It was a cold, rainy day, October 3, 1960 to be exact. In a little hospital in a rural area about forty miles west from Kansas City, Kansas, it was exactly 4:32 P.M. when a phenom was born; his name was Mark Herman Mays. His parents, John and Lilly Mays, didn’t know what this eight-pound, nine-ounce baby boy had in his future. Mark was an average sized baby; he had bright blue eyes, dark brown hair, and had a lanky body. Mark looked like his dad the most. Mark had his father’s eyes and body size, except he had his mom’s beautiful chestnut brown hair. He had a very special future ahead of him; he was going to become a very gifted individual.
His mom was now crying tears of joy, as it would be her first and only child. Lilly was 31 at the time. She had long black hair, was short and chubby, and had very bright blue eyes. Lilly also grew up in a small town in Kansas called Memorial. She was a very kind, hard working person. She would always be willing to work and serve her husband as he pleased.
Lilly met her husband, John, at Memorial High School. They later married. John was a farm boy, and Lilly was always okay with that; it turns out that farming became her career, too. John was 33 when his son, Mark, was born. John was six foot five inches, weighed one hundred eighty pounds, and was very lanky. He had deep blue eyes, and dark black, messy hair. There was only one bad side to John, and that was he was a very heavy drinker, partier, and a big time lady chaser. John believed after a hard day of work that he was entitled to go out to party and drink as long as he wanted. Sometimes he would show up as drunk as could be at his house at three to six o’clock in the morning. Despite the fact that Lilly hated John’s drinking and the problems that it created, she tolerated his behavior. She felt her only way out of this situation would be to divorce her husband, John. But having Mark kept her in her marriage as she didn’t want her son to grow up without his dad, and she knew that her financial situation would only be worse.
The years flew by quickly. Mark was now six; he was attending Memorial Kindergarten. He didn’t have much of an interest for school and usually found himself on the “timeout chair” for mocking or disobeying the teacher or for picking on smaller kids. One time in Kindergarten Mark gave a kid a wedgie and hung him on his coat hook outside the classroom. The kid screamed and began to cry as Mark just stood there and laughed. This got Mark into serious trouble, Mark was sent to the principal’s office where he got “the paddle”. After his whooping, the principal told him that he would make him miss recess for a month and be kept in his office for talks on proper behavior. And in addition to that the principal said he would allow his teacher to enforce any further disciplinary action. Mark was also starting to do a little work around the farm with his dad. Mark would help clean up after the pigs, cows, and horses and help round up the animals for feeding time. (His dad was really doing all the work.) Although Mark thought everything was fine with his young life, it really wasn’t.
John’s alcoholic problems were affecting Lilly and their relationship. Lilly was afraid John might be cheating on her when he was out drinking and partying into the early morning hours. Lilly and John acted like everything was okay around Mark, but when Mark wasn’t around; verbal fighting between the two would often break out. His parents didn’t want to get divorced because it might affect Mark throughout his future, but it looked like a divorce could be in their future due to John’s continuing problems.
Three more years had passed, and Lilly and John were still together, the fights were starting to get less heated, and their passion for each other was rekindling. Mark was now nine and was in fourth grade at Memorial Elementary School. His interest in school hadn’t grown any, but he developed a serious love for baseball. Mark had now started to watch as many baseball games as he could on his little 16-inch television given to the May’s from Lilly parent’s who had died four years before Mark was born. The Mays still had a black and white TV because they couldn’t afford a new color TV. He enjoyed watching games with his dad, but his dad was always out “having some fun and relaxing,” as Lilly referred to her husband when he was out drinking. When Mark was lucky enough to catch a game with his dad, John would always talk to him about the history of baseball, its great players and moments, and how the game should be played.
Mark was always asking his parents for a bat, ball, and glove so he could practice baseball. His parents refused not because they wanted to, but due to their lack of money. However, when Mark turned ten, he finally got two of his wishes, a brand new Rawlings glove and a baseball. His glove was a beautiful tan color and made of already broken-in leather; it was the most expensive glove your money could buy. His parents had been saving up their money to buy Mark what he wanted. His baseball was perfectly white with large red seams and had Rawlings in cursive across its middle. This was the best birthday present he had ever received. He immediately found his mom and gave her a hug and said, “Thanks!”
Lilly said, “Mark, you’re welcome, I hope you enjoy it, and please put your presents to good use. But don’t expect any big presents for a while for your birthday because it was very expensive as I think you know. Oh, and by the way, happy tenth birthday! You’ll never be in the single digits of age again.”
Mark replied with a smile, “Yea, I’m gettin’ to be an old man now. And don’t worry about how many times I’ll use my new glove and ball; I’ll definitely use ’em.”
