Know Your Knight: Paul York

KC Kingdom is expanding at a rapid pace, and our goal is to be the best Kansas City area sports site on the internet. Josh, Leigh, and John are pleased to announce we have added another new staff member, Paul York, to our team.

Paul will be helping in our effort to expand our Royals coverage with strongly stated, timely editorials. We are excited to have him writing for KC Kingdom.

Paul York is off to a flying start, and has already published several things for us. In his latest article, he takes us back to when Dayton Moore was hired, and how things have unfolded since. Paul’s strong opinions come through in a very passionate way, and his articles are highly entertaining.

Like all of the new writers to KC Kingdom, Paul York took a few minutes to answer eight questions so we can get to know him just a little better. Here are his answers to those 8 questions:

How did you become a fan of the team you’re covering?

I was born and raised in Kansas City (KS). The first Major League Baseball game I remember watching was one of the 1985 World Series games. I was six years old at the time, and at a perfect age to cling to a hometown hero in George Brett. From that point on, all I wanted to do was play baseball, and mimic Brett to the best of my ability.

Where did you grow up and where do you currently live?

I grew up in KCK, and while I’ve lived in various places throughout my adulthood, I’m currently back at home in KCK.

What is your college/educational background?

Attended Ottawa University to play baseball, and got an education while I was there.

What do you do for a living?

I can’t say. If I tell you, I have to kill you. Suffice it to say, if you come face to face with me in my professional world, you’ve made a lot of bad decisions in life.

Do you have a family?

I have a beautiful wife, Kate Upton….I’m sorry, I dozed off for a minute. My beautiful wife’s name is Sarah. That’s with an “h”, because only hussies leave the “h” off. She has blessed me with an adorable son, Alexander, and we’re expecting our second child this fall. We’re hoping it’s a Dominican. You know, because baseball and stuff. Though, I suppose we’ll need to have conversation, and probably counseling, if she actually births a Dominican child.

What do you like to do for fun (sports related or otherwise)?

I’m not currently active in this realm, but I love coaching baseball, or even just giving private hitting instruction. Anything baseball, really. Otherwise, I enjoy playing golf, but it’s an insult to the game to call what I do “playing golf”. I whack the little white ball, go look for it somewhere roughly 150 yards from where I was aiming, give up, and whack another little white ball. Lather, rinse, repeat.

What are your least favorite team(s) and why?

The two easiest answers are the Cardinals and the Yankees. Though, if I’m being 100% truthful, I don’t really hate either of them. There’s too much awesome baseball history that both of those organizations have for me to hate them. Jealous is probably a more appropriate way of expressing my feelings for them.

I guess, if pressed for a team I truly dislike, I’d have to say the Chicago White Sox. Two reasons, really. One, their fans got on the field, and attacked the Royals first base coach (
Gamboa, if I remember correctly). Two, I’ve been to enough Royals v. White Sox games at The K to have a genuine distaste for their fans. They kind of remind me of Oakland Raiders fans, except less passionate, but equally trashy.

What is your favorite sports moment or memory?

Sadly, ever since the 1985 World Series, I don’t know that I have a favorite Royals moment. Even then, I was just 6 years old, so I obviously didn’t/couldn’t understand fully what a World Series victory meant (or how rare they would be). So, I guess watching Danny and the Miracles in 1988, and then Mario’s Miracle in 2008. Again, too young to know what I was really witnessing in ’88, but that 2008 feeling was truly something special. Baseball is my first love, so I can’t imagine how intense that feeling would be if it was my hometown Royals bringing home the trophy.

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