Hi, Anybody!: Why I Love Baseball and What I'd Do to Fix It

“Hi, everybody, and welcome ….”  Those signature sign-on words from Hall of Fame broadcaster Denny Matthews have signaled the start of summer for Kansas City Royals baseball fans for six decades.  Since the first day of the club’s inception in 1969, Matthews has been there – on the call for Royals history.  For anyone who has grown up with the Royals, Matthews has been the one constant, painting vivid portraits of the game he loves with the sights and sounds of the ballpark as his canvas.

Matthews offers and inside look at what he has witnessed and learned during his more than six decades in broadcasting – from the Royals pennant-winning teams of the 1970s and 80s through the team’s World Series title in 1985 up to the challenges of surviving as a small market team.  With the hep of former Royals players, managers, coaches, executives and broadcasters, Matthews shares stories on and off the field about everything from the humorous games and moments as a broadcaster to an insider’s look at the business of baseball to the current state of the game.

Hi, Anybody! is not about stats.  It’s not about sliders, steals, safe signs or strikeouts.  It’s about ideas, opinions, philosophies, and perspectives on the bigger issues of baseball.  From high fastballs on the topic of performance-enhancing drugs to curves and change-ups on hilarious happenings through the years.Hi, Anybody! is a fascinating look into major league baseball from Denny’s unique vantage point.

Denny Matthews has been with the Kansas City Royals as a radio announcer since the club’s first season in 1969.  He teamed with Buddy Blattner until 1975, and then became the team’s number one announcer, working for 25 years with Fred White, who joined the Royals in 1973.  Besides working for the Royals, Matthews has worked games for the CBS Radio Network.  He is one of a few broadcasters in baseball who has broadcasted exclusively for the same team, without interruption, in five different decades.  After the 2003 season, the Royals selected Matthews for the club’s Hall of Fame.  Then, in 2007, Matthews received the Ford C. Frick Award, the highest honor for an announcer, from the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  In 1999 Matthews co-authored Play by Play: 25 Years of Royals on Radio.  Matthews is an avid golfer and hockey player.

Matt Fulks who started his journalism career while attending Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, after his baseball career was cut short by a lack of ability, spends his time as a freelance writer, editor and co-host of a syndicated radio show, “Behind the Stats.”  He is a regular contributor to various publications, including kcmetrosports.com – the Web site for Kansas City’s all-sports TV station Metro Sports, and the Royals Gameday magazine.