“Okay,” Lilly replied while Mark ran towards his dad. Lilly was very happy to see how much Mark appreciated his gift. The thank-you from him was well accepted because Mark really meant it.
After he thanked his mom, Mark thought he would ask his dad if he could play on a baseball team in town now that he had his own glove. Mark found his dad in the kitchen eating a donut and reading the box scores of last night’s baseball games. Mark said, “Hey, Dad, thanks for the gift; I really appreciate it. I can’t wait to go outside and use it!”
John replied tiredly, “You’re welcome, son; just put it to good use. If we can get enough money, I’d like to watch you play some day. Did your mom tell you about what to expect for your next few birthday gifts?”
“Yes,” Mark answered sadly.
Before Mark could ask his question about playing baseball in town, his dad said, “Son, I know you’re probably going to want to play sports in town now, but you can’t. I’d love to watch you, but we can’t afford it, as we don’t have enough money for the rest of the equipment or the fees to sign you up. Let alone the gas prices to drive you to and from all your games and practices. I’ll work with you when I have time, but for now, let’s go outside for a little bit and we’ll practice together.”
Mark followed his dad outside without saying anything else. Although Mark didn’t get the bat he wanted or the answer he wanted to hear, he was still happy. While outside, John took Mark to a little white wall next to their big red barn, now full of animals for their last feeding and where the animals would also spend the night.
Mark’s dad took the glove from Mark and showed him how to throw the ball off the wall and catch it off the bounce as Mark had seen many times while watching games on TV. Mark took the glove back, and his dad started to throw balls off the wall for Mark to catch. Mark missed a lot of balls but was fielding the ball with the correct fundamentals his dad had taught him. They did this for about an hour when it became too dark to keep practicing.
After a discussion with his dad on his performance that night, Mark knew he had to keep practicing hard after his farm chores, even where his dad wasn’t around. Mark and his dad then went in and watched the K.C. Royals game on the television before they went to bed. This was the beginning of the practices that would occur whenever Mark had free time and the sun was still out. These practices would turn out to be worthwhile for Mark.
Three more years had now passed, and it was October 1, 1973, two days before Mark’s thirteenth birthday. Mark’s parents’ arguments had gone down to about one a month. For three years and counting, Mark had been working on his game and was awesome at fielding grounders off the little wall by the barn and was again asking for a baseball bat and a couple of new baseballs. He had worn out his first ever baseball and its replacement because of the beatings they took. The wall next to the barn was now getting black, and it had circular marks and scuffs on it from the countless amount of balls that had been hit off of it.
His parents had been discussing getting a tan, wood Louisville Slugger and two new Rawlings baseballs for Mark’s birthday for about a month now. On the day before his birthday, they decided they would go buy the bat and the balls at a sporting goods store that was near the store they got their farming supplies and equipment from, which was about an hour away from their house. On Mark’s birthday, he got his third and final wish, the bat he had always wanted and two new baseballs to go with it. Mark realized he was now a teenager and how good life had been to him even though it might not have been under the best of conditions. Mark was again very thankful and immediately started to practice hitting with and without his dad.
The word was finally starting to get out on how good of a fielder, athlete, and how good of a hitter Mark was. This information leaked out from the few friends Mark had started to make that came over to his house and watched him practice. Questions like “Hey, Mark why don’t you play sports for the school or in play in town?” or “Mark, we could use you on our baseball team. Why don’t you come play for us?” Unfortunately, the answer was “I can’t.” That would be all Mark would say; he never mentioned that he couldn’t afford to play. And if someone asked him why he couldn’t, he would say, “I can’t means I can’t! If you don’t understand, I’ll meet you outside in the parking lot right after school. You understand that, don’t you?”
Mark was starting to like school and life more because he had finally made three very good friends that were all his same age. Mark was always very quiet in school and rarely opened his mouth. But around fifth grade, he had started to make friends with three kids. James Norman was one of Mark’s three best friends; he was the nerdish type at Memorial Elementary School and had few friends. He had huge glasses, short, unkempt black hair, brown eyes, a large head, and he was short and skinny. James helped Mark with his schoolwork at and away from school. If Mark’s mom couldn’t help Mark then he would call up James for some help. For some reason, James was always happy to hear from Mark and was very eager to help him. As a result to James’ tutoring, Mark got better grades and opened up to the teachers and his classmates. Mark now wasn’t afraid to volunteer or get a question wrong. In return for James’ help, Mark would defend and stand up for him if someone was picking on him. Mark was very intimidating because he was built from his hard work on the farm. He would often threaten to fight the bully, who was no match for Mark, the bully would become scared and say things like, “Please don’t beat me up,” “Oh sorry!” or “Okay, later!”
