KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals will play the 9,155th game in franchise history Friday night, but another milestone will take center stage at Kauffman Stadium.
Longtime Royals radio broadcaster Denny Matthews is set to call his 8,000th game with the franchise.
Matthews has been part of the Royals’ broadcast team since the franchise’s inaugural season in 1969. He was honored with the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award in 2007 for excellence in broadcasting.
Royals play-by-play broadcaster Ryan Lefebvre said the team realized Matthews was approaching the milestone because he has kept his scorecards throughout his career. Lefebvre worked with Royals Hall of Fame director Curt Nelson, vice president of communications Sam Mellinger and other members of the organization to determine the milestone game.
The Royals plan to recognize Matthews with an in-game presentation Friday.