WEST PALM BEACH Hyun-Jin Ryu Jersey , Fla. (AP) — “happier. Back in baseball, where he belongs, after a season away.Now a special adviser to the Washington Nationals‘ general manager, Jack McKeon feels refreshed after a bit of a break from the place that’s been his world for most of his 88 years. He managed more than 1,000 wins in the majors, another 1,000-plus in the minors and was a GM, too.“This is in your blood. It’s your love. When I used to manage the Marlins, I’d get up at 7, go to church at 8:30, then turn around and go right to the ballpark. People said: How come you went to the ballpark alone at 9 o’clock, 9:30? I’d say that it was like my living room. My home,” McKeon said during an interview at the Nationals’ spring training facility. “I’d go out and jog. Read the papers. Smoke a few cigars and wait ’til the game started.”Those Padron cigars are still around, but only to gnaw on; he stopped lighting them up more than a half-dozen years ago after double-bypass heart surgery.“When I see people, first thing they ask is, ‘Can I get a picture? Where’s your cigar?’ So I always keep one on hand,” said McKeon, whose son, Kasey, is Washington’s director of player procurement. “I cut ’em in half, chew ’em. Just stick ’em in, like a prop.”So much else is the same as it ever was when it comes to the manager of the 2003 World Series champion Florida Marlins — today, they’re the Miami Marlins — along with the Kansas City Royals http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey , Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds.His nickname — earned because, as he says, “I kept wheelin’ and dealin’, and so it stuck” while running the Padres in the 1980s — is so ingrained that the license plate on one of his cars reads “Trader J.” Friends call him “Trader Jack,” and he signs text messages simply with “Trader.”Also unchanged: His knowledge of the game. His sense of humor. And, of course, his penchant for telling stories.Oh, those stories.Get McKeon started, and he’ll regale you for 10, 20, 30 minutes, each tale leading to another, a wink and a smile punctuating his promise of, “I’ll tell ya one more.”There are common threads. Every character is truly a character, depicted in detail — how tall or slender, how voices sounded, how smart (or not). There’s usually an element of self-deprecation. There’s always a punchline.On this particular morning, as birds chirped around in the breeze, McKeon got on a roll. He recalled setting up an electronic “wire” that allowed for direct communication with his pitcher in the early 1960s at Triple-A Vancouver, predating by a half-century the watches Major League Baseball tested this spring to evade sign-stealing. Or the time he wanted rope tied around a player’s feet when he reached first base so the guy wouldn’t take off when he shouldn’t. Or when he went to a pawn shop and bought a $3.95 gun that shot blanks to scare a runner ignoring “Stop!” signs at third base.“You try to absorb as much as you can,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “He’s definitely a teacher. And I try to be a student.”Washington GM Mike Rizzo wanted McKeon for precisely that purpose: passing along what he knows.“He’s a mentor to me. He’s a person that you can bounce things off of. I can. Davey can,” Rizzo said. “He checks just about every box that you need as an experienced baseball person.”McKeon was available because he was among four Marlins executives — along with Andre Dawson Mike Piazza Jersey , Tony Perez and Jeff Conine — let go after a group led by Derek Jeter bought that team in 2017.That scuttled a plan to let McKeon run Miami for one game in September 2018 so he could break Connie Mack’s record for oldest manager in the majors.“I’m not worried about it. I’m not politicking. It would have been nice. I just didn’t want it to seem like a PR thing,” McKeon said. “If it ever happens, fine. If it doesn’t, so be it.”McKeon will be based in Washington during the season, which begins Thursday, and will travel to help minor league managers and coaches and evaluate prospects.In sum, Rizzo vowed to keep McKeon busy.Trader Jack is just fine with that after his brief respite, even if it afforded him time to go to the beach or Las Vegas or spend time with a family that includes 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.“I got a chance to see what the other side lives like. As the season wore on, especially near the end, it got boring hanging around. I needed to go back to work,” McKeon said, then added with a chuckle: “Plus, my wife kept saying, ‘Why don’t you go? Go. Go. Go.'” KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Very few teams coming off 100-loss seasons head to spring training full of confidence.The Kansas City Royals are a rare exception.Fresh off a strong finish to 2018, and after a quiet offseason for the first time in years, the Royals believe they are poised to take another step toward contention. They have a new-look lineup full of speed, a bright young cast of pitchers and the same kind of positive mindset that carried the organization to its first World Series title in three decades in 2015.“It all started with the progress we made at the end of last season,” said Royals manager Ned Yost, who went into last season still recovering from a dangerous fall from a hunting stand on his Georgia farm. “I felt really great where we ended up. It was a great winter. I’m more ready this year than I have been the last couple of years to get back at it.”The Royals started last season with a cobbled-together roster of veterans and prospects, but by August had jettisoned just about everybody with a gray hair. In their place came the next wave of young players, and together they made life miserable for other contenders down the stretch.Now, that same group is poised to enter a season together for the first time.Second baseman Whit Merrifield is armed with a new contract after a breakthrough year http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey , and the base-stealing expert is joined by speedsters such as Billy Hamilton and Chris Owings. Adalberto Mondesi finally lived up to his hot-shot prospect billing late in the season, and a cast that includes Ryan O’Hearn, Hunter Dozier and Jorge Soler are poised to take the next step in their development.Brad Keller is poised to start opening day, anchoring a young but tantalizing rotation that includes Jakob Junis and erstwhile building blocks Ian Kennedy and Danny Duffy.If the bullpen, which was among the worst in the big leagues a year ago, manages to come together early this season, the Royals believe they can hang around well into the summer.“I like our identity. I know we’re going to play good defense and I know we’ll be able to steal bases. That’s the thing that gives us some comfort, if there is such a thing,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “If there’s anything that still has to be sorted out, it’s our pitching. I think we have enough talented arms. They’re just going to have to go out there and produce.”After two straight losing seasons, the Royals are aiming for .500 or better this season.“You kind of press the reset button. When you go home for four months it’s hard to feel that momentum when you get back,” Duffy said, “but it’s definitely promising to see what Dozier and O’Hearn were able to do at the end of last season. Obviously, Keller was incredible. What a pickup. I feel like we should have some kind of confidence going into this year.”The season opener comes at home March 28 against the Chicago White Sox.BACKUP BACKSTOPJust about the only thing that went wrong in spring training was the injury to six-time All-Star Salvador Perez. The catcher tore ligaments in his elbow and underwent Tommy John surgery, forcing the Royals to sign veteran Martin Maldonado to pair with Cam Gallagher behind the plate.NEW FACESHamilton is poised to start in center field, and joins Mondesi and Merrifield in giving the Royals three of the top eight base-stealers in the big leagues last season. Owings and Brett Philips are also capable of wreaking havoc on the base paths.SPRING STUDSThe Royals are hopeful that former first-round pick Kyle Zimmer can help their bullpen this season. He’s dealt with injuries throughout his career, but a season spent with the Driveline Baseball academy near Seattle seemed to help. His stuff was electric in spring training.ROOKIES TO WATCHThe Royals chose four college pitchers within the first 40 overall selections in last year’s draft, and it’s possible right-hander Brady Singer could arrive late in the season. Also keep an eye on infielder Nicky Lopez, who raked during the Cactus League schedule.VESTED VETSAlex Gordon piled up big numbers in the spring, giving the three-time All-Star confidence that his swing might be back in line. The outfielder hit .245 with 13 homers and 45 RBIs last season, and he won his sixth gold glove while providing some much-needed clubhouse leadership.