Mark’s other friend was Tommy Jordan, but everybody called him Tom. Tom was an average kid who wasn’t very popular in school but still had some friends. Tom was about five-foot three-inches tall and was skinny. He was an average-sized kid, had an average life, average family, average athletic ability, and average intelligence level. Tom had green eyes, long legs but short arms, and had spiked red hair. There was one good thing about Tom most people liked and that was that Tom was hilarious. He always had Mark and his friends cracking up. Tom would tell anything from knock-knock jokes to just busting people. Tom made up most of the jokes that went around school. Although he didn’t get much credit for his jokes because he wasn’t very popular, so people would always steal his material and convince other people that it was their joke.
Mark’s final best friend was Joe Walker. Joe was no “average Joe”. Joe was and had been the most popular kid since Kindergarten. Joe had now been referred to as the best athlete at school, the best looking, the strongest, the richest, very smart (which he really wasn’t), and later became the class president, captain of the baseball and football team, and star player on the basketball team. Joe was very tall and thin, but was ripped. He had brown eyes, long brown hair, and had a “perfect body” as the ladies referred to his physique. Joe was such a gifted athlete that he played varsity baseball, football, and basketball all as a freshman. Joe and Mark were totally different; Joe was very boastful about himself while Mark was a very quiet guy. Joe and Mark were friends because Joe was always interested in Mark and his athletic ability. He was always egging on Mark to play organized sports somewhere. Mark would always say “I can’t” without any further explanation, and Joe knew what to do when Mark said this. Deep down even Joe was afraid that Mark could beat him up and was slightly intimidated by him. Both of the boys’ interest in baseball led them to practice together where they became friends. Joe never really hung-out with Mark at school, even though they had become friends through sports. Joe was the only one that truly knew how much better Mark was then himself when they practiced together. Mark had such raw talent and had sharpened it to a very high level. Although Joe knew how good Mark was he never brought it up to anyone else because he always wanted to be referred to as “the best.” Mark hung out with James and Tom the most during and after school, but enjoyed practicing baseball with Joe.
It was May 26, 1978. Mark’s parents were hitting another rocky stretch because John had started to drinking and partying again. Adding to these problems, even more stress was added to their relationship because Mark was graduating from Memorial High School on May 31. Mark didn’t get any scholarships offered his way because he wasn’t very smart, and nobody knew about his athletic ability at baseball. It was already decided that Mark wasn’t going to college because his family couldn’t afford it. Another factor into Mark’s unlikely college future was that if he left for college his family would most likely lose the farm. Now that John was getting older, he could still do a lot of work but not quite as much as he could do before when Mark was a child. Without Mark’s help, less work could be done which meant fewer crops could be produced, and the May’s couldn’t afford hiring help.
Mark was now six foot-three inches tall and weighed one hundred seventy-five pounds and was almost fully developed. Mark was now extremely buff, and the ladies started to like him like they liked his father. Mark would always turn down a date. He never asked a girl to do anything and never accepted any offers to do anything because of the work that needed done on the farm and that it would take time away from his practicing baseball.
The morning of May 31, 1978, had rolled around. Mark would get his high school diploma from Memorial High School today. When his name was called and he walked up to Principal Jones and Superintendent Smith and shook their hands, no one knew what Mark had in front of him, and they didn’t know they’d be hearing his name many times in future years. Mark was joyous to receive his diploma; he now had a key to a job or maybe even a college in future years when his job on the farm was done with. He thought about other things like how long he’d live on the farm with his parents and that he never had to hear, “Come play baseball for our team.” and “Why can’t you play?” He wondered if he’d keep his three school friends or if he’d make new friends. But most of all, Mark just wanted to know what his future had in store for him.
It was now the winter months of 1985. Since Mark had graduated, his skills didn’t get a lot better from his skill ability when he was in high school. His dad would hit him grounders and pitch to him whenever he was available, but there wasn’t as much free time since Mark had gotten out of high school compared to the time he had when he was still in high school. Although Mark was definitely amazingly skilled, his friends and family knew that he could have had a future in baseball and might even have the slightest chance to become a big leaguer. Mark was skilled at hitting, fielding, throwing, and his speed was absolutely unbelievable. Besides Mark’s workload on the farm and his improved skills, his family had managed to stay together. Mark made no new friends but made stronger relationships with his old friends. After graduating from high school, James, Joe, and Tom all went to college. They missed hanging out with each other and were always trying to talk to one another over the phone. While Mark’s friends were away at college, Mark role on the farm increased majorly. Since Mark didn’t have homework anymore, Mark did about sixty percent of the work while his dad, who was now fifty, picked up the remainder of the workload. Although the egging on of playing sports for the school or in town had stopped, his friends had started egging him on to go to the Kansas City Royals’ open tryouts. Seven years of this prodding had occurred, four of the years over the phone from his friends from their colleges. This pressure to try-out was contagious, as now both John and Lilly were pressuring Mark to give it a shot. Telling him that it wouldn’t hurt anything to give your childhood dream a possibility to come true.
