New Statue For Wichita, Jail Time For Thief

by Kevin Burton    The man who stole a bronze statue of baseball legend Jackie Robinson was sentenced on Friday to 15 years in prison for that and other crimes, as news came that a new statue will arrive in Wichita tomorrow.    Ricky Aldrete said a fentanyl addiction led to the crimes. Wichita police …

Updates on Robinson Statue, Dirty Dancing

by Kevin Burton    Wichita police have arrested 45-year-old Ricky Aldrete for multiple crimes, including the theft and destruction of a bronze Jackie Robinson statue, according to published reports.    Page 7 reported on the story after Major League Baseball stepped forward to pay for replacing the statue, (MLB To Replace Vandalized Robinson Statue, Feb …

MLB To Replace Vandalized Robinson Statue

by Kevin Burton    From something heinous, comes something great in Wichita. And who knows how far it will go?    The Statue of Jackie Robinson which was stolen Jan. 25 from McAdams Park in Wichita was found broken beyond repair and burning in a trash can at nearby Garvey Park Tuesday.    But yesterday …

Texas Rangers Redeem Echoes Of The Senators

by Kevin Burton    Futility, barren and bleak as it gets, has been the hallmark of the Texas Rangers.    But Wednesday, with the Yankees and Dodgers on their couches at home, The Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 to finish off a four-games-to-one, World Series win.    World Series win. Texas Rangers?  Yes indeed, …

Good Riddance Steve Physioc, Go Royals

by Kevin Burton    The Royals lost their season-opening baseball game to Minnesota 2-0 Thursday. The prediction I saw last week said the team would lose 103 games this year.    So why am I newly pumped about the team?    The team has promoted Jake Eisenberg, who had been doing play-by-play for its Omaha …

Baseball Glory In April Could Easily Fade

by Kevin Burton    So I woke up Monday morning and all my teams were in first place, Reds, Royals, Mariners. All three.     Just wanted to say that while I can. None were tied for first either. All had very slim leads. All were still in front Tuesday.    Now it’s Wednesday, top of …

With Baseball, Here Comes The Sun

by Kevin Burton    Baseball is back!  In a virus-sick world where we can use some good news, I say this qualifies.    Did you know birds that sing in the spring, sing about baseball?  Spend time proving me wrong if you wish, but why? Instead, why not busy yourself wiping joy from your cheeks, …

Sports Hate Is A Thing, But What Is It?

by Kevin Burton    My mother used to get on me for saying I “hated’ certain sports figures or teams. She wanted me to say instead that I didn’t appreciate this or that about them.   Well OK, call it sports hate then.    When I say I love my wife and I also love …

Atlanta “Hammers” Name Would Honor Hank

by Kevin Burton      In January I wrote about the great Hank Aaron in the context of including Negro League Statistics as official MLB stats (“Of Hank Aaron, Uncle Pint And Statistics,” Jan. 16).    Sadly Aaron died a few days later, on Jan. 22, at the age of 86.    Shortly after that an …

Cleveland Indians Should Become “Blues”

by Kevin Burton    Cleveland’s Major League Baseball franchise is doing the right thing by dropping the name “Indians,” but what should the new name be?    The team, established in 1901, announced the move last month, following the lead of the Washington DC pro football franchise that dropped the name “Redskins.”    These moves …