KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Days after an exonerated Kevin Strickland was released from the Western Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron after the tragedy of serving the longest known wrongful conviction in state history, the Kansas City Royals learned of his yearning to feel the grass beneath his bare feet at Kauffman Stadium.
So they had "a little something for me," as Strickland described the tender invitation — one that coursed more deeply than the Royals could have anticipated in a man who says sports has been vital to his survival.
"Yes, sir," he said in a phone interview with The Kansas City Star on Wednesday. "Without sports, I might not be here talking to you on this phone today."