Mark was now 25 and the pressure for Mark to try out was unbearable. If Mark was ever going to try out, he didn’t have much time left as most major league baseball teams don’t have very many rookies aged twenty-seven and up. Now Mark’s friends had been back from college for three years, and he was always hearing his friends and family saying, “Mark come on, give the tryouts a chance before it’s too late, please.”
When open tryouts came around in late winter, Mark finally gave in to all the pressure he received from his friends and family and he went to the Kansas City Royals’ open tryouts at the Royals’ stadium. At the stadium, he waited in a line of about one-hundred-twenty-five people where he filled out a questionnaire about himself and got a hand stamp to enter the tryouts on the field. After waiting on the field for about two hours, out walked the Kansas City Royals’ Manager, Bud Smith; a man with a fiery attitude. Bud looked just like he had on TV. He was a short, skinny man, with sharp green eyes, had gray hair showing under his Royals’ hat, he was wearing a gray shirt that had the Kansas City Royals’ logo printed on it, and had a very intimidating look on his face for being such a small man as he looked over the people that were there. After he had scouted out the people who were trying out he said, “As I hope you know, I’m Bud Smith, but you will refer to me as Bud. I’m the manager of the Kansas City Royals, and I welcome you to our open tryouts. All right, as we know you’re here today to prove to me what you’ve got and that you deserve and want to be a part of the Kansas City Royals’ organization. This is not a joke. If you already have a mindset that you aren’t going to see yourself here, you can leave. You leave the same way you came in just to let you know. This can be up to a three-day tryout, but it could easily be one day if we believe none of you have a chance. Each day the people that aren’t needed will be cut. We’ll do different drills or do what I instruct for you to show us your skill. If there’s anybody left after today, the scouts will be here to watch the rest of the days’ practice to see if you have the tools to play professional ball. If you make it past today, you will stay in Kansas City for the night at a nearby hotel. All costs of food and lodging will be paid for by the team within reason; we’ll get into that later if it’s necessary. So let’s get this started, go out to the outfield, and we’ll stretch and jog before we start running and testing your agility, stamina, and endurance skills.”
So Mark and the rest of the participants jogged out to the outfield. They had to take one lap around the ballpark staying on the warning track that went around the whole filed. They had to stop at first base (where they started) and run ten down and backs from first base to second base, then five down and backs from first base to third base. Mark smoked everybody. Mark was at first base ready to run his down and backs while the rest were on the warning track near third base. Mark finished all his down and backs by the time the rest of the people had run about five of their down and backs from first to second. Mark ran as fast as he could the whole race and was now winded. He squatted down in the first base coach’s box knowing that he had done well and that his friends and family would have been proud of him.
When they finished running, they fielded balls at every infield position and fly balls at every outfield position. During fielding practice, Mark showed he was the best fielder of the group. He looked like a human vacuum as he caught every grounder whether it was on a good or bad hop and caught every fly ball hit to him, including a great diving catch.
Next, they took batting practice thrown by Bud Smith. They had to hit one hundred and fifty baseballs while the rest of the people that weren’t hitting were ball shagging. Mark did an excellent job hitting. He hit about to two-thirds of the balls over the fence, if the ball wasn’t hit over the fence it was hit to the outfield. The rest of the balls or were hard hit grounders that were spread through the infield.
After that, they threw from every position to all the infield positions. Mark showed he had an exceptional arm, especially in the outfield and that he could throw it from anywhere to anywhere with good speed and accuracy.
Then they pitched which scared Mark because he had never tried pitching so he asked Bud if he could give it a shot. Bud agreed, and if Mark did bad pitching, it wouldn’t affect his overall performance as a fielder or hitter. Both Bud and Mark learned that he was very wild and that he probably didn’t have any future in pitching, even though he threw at big league pitcher speed. The day was over. Mark knew he did the best at everything. But it didn’t matter what he thought; it mattered what the coach thought now as the cutting time had arrived. He cut twenty-one people. Bud told people in the dugout whether or not they made it. It was now Mark’s turn. Now he was nervous and then Bud said, “Great job today. You made it to tomorrow.” Mark was so happy and almost wanted to cry, but he didn’t show his emotions. He walked back out on the field in silence until everybody had gone to hear Bud’s decision. Bud walked out and said, “For those of you who got cut, you know who you are, keep your head up. If baseball’s not your future, make something else out of yourself, try something else you love and make it into a career. Good luck to you all, and I’ll see those who made it through today here again tomorrow, same time, same place.” Mark got a voucher for hotel and other expenses to be covered by the Kansas City Royals from a lady on his way out.
