'Bye Bye' Balboni loyal to Royals, but he's a Giant now

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Steve Balboni, one of the greatest power hitters in Kansas City Royals history and a vital cog of the franchise's World Series championship team in 1985, will be walking onto the field Monday at Kauffman Stadium for the first time since the ballpark was rebuilt.

And he has absolutely no idea how he'll feel.

"Everybody thinks it's such a cool thing, but I don't even know what I think," Balboni tells USA TODAY Sports. "All I know is that it's a weird feeling. I can't even describe it. I'm so happy for those guys, but there's only one team I can root for.

"There's only one team I really care about. And it's not them.''

Balboni, 57, happens to be an advance scout for the San Francisco Giants and is widely considered one of the best in his field.

He's a huge reason, Giants general manager Brian Sabean says, why the Giants have won two of the last four World Series championships and are back in the Series looking for another.

So when Balboni looks at the Royals, he doesn't first reminisce about the great times he spent in Kansas City.

All he sees is the enemy.

It's his job to ruin the Royals' dream, not hang out in George Brett's suite to toast the end of the franchise's 29-year playoff drought.

"I'm so happy for them,'' says Balboni, who has been with the Giants since 2009. "The town. The people. The organization. They were so good to me when I was there.

"It was such a good organization, a winning organization, and it was hard to see them go so long without winning. I always felt bad for them. I was so happy for guys like George. I know he's really excited. He goes to spring training, and he's around those kids, and I can see how truly happy he is.

"But I can't root for them.''

Balboni, nicknamed "Bye-Bye'' for his brute strength and home run prowess, was at Kauffman Stadium for the first time this summer since the stadium was rebuilt. He didn't even recognize the joint. It didn't look the same since back in the day when he was hitting 36 home runs for the Royals in 1985.

Those were the days.

Balboni, the Royals' right-handed-hitting first baseman, would always be among the annual league leaders in homers and, yes, strikeouts.

He averaged 29 homers and 112 strikeouts during his four-year run in Kansas City, leading the league with 166 strikeouts in 1985.

The home run record still stands.

"I still can't believe that no one's broken the home run mark,'' Balboni says, "especially after all of these years.''

The franchise strikeout record was eclipsed four years later by Bo Jackson, but it still ranks second on the all-time list.

Hal McRae, the Royals' team leader, used to even honor Balboni each time he struck out for the 100th time, presenting him with a bottle of Dom Perignon.

In 1984, when the Royals were facing Boston Red Sox ace Roger Clemens, Balboni needed just one more strikeout to reach 100. Balboni, who went 2-for-23 with 13 strikeouts in his career against Clemens, was dressing before that Aug. 21 game and noticed there was already a bottle of Dom chilling on ice.

"Mac figured that Clemens was pitching, I was a lock to get it,'' Balboni said. "I went 0-for-3 that day with three strikeouts.

"Unfortunately, we opened the bottle after the game.

"And drank the whole thing.''

That was Balboni, a giant of a man back in his time, 6-3 and 225 pounds, but with a soft voice and a huge heart.

GALLERY: Royals party like it's 1985

Famed Los Angeles Times columnist Jim Murray once wrote: "How can you not like him? Or not root for him? A guy who would boo Steve Balboni would stone Santa Claus.''

The man is no different today, with a tender heart and soul, and he's beloved in the scouting community.

"'He's such a wonderful man, but you can't get Bonesy to talk about himself period, let alone now,'' says Giants hitting coach Joe Lefebvre, who played against Balboni in junior high school and attended rival high schools in Concord, N.H., before becoming teammates with Sabean and Balboni at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla.

"But you know what, he might say that this is going to be a pain for him, but I think he'll have the time of his life. He was a big part of that franchise. And now he's a big part of us.

"It's like the band is back together again.''

Says Sabean: "He was like a man-child when we played against him as kids. We all thought he'd have a famous career. He has such a passion for the game.

"He hasn't really talked about what this means to him, but I'm sure he's going through a lot of emotions.''

Balboni, whose first of three sons, Daniel, was born during that 1985 season, originally was planning to treat the World Series like any other business trip. His wife, Eve, was going to stay home with the grandson. But now that the Giants are playing the Royals, Eve abruptly changed her plans and will attend the first two games in Kansas City, catching up with old friends.

There are plenty of guys from that '85 Royals team that Balboni has lost touch with during the years. Even when he got back to Kansas City for a scouting trip in August, all he saw was Art Stewart, the Royals' former scouting director who's now a special assistant. Balboni frequently sees San Diego Padres manager Buddy Black, a lefty starter on those '85 Royals, when he scouts in the NL West. Yet for most of the others, he was looking forward to catching up at their 30th anniversary next spring at the Royals' fantasy camp.

Now, it looks like he might be seeing a whole lot of them a lot sooner, with plenty of the Royals' alumni planning to come to town this week to celebrate the club's greatest season in a generation.

"This Royals team reminds me of our team back then,'' says Balboni, who hit .320 during the '85 World Series, including a key single after umpire Don Denkinger's blown call in the ninth inning of Game 6. "We weren't the best team, we were the underdogs, but we had a core of veteran guys that led the way. We never got down, never got frustrated. Our team was so close. When the games were over, we'd stay in the clubhouse and drink beers and talk baseball for hours, especially on the road.

"Mac (Hal McRae) was my locker mate, and we would just sit there for hours and talk hitting. I learned so much from him. And Dick Howser (the Royals' late manager), I owe him everything. He was such a big part of my career.

"I still remember during the victory parade. Dick Howser's car caught on fire. The next thing I know, he's scrambling into our car, and we're in the victory parade together.

"It brings back so many great memories that I'll never forget that as long as I live.''

Balboni, who has three World Series rings, says he still is most proud of his '85 model. It's special to win the World Series rings with the Giants, particularly working alongside two of his childhood friends. Yet there's nothing like winning a ring as a player.

"It's such a classy ring, too,'' Balboni said. "It's not real big, just the right size. It's a great ring.''

But the Royals ring will be staying behind.

"I'm sure it's going to be nice being in Kansas City,'' Balboni says. "I saw the place going crazy during the playoffs. Those same fans weren't there cheering for us. It was their parents watching us. We were just history to those kids.

"They've had such a great season.

"Nothing personal, but I just don't want to see them celebrate again.''