A memorable World Series sweep, plus other Fall Classic notes

Watching the World Series from Kansas City, I thought of a friend from high school whose story has to be told. John Martin grew up on a farm outside of Bryant in eastern South Dakota, near my hometown. He had bushy dark hair with thick eyebrows and a crooked smile. He had a bear-trap handshake, molded from years of never-ending chores. He loved sports, especially baseball, but it was easy to see that his best sport was football. John often joked about his baseball ability, but that never stopped him from playing with unending enthusiasm. He had a lineman's body and was immovable on the Hamlin Chargers offensive line. On Fridays during football season, he'd leave school about 3:30 p.m., drive some 20 miles one way to do chores and then return to play football that night. After graduation, we lost touch. In 1987, two years after the Royals won the World Series, I was in K.C. for USA TODAY, standing in the Royals dugout when John tapped me on the shoulder. I couldn't believe the reconnection after more than a decade. He was on the Royals grounds crew, working for the legendary George Toma, who also supervised field preparation at NFL Super Bowls. The Royals players loved John's no-nonsense approach and how he'd go the extra mile to get something done correctly. John loved being part of the Royals community. On the side, he did lawn work for players at their residences. He always said he didn't need much. In fact, during the season, he lived in the equipment shed behind the right field line at the Royals' ballpark. Before a Royals game one night, we sat in the shack and caught up. He pulled out a scrapbook. On one page, he had a picture of himself, dressed in Royal blue and white, sweeping the turf cutout at third base between innings during the 1985 World Series. "It didn't need to be swept, but it was part of the show," he said, beaming. "It was amazing to be out on the field during the World Series." Then he turned the page and there was a copy of the $500 check the Royals gave him for his share of the World Series championship. John smiled again. "Who would have ever thought that I'd be the only player on our baseball team to earn a World Series check?" he asked, laughing. John loved the Royals, but he never experienced the magic of this season. Last summer, I got a call from his family with the news of his death. Toma admired John's worth ethic and brought him to several Super Bowls. But if I know John, he'd still say the highlight of his career was sweeping third base during the 1985 World Series. Now thoughts on this year's World Series: * San Francisco's Tim Hudson is in his first World Series. His teammates want him to win his first World Series ring, and at 39, he doesn't have much time. He's coming back from an ankle injury that derailed his season with the Braves in 2014. He signed a two-year contract with the Giants. Ironically, the Royals offered him a two-year contract, too. Hudson might have trouble with the Royals' running game, given that baserunners are 22-for-26 stealing bases against him in the last two years. * While the Royals might have an edge with their speed, the Royals will be playing without the use of their DH, Billy Butler, for the next three games in San Francisco. And Royals pitchers aren't used to hitting. Jason Vargas is the only Royals starter with National League experience and he last played in the NL in 2007. * One of the lasting images of this postseason seems to be Giants catcher Buster Posey rounding third and getting thrown out at home plate. Doesn't Giants third base coach, Tim Flannery know that Posey is one of the slowest runners in the NL? * Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval has reached base in 25 consecutive postseason games to tie for third place all-time with Orioles Hall of Famer Boog Powell, who did it from 1966-71. Powell was a terror in the postseason. He hit .357 in his first World Series in 1966 against the Dodgers. He had 11 hits in six games versus the Twins in the 1969 and 1970 American League Championship Series, and he hit two home runs in the 1970 World Series versus Cincinnati. Miguel Cabrera holds the record with 31, followed by Chase Utley at 27. * Speaking of former Orioles in the World Series, Jim Palmer said on "The Mid-Atlantic Sports Report" last night that this year's Royals team reminds him of the upstart Mets from 1969. What do the Orioles have to do to get into the World Series for the first time since 1983? Palmer says he likes the team's chances if they can sign Andrew Miller and Nelson Cruz. * Good news for the Royals that John Hart has been president of baseball operations with the Atlanta Braves. That means general manager Dayton Moore, who worked with the Braves before going to Kansas City and building the Royals into a World Series contender, will not be moving back to Atlanta. * It wouldn't be a surprise if Giants ace Madison Bumgarner gets three starts in this World Series. When Giants manager Bruce Bochy was asked about that scenario, he didn't say no. * One of the best World Series stories this year comes from Royals manager Ned Yost, who as a kid growing up in California, worked his way onto the field in Oakland and talked to A's pitcher Vida Blue. Blue signed a dollar bill for Yost, who hasn't got the dollar because he spent it at the concession stand. * The Royals-Giants World Series is the first since Phillies-Yankees in 2009 where both teams played each other during the regular season. In 2009, the Phillies beat the Yankees two of three, but wound up losing the World Series in six games. * Did you know that the right field fence in San Francisco's AT&T Park is 24 feet high, in honor of the Giants' Hall of Famer, center fielder Willie Mays, who wore No. 24?