After Splitt passed away Wednesday I talked to Denny on the phone about his friend and former co-worker. The circumstances were certainly somber, but I had always wanted to speak with him, so before our trip down memory lane, I took the opportunity to tell him how much I enjoyed and miss his work in the booth.
"I do miss it myself," he said, "there were just some great memories. My timing was perfect, I started the same year they won the pennant for the first time."
When Splitt joined him in the booth it became apparent right away that he was a natural. It was, I believe, one of the smoothest player-to-booth transitions in recent history.
"I hoped I was able to help him that regard, he had so much dedication and commitment to get all that he could out of the talent he had, and I think really succeeded, as a player and a broadcaster. He took what the good Lord gave him and made the most of it.
I always admired his nerve, his bravery to say what people always didn't want to hear. He called it the way he saw and I think not everybody would've been able to get away with that. Everybody - coaches, players, fans - had so much respect for Splitt that if he said it, it was ok. They weren't going to hold his feet to the fire, they knew if he was criticizing them, he had reason to criticize."
When it came to Splitt the pitcher, I mentioned how amazing it was to me how successful he was despite not having overpowering stuff. Though he didn't get to see Splitt in his prime, Denny agreed with that sentiment. I brought up how in 1978 he won 19 games despite a 2.6 SO/9. In todays game a pitcher would be lucky to win 19 career games with so few strikeouts.
"That's incredible to me that he's still the winningest pitcher in the organization, it tells what you can do, for one thing, with intelligence. He was such an intelligent guy and he transferred that into his broadcast work too, but as a pitcher, he just outsmarted so many hitters.
I didn't really get to see him at his best, his career was already at a downward trend by the time I got there but I still saw him pitch some very good games and, again, show what intelligence can do. But I didn't get to see him at his absolute best."
The Royals also had Larry Gura in the rotation, another successful left-hander with a low strikeout rate (3.3). He could accurately be described as Splitt's soft tossing partner in crime. Unlike Splitt, Gura at least had an out pitch.
"We used to call Larry Gura 'Slider', because he had a very good slider but Splitt, you know his stuff wasn't overpowering and any one pitch wasn't great but he knew how to set up hitters and work them in and out and expand the strike zone. They'd get eager and overeager and he'd take advantage of everything he could."
When Splitt became his broadcast partner, Denny watched how the intelligence shown on the mound also manifested itself in the booth.
"I think he taught a lot of baseball to fans in Kansas City, I think it's a good baseball town and the people know their sport, but I think Splitt educated them even more.
He also had a good sense of humor, we just really enjoyed working those games and he was committed to doing them right and was also committed to having fun. He realized it was a game we were describing and it was supposed to be fun."
Denny never forgot how, right off the bat, Splitt served notice that he was going to take his color commentary responsibilities seriously.
"I still remember they sent us to spring training to work together before that first year, when he was going to take over as the analyst and I was going to do more of the play by play. I'll just never forget how dedicated he was down there, I think he worked harder than he did in any spring training as a player even. Because he wanted to make sure he got it right and he kept asking me over and over again, 'Am I doing this right? Am I doing that right?', he was just so dedicated. Too many guys in this profession lack that same kind of commitment. They just think 'Well you know, I was a player, people will buy whatever I say because I played'. Splitt wasn't going to do it that way."
Splittorff's pitching resume will never be forgotten, and in the current baseball climate, his club record 166 wins will likely never be broken. Denny believes Splitt left a similar legacy in the booth.
"Sometimes it's just speaking the truth, and people will not forget it."
Via email, Denny shared some of what he's done since leaving KC:
I returned here to Lexington, Kentucky in 1999 and switched from sports to news as a reporter and anchor at the CBS affiliate, WKYT. I was fortunate enough to win a couple of Emmys in television news, but I retired in December of 09 and have been taking life easy since then. I do some volunteer work for a homeless shelter called the Lexington Rescue Mission, and I play a lot of golf now, whenever the weather co-operates. We have two grandchildren who live in Colorado so naturally we try to make trips out there whenever we can get away.
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Former New York Times columnist Murray Chass also was kind enough to share a memory of one of Splittorff's most important starts. I know Murray has a certain reputation in the blogging community but it's worth noting that in his emails to me, I found him to be polite, informative, and funny.
I can't say I knew Splittorff; the only time I talked to him, as I remember, was after or before a game he was pitching. However, he did figure in one of the epic Billy Martin-Reggie Jackson episodes as well as the worst case of overmanaging I probably ever saw.
Game 5 of the 1977 ALCS, and Martin says Jackson's not playing because he can't hit Splittorff. .
Catfish Hunter who had played with Jackson in Oakland, confirmed that, telling reporters, "Reggie can't hit Splittorff with a paddle."
Jackson, however, pinch hit in the eighth inning after Doug Bird replaced Split and singled home the tying run. The Yankees went on to score three runs in the ninth as Herzog feverishly changed pitchers--Mingori to Leonard to Gura to Littell.-- and won, 5-3.
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Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times put together a list of notables games Splitt appeared in, as well "as his best/worst/most noteworthy achievements, and some oddball games/moments he happened to be on hand for, even if he had nothing to do with what made that game worthy of note. Hey, they’re all games he appeared in."
It's definitely a must read for Royals fans.
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