Paul Splittorf on death bed?

[RoyalShock]

If this report is true, Paul Splittorf won't be with us much longer.

http://kcconfidential.com/full_content.php?article_id=22625&full=yes&pbr=1

Sad news. Once his speech began to slur the official virus story lost its legitimacy. I can understand him wanting to downplay things and just move on without it becoming a big deal. He had become a great analyst. He will be missed.

[kcshocker11]

Didnt know this, how sad

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

maybe we'll hear something on the telecast tonight?

[WuDrWu]

It would appear that today is the first time it's really been made public. Watching Paul throw for the Royals is one of my lasting childhood memories.


He is a young man, too young to be taken by cancer. I hope it wasn't because of chewing tobacco, but if it was, I hope they plaster it all over every can out there.

[SubGod22]

Very sad news. I've loved Spitt's passion for the Royals and loved the way he expressed his thoughts no matter how harsh they were towards KC. He was before my time as a Royals really so I don't remember him on the mound but he's obviously got a place in Royals history on the mound as well as in the booth. He will be missed.

[SubGod22]

Re: Paul Splittorf on death bed?

If this report is true, Paul Splittorf won't be with us much longer.

http://kcconfidential.com/full_content.php?article_id=22625&full=yes&pbr=1

Sad news. Once his speech began to slur the official virus story lost its legitimacy. I can understand him wanting to downplay things and just move on without it becoming a big deal. He had become a great analyst. He will be missed.

It's true. Royals broadcaster Splittorff admitted to hospital

I figure something from the team site is official

[SubGod22]

Former Royals lefty, broadcaster Splittorff dies

Paul Splittorff, the big left-hander who won more games than any Royals pitcher, died of complications from melanoma on Wednesday morning at the family home in Blue Springs, Mo.

Splittorff, 64, was hospitalized on May 16 for treatment of oral cancer and melanoma but recently returned home.

Funeral arrangements were not announced.

Splittorff spent his entire 15-year Major League career with the Royals and had a 166-143 record and 3.81 ERA in 429 regular-season games. He was in four postseasons with the Royals, 1976-77-78 and 1980, reaching the World Series in the latter year. His postseason mark was 2-0 with a 2.79 ERA. Both wins were against the Yankees, in 1976 and '77.

He not only holds the Royals' career record for victories, he is the leader in starts (392) and innings pitched (2,554 2/3). He became the club's first 20-game winner in 1973, when he went 20-11. He was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame in 1987.

Splittorff's playing career spanned from 1970-84 and after his retirement he became known to a legion of baseball and Big 12 basketball fans as a highly respected and knowledgeable broadcaster.

Splittorff this year was working in his 24th season as a television analyst for FOX Sports Kansas City. However, his appearances on Royals broadcasts in the past three years had been limited because of difficulties with his voice.

:cry:

[kcshocker11]

:cry: RIP Split! 8)

[SubGod22]

Tribute to Splitt will air on FOX Kansas City

BALTIMORE -- FOX Sports Kansas City will air a one-hour tribute to Paul Splittorff at 6 p.m. CT on Friday.

Splittorff, who died on Wednesday, was the Royals baseball analyst for the television broadcasts.

"FOX Sports is deeply saddened by the passing of our friend and colleague Paul Splittorff, and our thoughts go out to Paul's family," FSKC said in a statement. "Paul was a great broadcaster who was loved and appreciated by the fans. He was generous, active in the Kansas City community, and a wonderful teammate to all of us at FOX."

Splitt: From beginning to end, the real Royal

Paul Splittorff was part of Royals history from the team's first dawning.

"He pitched the first game ever that any Royals team ever played, in Corning, N.Y.," former broadcasting partner Fred White recalled. "So he was really was, from the beginning to the end, the real Royal."

That was in 1968, with the expansion Royals' first team in the New York-Penn League. From there Splittorff became a premier Major League pitcher and a highly respected broadcaster, all with the Kansas City Royals.

A must read.

[SubGod22]

Splittorff's death hits home for Quirk

HOUSTON -- The news that former Royals pitcher Paul Splittorff died early Wednesday from complications of melanoma hit home for Astros bullpen coach Jamie Quirk, who was a teammate of Splittorff for four years and caught him on 10 different occasions.

"I knew that he had gone into the hospital a week ago or less," Quirk said. "The word had spread that he wasn't doing well and I heard this morning. Split was a great teammate, a great professional, taught me a lot about catching. I was a converted catcher and used to sit with him and go over hitters. He had a big influence in my career."

[SubGod22]

Former KC hurler Busby remembers Splittorff

BALTIMORE -- Former Royals pitcher Steve Busby, now a Rangers broadcaster, will see his old team in Arlington this weekend, but it won't be the same without his old friend Paul Splittorff.

Splittorff, who died on Wednesday, made his last road trip as a broadcaster when the Royals played at Texas in April.

"Whether it was as a player or a broadcaster, he represented the organization and the fans as well as it could possibly be done," Busby said.

[SubGod22]

Splitt receives Memorial Day video tribute

[SubGod22]

Splitt

I don’t think I ever truly appreciated Paul Splittorff, the ballplayer.

Kind of funny, actually. Because growing up in Kansas City in the 1970s, I could have been mistaken for mini-Splitt. Left-handed, glasses almost larger than my face, pitching to contact in the Johnson County 3&2… Really it was only natural I have Splitt as a hero and a role model. My mom used to always bring up the comparison. As if it was cool being compared to a major leaguer. It was cool, but Splitt just didn’t excite me. Besides, I liked hitting better, so why couldn’t people associate me with Amos Otis or John Mayberry? Those guys kicked ass. Splitt… He didn’t kick ass as much as he survived.

As I got older and grew to appreciate the history of the team and it’s players, I learned that to be compared to Splitt was a high honor. When you talk about Splittorff being a competitor or a bulldog, that’s not being cliche. It’s being truthful. The guy didn’t have all the talent in the world. Hell, he was often overshadowed on his own team… First by Busby, then by Leonard. But the guy battled and often was successful.