If you tuned the radio to a Kansas City Royals game at any point between 1969 and now, you probably heard the voice of Denny Matthews. In fact, Matthews has called 87% of all Royals games since the team’s inception 57 years ago.
Last weekend, Matthews called his 8,000th game for the team. However, he made sure to remind Up to Date’s Steve Kraske that the official number is now 8,002, after he announced the final two games of the season.
Despite the Royals having yet another bad game at the tail end of an equally poor season, fans were given a reason to celebrate during the 5th inning when the whole stadium paid tribute to Matthews' historic milestone.
Matthews waved from inside the press box as players, staff and fans all waved and tipped their caps to the man who's been the team's voice for over half a century.
“That image and the audio of it all is gonna remain in my memory for as long as I can remember,” Matthews told Up to Date. “ It was pretty overwhelming.”
Matthews is one of only four announcers in MLB history to call games for the same team for more than 50 seasons, joining the elite company of Vin Scully, Jaime Jarrín and Bob Uecker.
Matthews joined the Royals Hall of Fame in 2004, the Missouri sports Hall of Fame in 2005 and the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, winning the esteemed Ford C. Frick Award, the highest honor for baseball broadcasters.
Nearly 20 years since those accolades, and thousands of games later, Matthews is continuing on to his 59th season.
“ It's the enjoyment of being at the ballpark, the people that are there. That's the reason I'm still in Kansas City,” Matthews said.
When the Royals went searching for a co-anchor to accompany longtime broadcast veteran Buddy Blattner in 1969, 26-year-old Matthews drove down to a Cardinals game in St. Louis to record his audition. That tape ended up securing him the job over more than 200 other applicants.
“ I didn't think I'd be in Kansas City for this long,” Matthews said. “In fact, my plan was, having grown up with the Cardinals and the Cubs and the White Sox a little bit in Chicago, I thought maybe St. Louis, Chicago would eventually come calling.”
And they did. Over the years, teams from all over the league reached out hoping to get Matthews into their own broadcast booths.
“When somebody is in their house or in their car, wherever they might be… when they turn the radio on and you're there, they are inviting you into their environment. And so they are comfortable with you, and that works two ways,” Matthews said.
“I think Kansas City's a very comfortable place to be.”
But perhaps there’s no place in the city where Matthews feels more comfortable than inside Kauffman Stadium. Matthews has been recording from the K since the team’s move from Municipal Stadium in 1973.
Matthews even had his wedding ceremony there this past November, where he married his wife Amy Baker.
“We decided that it would be kind of a fun thing to get married at the ballpark, and we told people who were invited, ‘Do not come into the ballpark with a coat and tie or a fancy dress or even a tux because you're not gonna be allowed into the wedding. You better wear your Royals gear,’” Matthews said.
Current Royals broadcaster Ryan Lefebvre emceed the ceremony.
As far as next season goes, Matthews has high hopes for the team. This year the Royals finished 69-93, the same record they held their first season in 1969.
- Denny Matthews, Hall of Fame Royals radio broadcaster
