, who is now in his third season as the Royals’ head trainer. Kennedy will be joined by Lonnie Soloff of the Cleveland Indians.

Yost is the 10th Royals manager to serve on the AL staff. Dick Howser was manager in 1986 after the Royals won the 1985 World Series, and was a coach in 1982 and 1985. Other Royals coaches who participated include Bob Lemon, Jack McKeon, Whitey Herzog, Hal McRae, Bob Boone, Tony Muser, Tony Pena and Trey Hillman. Kennedy is the fourth Royals trainer to be included on an All Star game staff, joining Jim Dudley, Mickey Cobb and Nick Swartz.

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Royals Win 15 Inning Marathon Against Cardinals

Yuniesky Betancourt blasted a two-run home run in the 15th, giving the Royals a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. The win improved Kansas City’s record to 29-35 on the season, and the Royals have now won five of their last six games and trail the Chicago White Sox by only five games in the AL Central standings.

Betancourt wound up the hero, despite not even starting the game. He was forced into action when Chris Getz suffered a leg injury in the first inning. Betancourt nearly ended the game in the fourteenth inning, when his RBI double gave Kansas City a 3-2 lead. However, Jonathan Broxton blew the save and the game continued.

Before Betancourt’s heroics, Billy Butler had the game’s biggest hit. Butler hit a pinch-hit home run to tie the game in the ninth inning, his 12th blast of the season. Kansas City also got a bizarre contribution from Alex Gordon, who drew a franchise record five walks in the game. Gordon has now drawn five walks in a game twice, the only Royal in club history to achieve this feat.

While Betancourt and Butler stole the headlines with their homers, Kansas City would not have been in the game if it wasn’t for some strong pitching. Luis Mendoza pitched six strong innings, only allowing two runs while striking out five and only allowing one walk. The Royals’ bullpen also pitched well, as the Cardinals did not record a run between the sixth and fourteenth inning.

The Royals continue their interleague schedule tonight, when they will travel to Houston to begin a series with the Astros. Jonathan Sanchez (1-2) will start for Kansas City, while J.A. Happ (4-7) will start for Houston. The Royals have won seven of their last ten games against the Astros.

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2012 MLB All Star Fan Fest Schedule Set

The 2012 All-Star game in Kansas City will feature many fun events and attractions; however none may be bigger or more interactive than the FanFest. Entering its 22nd year, the MLB FanFest is an interactive baseball theme park that features activities for baseball fans of all ages. With the All-Star game coming to Kansas City, this year’s FanFest will feature free autograph sessions with legendary Royals players, as well as rare Royals memorabilia.

The FanFest activities last for five days, starting on Friday, July 6 and ending on Tuesday, July 10. The events start at 9:00 a.m. each day and last until 8:00 p.m. on every day except Tuesday, in which the event ends at 6:00 p.m. A full list of the events and their times and date can be found here.

Tickets are currently on sale, and an adult ticket is only $30. All existing Royals Season Ticket Holders will have the opportunity to purchase a strip ticket for all MLB All-Star events held at Kauffman Stadium. Each strip includes one ticket to each All-Star Week event at the ballpark and two MLB All-Star FanFest tickets.

With the 2012 MLB All-Star game at Kauffman Stadium, people in the Kansas City area have a great opportunity to learn more about the game and dive deeper into Royals history. The 2012 FanFest has a lot to offer, and is one of the nice perks a city gets to enjoy when hosting baseball’s midsummer classic.

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Zac Brown Band Scheduled To Play At 2012 Home Run Derby

Major League Baseball has announced that the Zac Brown Band is scheduled to play at the 2012 MLB Home Run Derby, held on July 9. The two-time Grammy Award-winning band will hold an on-field performance to start the event.

The performance is scheduled to begin at 6:55 p.m., when the band will perform “America The Beautiful,” “Chicken Friend” and the band’s latest single, “The Wind.” MLB Network will carry the coverage of the performances before the Home Run Derby coverage is picked up by ESPN at 7:00 p.m.

The 2012 Home Run Derby will be captained by the American League’s Robinson Cano (last year’s winner) and the National League’s Matt Kemp. Cano and Kemp will choose three other players from their leagues to participate in the in the derby. State Farm and Major League Baseball will donate $150,000 to the winning captain’s charity, $100,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of America and $25,000 to the losing captain’s charity.

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Chiefs Start Minicamp Without Dwayne Bowe

Kansas City started its mandatory three-day minicamp yesterday with one glaring absence: All-Pro wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. The Chiefs’ wide out has yet to sign his franchise tender, which means he is currently not under contract and is not required to participate in these drills.

Bowe is coming off his second consecutive productive season, catching 81 passes last year for 1,159 yards and five touchdowns. Bowe was able to produce despite injuries and inconsistency in the Chiefs’ QB rotation, and he is obviously a huge part of Kansas City’s offense.

There are several troubling factors to Bowe’s current holdout. First, there is no guarantee of when the WR will join his teammates. Bowe could be on the practice field when training camp starts in a little over a month or the day before the Chiefs first game – there is no current time table. Also, Kansas City is installing a new offense under new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, which many Chiefs players have deemed as being somewhat complex. Hopefully Bowe will be able to join the team soon and have enough time to pick up the new offense. Kansas City cannot afford a repeat of last year, when the Chiefs had an absolutely dreadful start to the regular season, and needs all its players on the same page.

One silver lining of Bowe’s absence is that second year Jonathan Baldwin has been able to receive more reps. Baldwin, last year’s first round draft pick, missed last offseason due to the NFL lock out, and has reportedly made some big strides in training camp.

Several other Kansas City players also missed the minicamp due to injuries. Eric Berry, Jamaal Charles and Tony Moeaki all sat out due while they recover from injuries sustained last season, while rookie WR Devon Wylie missed practice due to an injured hamstring.

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