George Brett answers the phone, and the first things you hear are the birds chirping and the wind rustling. So you can figure right away he's out walking London, his 11-year-old sheepadoodle.
"That's the highlight of my day," Brett said, laughing but maybe not joking about his three-mile-or-so daily ritual of some years now. "It's like Yogi (Berra) used to say: 'Deja vu all over again.' "
Amazed at the number of others now outside and walking dogs amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, he intermittently says hello to passersby and urges London to "get out of the flowers" on a Tuesday chilly enough for him to be wearing a "big winter coat" and a Chiefs skip cap.
After all, he's a passionate fan who knows a lot of the Chiefs' brass and has golfed with Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce and considers their victory in Super Bowl LIV "one of the greatest things that I've experienced outside of baseball since I've lived in Kansas City."
Also ...
"I'd love to wear a Royals one," he said, laughing, "but I think that brings too much attention."
Nevertheless, there's ample reason now for attention on Brett, who will turn 67 Friday.
He's grateful to know he has 15 minutes of the day booked for an interview with the MLB Network _ "I've got that going for me," he said, laughing _ about the so-called "Pine Tar Game" and Game 3 of the 1985 American League Championship Series against Toronto.
Also, for the occasion of his birthday, Brett and his wife, Leslie, are considering going to Arizona for a change of scenery ... in masks and gloves on a flight he says the airline told him is only a third full.
Then there's next month: The Baseball Hall of Famer who stands among the select few most prominent and influential forces in Kansas City sports history suddenly will begin his 50th year with the Royals.