Mark called his family and friends that night before he got a good night’s sleep at the nearby hotel and arrived at the park twenty minutes early the next day. Mark learned that there was only five people at the second day of tryouts and that meant that one-hundred-twenty-one people got cut yesterday. The same procedure happened on the second day, and Mark’s performance was almost a duplicate of the day before, still showing he was the best on the field. There was only one thing different about today’s tryout compared to yesterday’s and that was not only was Bud watching the tryout, but there were ten Kansas City Royals’ scouts that were there to help Bud judge the talent and to see if anyone would be useful to the team.
The practice had ended today and the same system of cutting the players occurred again. Mark heard, “Another great performance. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Mark was even happier than yesterday and kept his emotions under control again only doing a little fist pump. After everyone heard Bud’s decision, Bud approached the line of participants like he did before and said, “This is tough for some of you. You made it this far and I’m proud and I’m sure your family and friends would be proud of you. I don’t want to keep you long so I just want to say keep your head up. I’ll see those who made it through today again tomorrow, same time, same place.” Mark got another piece of paper from the same lady on his way out that was for another night stay at the same hotel and the rest of his expenses would again be paid that night by the Royals.
Mark arrived at the field again twenty minutes before tryouts started. When tryouts started that day, only three people remained. Again the same drills happened only in front of the whole Kansas City Royals’ scout team of about twenty-five people. Mark shined again on the final day doing the best he had done through the whole three-day tryout. After all the drills were done, Bud Smith said, “Okay, you all did a great job the past three days and that’s why you’re here, but only one of you guys made the team and that person will get a Spring Training invite from our wonderful organization, the Kansas City Royals. I’ll be in the dugout to tell you all your fate in about five minutes once I approve my decision with our scout team, management, and ownership. Once we tell you guys our decision, you must leave immediately. I won’t address you after the decision is made and once we tell the winner who he is.” Mark waited the longest five minutes of his life before he had to go to the dugout last. Mark only heard a “yes” from Bud, got three papers handed to him, one was a plane ticket, one was a charge card from the Royals to pay for all his bills while he was at Spring Training, and the last piece of paper said,
You, Mark Mays:
Have been invited by the Kansas City Royals to join the team for Spring Training in Phoenix, Arizona. You must arrive no later than February 22, 1985. But, you, as a position player, you’re more than welcome to show up a week earlier when the pitchers and catchers report on February15, 1985.
Signed: Bud Smith Manager
Signed: George Thomas General Manager
Signed: Eugene Wagner Owner
Mark was ecstatic. His ear’s were buzzing his heart and his heart was pounding because he was so over joyous. He quickly shook Bud’s hand and thanked him and then walked out to thank the scouts for the opportunity.
It seemed liked a short ride home in his old, beat-up, white Chevy truck because Mark was so happy. When he got back home, he spread the news to his family and friends who were all very happy for Mark, but then his mom delivered some sad news. Lilly said, “Mark, there’s only one problem. What are we going to do with the farm when it’ll be planting season, and you’re gone at Spring Training for around a month and a half? We can’t get everything that needs to be done around here for that long without your help, and there’s no way we can hire anyone to help. We can’t even ask your friends for help because they have jobs. If you don’t get a contract to join the team then you won’t be able to provide us with the money we would have lost while you’re gone. That money could be the most important difference of still having a source of income or not because we could lose the farm!” When she finished saying this she started to cry.
But Mark put his foot down and said, “Look, Mom, I will get a contract. I’ve worked way too long and hard, I’m way too determined, I’m way too skilled, and I’m too good of a person to not get a deal whether it’s a minor or major league contract. I will try-out and I will get paid, I’ll support you through my career, trust me!” That statement had ended the conversation. Now it was time to prove it.
It was February 14, 1985, the day Mark had to drive to the airport in Kansas City, Kansas, and fly from there to Phoenix, Arizona, where the Royals hold spring training. He said his good-byes to his family. His mom was crying and his dad had now started to cry when Mark hugged him. This was the first time he had seen his dad cry, but it was understandable because if he didn’t get a contract, their lives could change dramatically. It was a long day of travel through which Mark thought of his past life, current life, and what his future life could be under good or bad situations. It took Mark eight hours to finally reach Phoenix. He got a rental car and drove to the hotel still thinking of what he needed to do to turn his life in a positive way.
