The reach a baseball team can have is huge. Of course the team flies all over the country. Tonight we’re looking to take the lead back in the series against Baltimore. But more than that, an entity like the Royals and Major League Baseball can do some good.

What are we talking about? The totals are in from Diamond of Dreams, which was June 26. To get the low down on the Royals biggest charity event so far this season and a look at the next one, plus what the team is up to out East, let’s go Around the Horn…

First
Diamond of Dreams was a huge success. As we noted over the weekend, A big thank you goes out to all those who helped by volunteering time, sponsoring the event or donating money to support the Dream Factory. About 300 people came out to dine on the infield dirt, play some games and bid on the silent auction items.

In total, the Royals will be presenting a check to the Dream Factory for $125,000 dollars. Since the Dream Factory is 100 percent volunteer, every cent of that money will help go to grant the dreams of children with chronic or critical illnesses.

Among the items up for auction were tickets to the Kansas City Ballet, a Plaza Lighting ceremony experience, an elephant encounter at the Kansas City Zoo, an autographed Tom Watson sand wedge, a signed Chris Paul jersey, stadium seats from Kauffman Stadium, an Elvis Presley Lithograph, a David Cook guitar, a Caribbean Getaway vacation and even a John Deere leaf blower. There was a little something for everyone and much, much more.

Two other special giveaways happened during the night. Tiffany & Co. gave away a diamond and sapphire necklace but with a catch. The necklace was hidden in a mystery box, and participants bought tickets in order to try to find the box. Tivol held a raffle drawing for an 18K white gold Rolex watch.

Videos played all night on CrownVision and Tim Scott interviewed players throughout the night. As the evening started to wind down, the ZEROES kicked it back into gear with a two-hour performance on a stage setup at second base. And no night at the K is complete without some fireworks, so at 10:01, the air crackled with the exploding pyrotechnics.

It was a great night. Complete with a pair of dreams granted by Larry Moore on behalf of the Dream Factory.

Second
The Royals next endeavor is during the next home stand. Announced today, we will be donating a portion of the tickets sold to the American Red Cross and Salvation Army to support the relief efforts of those two organizations here in the Midwest. Our neighbors to the North (like our farm team in Burlington, IA and the rest of the of the Midwest League) and many of our fans in Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska have been affected by severe weather. Over the past few months, severe flooding and tornadoes have damaged property and destroyed homes all over our region.

The Royals are designating “Hats off Weekend” as a chance to help support the relief efforts. Friday fans will receive Cowboy hats courtesy of AT&T, Saturday is MLB 2K8 Santa hats to celebrate Christmas in July and Sunday, we’ll be giving out New. Blue. Tradition. Golf visors. Friday and Saturday are designated relief nights with proceeds from Friday going to the Red Cross and Saturday going to the Salvation Army.

View Level Infield tickets will be sold for $12 (regularly $15) and $5 from each ticket will go to the relief efforts. You can purchase the special tickets here or by calling 1-800-6ROYALS or by saying the word “relief” at any Kauffman Stadium ticket window.

On the note of giving back, we always like to give some props to our farm clubs as whenever possible, and the Omaha Royals helped raise money for the Little Sioux Scout Ranch which was devastated by a deadly tornado in June.

Short
David DeJesus is back in the lineup tonight after missing two games with bruised ribs…DeJesus is still riding a 13-game hitting streak, his longest of 2008 and the third longest in his career…Gil Meche is on the mound tonight, looking for his seventh win which would tie team leaders Brian Bannister and Zack Greinke…Joey Gathright collected his 15th bunt single last night which is second in the Majors behind the Twin’s Carlos Gomez (18)…Check out the transcript from Deric Ladnier’s chat…All-Star balloting is completed tonight at 10:59 p.m. CT, so get your votes in while you still can.

Third
The DirecTV channel switch is tonight. Royals’ telecast are now on channel 672. with HD broadcasts on 672-1. Your guide should direct you to the right place.

Note: Saturday’s game will be on FSN-KC to makeup for an earlier rainout. Royals Live starts at 5:30 p.m. CT.

For the second day in a row we have a note from FSN-KC’s Goeff Goldman, Director of Media Relations:

FSN KANSAS CITY PRESENTS IN MY OWN WORDS: FRANK WHITE
 
30-Minute Special Premieres Friday Following the Royals Postgame Show
 
Kansas City Royals great Frank White shares his story of growing up and winning a World Series in Kansas City in In My Own Words: Frank White, a 30-minute special premiering Friday, July 4 on FSN Kansas City.
 
FSN Kansas City’s Joel Goldberg conducts the long-form interview, in which White talks about growing up in Kansas City, participating in the Royals Academy, beating the Yankees in the ALCS but losing to the Phillies in the World Series in 1980, the 1985 World Series, the current state of the Royals and more.
 
White, a Royals Hall of Famer, played 18 seasons in the Major Leagues and currently serves as part of FSN Kansas City’s broadcast team for Royals baseball.
 

Air dates for In My Own Words: Frank White

Friday, July 4 following the Royals Live postgame show (approx. 7:15 p.m.)
Tuesday, July 8 at 10:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 10 at 6 p.m.
Sunday, July 13 at 4:30 p.m.
Monday, July 14 at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 24 at 6 p.m.
Monday, July 28 at 8 p.m.

Lineup:

DeJesus LF
Aviles SS
Gordon 3B
Guillen DH
Grudzielanek 2B
Teahen RF
Gload 1B
Buck C
Gathright CF

Meche P

Here’s today’s Official Game Notes.