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The Royals play their home games at Kauffman Stadium in front of a capacity crowd of just over 40,000 people. The stadium’s biggest feature is the waterfall in left center field, just past the warning track and wall. Tony Pena enters his third season as skipper, and many experts felt he deserved to win AL Manager of the Year last season due to his winning ways with a team somewhat deprived of talent.
The biggest “problem” the Royals will face this season is the dilemma involving star center fielder Carlos Beltran. Beltran, only 27, is in the last year of his contract, and is widely regarded as the best position player in the game. If the Royals fall out of contention early, the Yankees and Dodgers, among others, will start to inquire about Beltran’s services. Until then, Beltran is teamed with sluggers first baseman Mike Sweeney and outfielder Juan Gonzalez.
The Royals are also hoping their young rotation will round into form in 2004. Jimmy Gobble and Darrell May will lead the staff, and Brian Anderson and Jeremy Affeldt should provide a solid 3-4 punch. Mike MacDougal assumed the role of closer last season, but if he gets off to a bad start, Pena has come out and said he’s not afraid to try a closer-by-committee.
The Beltran situation will likely determine the direction of the Royals for years to come. It’s quite rare that a player of his caliber comes along, and management must decide in the coming months if they feel this team can win with that they have right now. It’s not out of the question to assume that they can get great value in a trade, but the thought of resigning Beltran in a small market such as Kansas City seems downright impossible.
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