The next day, Mark arrived at Spring Training as scheduled early with the pitchers and catchers. He wasn’t the only position player that had arrived early though; there were minor leaguers, young, major leaguers, and then seasoned veterans in the majors. Throughout Spring Training, Mark and all the players worked on learning the signs, practicing game situations, and sharpening their skills. Mark did great throughout Spring Training. He figured he was at least in the top thirty players based on skill and would get a lot of playing time in the Spring Training games because he was new and was a very good player. Mark was excited for when the games started, and he just couldn’t wait to show the coaches and the fans he deserved to be on team and get a contract. Right before the games started up, Mark started to get treated unfairly because he was a good player but he was the “new kid on the block”. They were mad at him because he was a threat to take their spot on the team. With Mark being brand-new, he didn’t know anybody so nobody was there in the beginning to stop the players from hazing Mark.
The Royals had played 20 of their 35 Spring Training games. Now that Mark had played in thirteen of the games himself, he could compare the rest of his competition to himself, and Mark figure he would be one of the guys battling it out for a spot on the twenty-five man Royals’ roster. After the twenty games, Mark was finally getting some respect from the good veteran players because their spot on the team wasn’t in jeopardy by Mark’s performance. Mark had proven that he was a very skilled player, loved to play the game, and he showed that he always hustled no matter what the situation was which everyone from the fans, to the players, and management saw out of Mark. Luckily, Mark and Bud Smith were now becoming friends off the field, but Mark couldn’t understand why because it didn’t seem the like the two of them really had anything in common.
The thirty-five games had now ended, and it was time for the final cuts. The roster had to be cut down to twenty-five men, and it would be the Kansas City Royals’ opening day roster. The team would have its final practice that day, and each player would come into the manager’s office to hear from the coach whether or not they made the team and what their future was with the organization. Some players would get released, some would start the season in the minors, and others would make the big league roster. Mark was called in about halfway through the decision-making process, he was the most nervous he had ever been in his life. He sat down in a chair directly across the desk from Bud and was waiting nervously to hear what Bud would say. Bud took a deep sigh before saying, “Mark you’re a heck of a ballplayer, and I really like you. You were the type of player I was when I was in the minor leagues. You and I were both hustlers, and we both love the game of baseball. But there are only two differences between us two as players. One is that you are a lot better than me, and the other is you made the big show.”
With this, Mark jumped out of his chair and said, “Yes!” Then he shook Bud’s hand and said, “Coach, I thank you so much for this opportunity. I’m going to make the best out of it as I possibly can. No matter how much I play, no matter how good or bad I do, I will always hustle and work as hard as I can for you!” Mark gave a fist pump and told Bud, “Thanks again,” before heading out the door.
“No problem, just keep your promise. Oh, and by the way, I’ll see you tomorrow in Kansas City in Eugene Wagner’s office when we get you a contract worked out,” replied Bud.
When he walked out with the manager’s news, he immediately found a phone and called his parents. He told them the good news and told them he would come visit them as soon as he could, and that he’d call them again tomorrow after he signed his contract.
The next day when he was back in Kansas City, he agreed on a contract and signed it for one-year for 250,000 dollars with a club option to be on the team for a second year and make 300,000 dollars. Not only would this be enough to make up for the money that was lost, but also now he could help provide for his family and himself. His parent’s could hire a helper on the farm with Mark’s money, and they would still have a guaranteed source of income for themselves. He called his parent’s from Eugene Wagner’s office to tell them about the great news and the plan Mark made for them on the farm.
The season had began and Mark got hazed, but this type of hazing wasn’t really because they disliked Mark, it was typical rookie hazing. Mark was doing well in his first year. At the All-Star break of his rookie season, Mark was hitting .340 with three home runs, four stolen bases, a .320 on-base percentage, and a .329 slugging percentage and had more walks than strike-outs. Mark’s role on the team was to get an occasional spot start, pinch hit, and pinch run. Mark was already one of the league’s best pinch hitters and was a very good pinch runner. Mark’s family was doing well, and Mark visited them as much as he could. As for the farming, it had been a good farming season so far and the profits were looking good.
