Final Weekend Wrap Up…

As you all know, the season ended for the club Sunday. So, we thought we’d share a rundown of what happened around Kauffman as the Royals wrapped up 2007…

Scoreboard Powers Down:  No one knows the ins and outs of the crown scoreboard quite like Roger Moorman. For 33 seasons, Roger has helped to operate the 12-story high scoreboard that was installed when Kauffman Stadium opened in 1973. Now, after 35 seasons, the original crown scoreboard is coming down as part of the Kauffman Stadium renovation project. The NEW high-definition crown scoreboard will be twice the size of the old one! Also on Sunday…fans said their final goodbyes to the left field Sony JumboTron, which was added in 1990.

Sweeney and the Royals: First of all, there has been no news on whether Mike Sweeney will wear Royal Blue again. However, yesterday, the Royals Captain and five-time All-Star expressed his love for Kansas City and, in return, Kansas City expressed its love for Sweeney and his family!

Buddy Tribute: As mentioned yesterday, Buddy Bell hung up his manager’s hat following Sunday’s game. Before the game, Buddy received a standing ovation from the crowd as well as a framed No. 25 jersey from the organization. The most impressive part of the pre-game tribute: when the ENTIRE roster ran out to home plate to show their respect for the Royals skipper. And – don’t forget – tomorrow you can chat LIVE with Buddy on royals.com. Register here.

Bannister Receives Honor: Brian Bannister added to his A.L. Rookie of the Month collection on Saturday. The rookie hurler collected the award for both June and August, while teammate Billy Butler took home the award in July. Banny, who went 4-1 with a 2.90 ERA in six August starts, received the award from GM Moore during Saturday’s pre-game ceremony.

Mustard Is Big Dog: For those following the Hot Dog Derby closely, mark Mustard down as the 2007 champ! The Yellow Dog took home the “Golden Hot Dog” on Saturday with 30 derby wins. Thanks to all the fans who raced during the last weekend…and be prepared for the LIVE Hot Dog Derby races to return in 2008.

Moustakas and Futures…Again: Wanted to share some more photos of first-round pick Mike Moustakas, who was out at Kauffman this weekend, as well as point you to a photo gallery highlighting Friday night’s Futures Night. Moustakas, who attended both Friday and Saturday’s game, took BP with the club on Saturday.

Offseason Begins: Most of the players and coaches took off either last night or today for their offseason homes. The rest of us? Well, we’re still around, getting ready for the renovations, FanFest, Caravans and more here in Kansas City. Throughout the offseason, we’ll try to keep you as informed as possible on all of that as well as roster moves/additions, Winter ball stats and community appearances.