Splittorff hospitalized for cancer treatment

Paul Splittorff has spent most of his life overcoming large obstacles.

Splittorff was not a can't-miss pitching prospect at Arlington High School in the mid-1960s. Yet, after going to tiny Morningside College in Iowa, he wound up leaving a lot of people saying “we missed” when he went from a 25th-round draft pick to the winningest pitcher in Kansas City Royals history.

And after his playing career ended in 1984, Splittorff went to the grassroots level to learn how to become a successful broadcaster for the last 24 years with the Royals.

Now, the 64-year-old Splittorff faces the biggest obstacle of his life. On Monday, his family announced Splittorff had entered a Kansas City-area hospital for treatment of oral cancer and melanoma.

“That was a shock,” said Arlington American Legion general manager Lloyd Meyer, who was influential in Splittorff's career path.

“‘Splitt' has always been a fierce competitor. And he's always taken care of himself,” Hall of Fame broadcaster Denny Matthews, who called every game Splittorff pitched, told The Associated Press. “If anybody can battle and fight his way through it he'd be the guy. He's got a lot of mental toughness.”

Splittorff used it to make his big-league debut at old Comiskey Park on Sept. 23, 1970, little more than two years after he was drafted. He pitched for the Royals until 1984 when he retired with a 166-143 record and a 3.81 ERA.

Splittorff still holds Royals career records for wins, starts (392) and innings pitched (2,554⅖). He was the franchise's first 20-game winner when he was 20-11 in 1973 and he went 19-13 in 1978.

He also pitched in the postseason four times and went 2-0 in 6 appearances (1976-78 and 1980) against the Yankees. He made one relief appearance in the 1980 World Series against the Phillies.

It was a long way from pitching in the 1965 American Legion World Series for Arlington and Meyer.

“Without that '65 team, who knows where I am,” Splittorff told the Daily Herald in 2004 when Meyer was in his 50th season of coaching. “I'm probably at the end of my baseball career without that team.”

Instead, it led to a successful second career as a broadcaster with the Royals and also for college basketball. But Splittorff didn't just jump right to the big time as he started off broadcasting local high school football games to learn more about that craft.

But during the Royals' 2009 season opener against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, Splittorff started having some trouble with his voice that would continue to occur on occasion the last two years. He was doing pre- and post-game work for the Royals this year and was in the booth during a series in Texas but was unable to make a planned trip to New York for a broadcast last week.

“He was in good shape when I saw him,” Meyer said of a get-together last summer with Splittorff and his mom. “He didn't slur his words but it was different than what I knew of him. I didn't think anything of it then but now it rings a bell.”