Split

In the midst of all of the hockey celebration that will continue until the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals (when it becomes all business), I must take some time to remember the face of the Kansas City Royals.  Paul Splittorff died yesterday at 64 after a battle with melanoma and oral cancer.  For most of his 64 years on this planet, he wasn't just the winningest Royal pitcher as the older generation remembers him for, he was also the face and voice of Royals television games, as I had come to remember him by.  No matter how good or how bad the Royals were, and there were some horrible Royals teams, there was one thing I could count on: "Split" being the voice that carried the games on television.  What Denny Matthews was to the radio for the Royals, Splittorff was to the television for the team.  His service to the team began in 1968 as a pitcher drafted in the 25th round and ended as a broadcaster for the team in 2009.  Even when it became apparent that he could no longer handle the full time duties of being a broadcaster, he kept on, not letting the ailments be a story.  News of his sickness was reported a couple of weeks ago, a sign that Splittorff offered no excuses when it came to living life.  Now that he's passed on, the Good Guys have one more pitcher on their team and if they want, a man to call the games, too.