Splitt

Lost a bit amongst the storms and weather-related news yesterday around the Midwest was the death of Paul Splittorff, a former pitcher for the Kansas City Royals.

Splitt is being eulogized today as a good man, a proud man, and an intensely private man. It is the recent sharing of this information about Splitt's personality that has made his death particularly poignant for me.

During the 1970's, when baseball ruled the Kansas City sports scene and when George Brett was becoming George Brett, Splittorff was quietly amassing victories for the Royals. While pitchers like Dennis Leonard and Bret Saberhagen after him became identified as "the guys" for the Royals, Splitt used his mastery of pitching speed and location to amass more wins than any other hurler in franchise history.

Splittorff was one of those guys who just won--he didn't have heat on his fastball, he didn't have a killer curveball, and he didn't have a quirky delivery. Again, he just won. He did it by knowing the hitter, by seldom giving them anything squarely over the plate, by changing rhythm and speed, and by locating the ball where he knew the hitter didn't want it.

I never was a huge Splittorff fan. I appreciated his victories but never appreciated the way he achieved his wins or the way he carried himself in the clubhouse and, after his retirement, in his chosen field of broadcasting.

The loss of Splittorff is a reminder that there are athletes who achieve greatness not through their physical gifts but through a combination of talent, preparation and savvy. And, his passing is also a reminder that there are, thankfully, athletes who realize that once their playing career is over that there are other mountains to climb. Splitt did that by tackling the profession of sportscasting and working, just like he did in baseball, to be the best.

This community and this hometown franchise will miss Splitt. Much like the city in which he lived, he was unpretentious, hard-working, well-prepared, and thankful for what he had...R.I.P, Paul Splittorff.