KANSAS CITY ROYALS

Member of the Cracker Jack Baseball League

Management Team

Mike ReenMike Reen
General Manager
Mike Reen has been the General Manager of the Kansas City Royals since the creation of the Cracker Jack Baseball League in 1970. Reen is very experienced in running ballclubs, as he has 25 years of service. Most recently he led the Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks to a Championship in the Keystone Baseball League. Also a member of the New World Baseball League as the GM of the Maui Sting Rays for the past two seasons. Reen also is the Commisioner of the Time Travel Baseball League.

Whitey HerzogWhitey Herzog
Field Manager
Affectionately called The White Rat, Herzog has earned respect in baseball for his superb managerial skills. He has had five division winners and one World Champion (the 1982 Cardinals). Herzog was named Manager of the Year in 1976 by UPI, and in 1982 by TSN and UPI. He was also voted Manager of the Year by the BBWAA in 1985 for leading St. Louis to the NL pennant. In 1981 and 1982, when he was also GM, the UPI named him Executive of the Year as well. He is one of 37 managers to collect over 1,000 victories. Columnist Larry King says, "Every game is like a chess match with Whitey, and other managers must feel like they are playing against 10 guys when they go up against him."

Bob FellerBob Feller
Pitching Coach
The winningest pitcher in Cleveland Indians history, in 1962 Feller became the first pitcher since charter member Walter Johnson to be elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Though regarded as the fastest pitcher of his day, he himself attributed his strikeout records to his curve and slider. Blessed with a strong arm and an encouraging father, young Feller pitched to a makeshift backstop on the family farm near Van Meter, Iowa. Cleveland scout Cy Slapnicka signed him for one dollar and an autographed baseball.

Rocky BridgesRocky Bridges
Hitting Coach
The wisecracking Bridges fashioned a second career as an eminently quotable minor league manager. Always chewing a huge wad of tobacco, he was responsible for such wry gems as "Tommy Lasorda's curve had as much hang time as a Ray Guy punt" and "There are three things the average man thinks he can do better than anybody else: build a fire, run a hotel, and manage a baseball team." Before starting his minor league managing career, Bridges was a versatile utility man. In two rare seasons in which he held down just one position, he led NL second basemen (1953) and AL shortstops (1957) in total chances per game, but he never hit enough to be an everyday player.