Kansas City played their first game on that date after the 1981 strike ended. Cal Ripken, Jr. made his Major League debut against the Royals that day – coming into the game as a pinch-runner for Ken Singleton in the bottom of the 12th inning and scoring the winning run.
George Brett appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with Mike Schmidt (they were the reigning MVPs at the time) under the banner “Here We Go Again!”
Pete Rose recorded his 3,631th career hit, breaking Stan Musial’s NL hit record.
And, while all of that was going on, I attended an Omaha Royals baseball game at Rosenblatt Stadium with my best friend’s family. It turned out to be quite a day.
I can’t remember how we found out, but when my best friend and I heard that Mickey Mantle was in the stadium and he was signing autographs, we scrambled to find him. It wasn’t that hard because he was seated behind home plate, a little toward first base, and a line of kids was forming up the aisle.
I was only 14 at the time and had no real understanding about Mantle’s relevance to the game. In fact, as a Royals fan, I couldn’t stand the Yankees. But somehow I knew Mantle’s name was bigger than the rivalry. So I got in line with my friend.
Mantle signed a sheet of paper for me (why didn’t I have him sign a ball?), I added the date, folded it, and stuck it in my pocket. When I got home, I had enough sense to remove it and place it in plastic. Although, for some bizarre reason, I colored in the date with a pen (see the photo).
I cannot remember who the Omaha Royals played that day. In fact, I cannot even find a box score online for that particular game. Thanks to Baseball-Reference, I can see that guys like Onix Concepcion, Ron Johnson, Darryl Motley, Ken Phelps, Bombo Rivera, Pat Sheridan, Don Slaught, Jerry Cram, Atlee Hammaker and Mike Jones played for the O. Royals in 1981. But as for the game itself, I cannot remember a thing.
What I do remember is a brief encounter with Mickey Mantle at Rosenblatt Stadium with my best friend by my side.
The Omaha Royals have 25 regular season home games remaining at Rosenblatt Stadium. General manager Martie Cordaro and his staff have promotions planned nearly every one of those nights.
Players often take time to sign autographs. Casey and the other mascots roam the stands. There are planned giveaways, fireworks, concerts after games, a night dedicated to honor the 1970 championship team (August 21), and the team is playing pretty good baseball right now – they are just 0.5 games out of first place in the PCL American North division.
Pick a night or two, bring your family out to the ballpark, and make a memory – one that maybe they’ll be talking about some 29 years later.