During the All-Star break, Mark was invited by Bud Smith to have dinner with him and watch the All-Star game at his house. Mark accepted and was told they would be the only ones eating, and this got Mark wondering why Bud would want Mark, of all people, to eat with him. When Mark arrived at Bud’s large, white, two-story home in the suburbs of Kansas City in his new gray Honda pick-up-truck, he was greeted outside by Bud. They went inside and had dinner and talked about life. It turns out Bud and Mark weren’t just similar in how he and Mark played the game, but Bud also grew up on a farm in Kansas in a low-income family. Bud had a better father and better lifestyle, but they both had pretty similar childhoods. Mark learned that Bud played high school baseball in Kansas and played college baseball at Kansas University. Bud was drafted by the San Francisco Giants after his senior year and also helped provide for his family but on a smaller, minor league contract. He told Mark stories of what it was like in the minors and what his teammates and coaches were like and finally what it was like when he got let go by the Giants and his baseball career had come to an end. Near the end of their meal Bud told Mark how he got into managing and the players he enjoyed. After supper, they watched the All-Star game and they talked baseball throughout the game. But the thing that was most important about that night was what Bud told Mark before he left. Bud told Mark that if he ever needed any help on or off the field, he could always talk to him. At that moment, Mark thought that he had not only just gained a friend and a mentor but that he had just got a second father.
The rest of the year Mark started to get a little more playing time due to his good performances when he played. Mark was now one of the fan favorites because he hustled and was a “hard nose” player. Mark was proving himself, and there was almost no hatred hazing now that Bud Smith had helped put an end to that, but the regular rookie hazing continued throughout the year. Mark had already had his pants put in the freezer; his eye black was replaced with lipstick, and he had to dress-up as Little Red Ridding Hood on a road trip. Mark’s relationship with Bud kept getting better now. He’d go over to Bud’s house once or twice a week just to hang out, have dinner, or watch baseball together since Mark didn’t really have a lot else to do. Back on the farm, his parents and their new helper, Fred, were doing well. Fred even took more pressure off Mark’s dad, and Fred was a very hard worker.
Mark’s rookie season came to an end with the team finishing in third place Mark having stats of 98 games played, 304 at-bats, 51 runs scored, 96 hits, 16 doubles, 2 triples, 8 homeruns, 31 runs-batted-in, 116 total bases, 59 walks, 52 strikeouts, 28 stolen bases, 7 he was caught stealing, .372 on-base percentage, .389 slugging percentage, and .316 batting average. On top of his numbers he also had a pinch-hit walk-off homerun. Mark had almost guaranteed himself a spot on next year’s roster with these types of numbers, and he would most likely have the same type of role. Mark spent the off-season back in Memorial, Kansas, with his family at the farm where he helped out.
When the off-season had ended, it was back to start another year. Mark again reported to Spring Training early and played well. Mark made the major league roster and had another good year with the Royals although they didn’t make the playoffs, finishing second in their division and third in the wild card. Mark’s performance earned him another contract that was a two-year deal and a club option for the third year. The first two year’s Mark would make 375,000 dollars and the club option for the fourth year was worth 550,000 dollars.
Three years had now passed, and Mark’s contract had expired. Through those three years Mark had made the catch of the century, and was a defensive stud. The Royals were deciding what to do with him throughout the off-season after the 1989 season. So far he was putting together a solid career and was great at his role on the team. Mark and the Royals had yet to make the playoffs, finishing second in their division and the wild card for three years in a row. Mark had now become a leader on the Royals and had secured himself a spot on just about any team to be their utility player and first choice to pinch-hit and pinch-run.
Although Mark was doing well, his dad wasn’t. His dad was having kidney and liver problems due to his drinking. If he didn’t get well soon he might only live for a couple more years. Mark and his family could use the money to help pay for his father’s medical needs. Mark now had to fork out more money to pay for a second helper on the farm. Around the time they hired a helper named Winslow, the Royals, who had a contract offer for him, called Mark. Mark liked the offer and went to sign it the next day. Mark ended up signing a one year-contract with a player option for the second year. Mark would make six hundred fifty thousand dollars the first year and seven hundred thousand the next year.
Mark again made the team, and the Royals had a bad year due to injuries. They finished fourth in their division and yet again missed the playoffs. The Royals may have had woes, but Mark Mays had another strong season. At the end of the year, he accepted the player option and would be coming back to play with the Royals the next season. After Mark’s fifth year, John Mays died at age sixty-three due to liver and kidney failure. Mark had now hit the saddest point of his life. Mark was very depressed that he and his dad didn’t see each other as much as he would of liked. This put Mark into an off-season, full of thinking about his life. He thought of how much his dad meant to him and what he did for his baseball career. He told his friends and family that the rest of his career would be dedicated to his father, his family, and his friends.
Mark’s last year of his latest contract was not as good as his previous four seasons. In those seasons Mark had become a team leader and role model, he had many amazing catches and dramatic homeruns. Mark was now the king of the walk-off homerun.
The Royals just missed the playoffs finishing in second place in their division (one game away from winning the division) and three games away from winning the wild card. Mark was determined to have a better season next year as he accepted the player option for the following year.
Mark had yet another worse year, stat wise, but the Royals won their division and made the playoffs. Unfortunately, they were eliminated in the American League Division Series one to three in a best-of-five-series (ALDS or the first round of playoffs) by the American League West Division winning Anaheim Angels. That off-season, Mark signed a four-year contract with a club option for the fifth year. In the first four years, Mark would make 725,000 dollars and would make 750,000 in his fifth year. As well as signing a new contract, Mark found a girlfriend named Tammy Loveland. Tammy was a tall woman; with bright blue eyes, long blonde hair, and a laid back personality. Tammy was a real estate agent and came from a middle-income family. Tammy went to college at Kansas University and got her degree in real estate. Tammy was very kind and was always willing to help Mark and would even be willing to help back on his mom’s farm if they were needed. Together the two of them bought an apartment in the suburbs of Kansas City about three miles away from where Bud Smith lived.
The first three years of his contract he played like he did when the Royals lost in the ALDS. Only the Royals didn’t make the playoffs in any of those years, only coming close once. But in the fourth year of Mark’s contract, Mark had a good year and the Royals won their division and had the best record in baseball. The Royals beat the wild card winning Boston Red Sox in the ALDS. They just edged out the American League East Division winning Yankees in a seven game series in the ALCS (American League Championship Series). Finally, they swept the Cardinals in four games in the best-of-seven game World Series. After the win the party started, champagne was spraying all across the room everybody celebrating. This was one of Mark’s best moments in his life. He accomplished his dream by making it to the big leagues and now he had won a World Series, something every young kid dreams about. Mark made an extra twenty-five grand for winning the World Series.
After the season was over, Mark accepted his player option and came back to play with the Royals for his final season of his contract. He had now become a proven veteran after ten solid major league seasons. Also, during that year’s off-season, Mark Mays married his girlfriend, Tammy Loveland, in a small church ceremony in Kansas City, Kansas.
The next year became Mark’s tenth year on the team and on opening day of the 1995, he finally got what he had always wanted - a World Series ring. It was huge! It had the Kansas City Royals’ logo on it in diamonds and had 1994 World Series Champions around the ring in diamonds and on the inside of the ring Mark’s name was etched in.
Mark tenth year was going terribly and got even worse when Mark’s ten year career came to an end when he tore his ACL, MCL, and PCL trying to break up a double play. This injury would most likely hurt his performance in the future, and now he was a thirty-five year old man and he probably wouldn’t get a good enough recovery to be able to play again.
When Mark retired, it was the hardest thing he’d ever done. He had to say good-bye to the game he loved and what he had practiced for all his life. When he made the announcement in front of the press, he, and the management that had done so much for him, was there. After he was done saying he would retire, he talked to Bud Smith in the parking lot before he left for his home. Bud hugged him and said, “ Hey, kid, I liked you from day one. You were my favorite player to coach and watch even though you weren’t an All-Star, the fans still love you, your mom still loves you, Tammy loves you, your dad loves you and is so proud of you, and I love you. You’re still destined for great things. I hope to come visit you whenever I can. Keep your head up. And one more thing, you’re welcome at this place anytime; I want you with the team next year. Not as a player, but as a coach. I’ll let you think about it, and, if you like the idea we’ll try to work something out this off-season. Bye, and safe travels.”
Mark didn’t know what he should say. He was touched by what Bud had just said to him and all Mark could manage to say was, “Okay, thanks for everything you’ve done for me.”
“No, thank you,” Bud replied, and the two separated.
Mark’s career statistics were nine hundred two games played, three thousand one hundred ninety-seven at-bats, four hundred seventy-four runs, eight hundred ninety-three hits, one hundred fifty-three doubles, sixteen triples, eighty homeruns, three hundred four runs batted in, five hundred thirty-six base on balls (walks), four hundred sixty-eight strikeouts, two hundred forty-six stolen bases, forty-nine times he was caught stealing, .340 on base percentage, .321 slugging percentage, and a .279 batting average. On top of all this, Mark did one thing few players had ever done; he played his whole major league career with one team.
Mark returned to the Royals the next year as the bench and base running coach. Mark and Bud both coached together for fifteen more years until they both were fired due to a lack of success. Both are still good friends as of today, and their families still visit each other. Mark still lives in the same apartment three miles away from Bud with his wife, Tammy, and his to kids, Corey and Becca.
