Interview with Greg Schaum of 610 Sports (Part I)

Greg Schaum is the Royals postgame color analyst of the Royals post-game show. He is an avid baseball fan who - get this - has connections toward the Royals *and* Cardinals organization, although the ties to the former are much more fierce and run much deeper than the latter. I used to intern for the Entercom Studios' 'Rock Block', KQRC 98.9, KRBZ 96.5, and KYYS 99.7, three rock stations located in Kansas City, Missouri. Inside the same building reside several different local stations, including Kansas City's KCSP, 610 Sports. It is here that I began holding brief conversations with Schaum. Ironically, he is also a frequent customer at my workplace, where we have also engaged in many conversations about the Royals. His passion and knowledge of the game - and the Royals - are truly second to none. He frequently contributes to the Royals blogosphere, most notably Royals Corner, the Royals' affiliate of Scout.com. Schaum and I have also interacted frequently on the postgame show itself, as I call in as frequently as possible, posing questions and raising topics of discussion that I find intriguing. I recently had the opportunity to catch up with Greg and discuss many things Royals. I hope you enjoy!

Below is part one of the Interview with 610 Sports' radio sales and postgame show analyst Greg Schaum.

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Royals Nation: Tell us about your background in baseball. How did you become a Royals fan? Are the rumors of your original Cardinal devotion true?

Schaum: Well, I have been a member of the following ball clubs; Aero Plastics, Shawnee Kawasaki Honda, Roeland Park Merchants, and the Shawnee Northsiders. Basically I have kicked it around ball fields since I was a tike. I have played at the old 3&2 Baseball fields on Pflumm and the still existing 3&2 fields on 87th. I played High School baseball at Shawnee Mission North and was able to play some college baseball at a very good NAIA school in Riverside, California. Baseball runs in my family. My relationship with my grandfather will lead into the next question about the Cardinals. My grandfather was a huge Cardinal fan and I visited my grandparents every summer. He would take me up to Kirkwood Park and hit me fly balls and pitch to me for hours. He would tell me about his friend Joe "Ducky" Medwick and the "Gashouse Gang" and how they played the game the right way. My dad still tells me about the great Bob Gibson. So, I do appreciate the St. Louis Cardinals. However, I was born at Research Hospital and am a born and raised Kansas Citian and Royals fan. My dad faced his truest test in 1985 and cheered for the Royals, so he is a Royals fan, too. I grew up cheering for my favorites like John Mayberry, Amos Otis, UL Washington, and Willie Wilson.

Royals Nation: Discuss your background in radio and broadcasting. How did you become an employee of 610 Sports? How did you work your way up to broadcasting/analyzing for the Royals' post game show?

Schaum: I moved back to Kansas City after spending eight years in Los Angeles. I did not think I was going to stay in Kansas City and was preparing to take on a life in baseball. At the age of 33, I was looking at becoming an executive at the minor league levels and attempt to prove my worth. I was working my connections and also taking a class through Sports Management Worldwide (SMWW) specifically designed to teach you about scouting and becoming a baseball executive. Out of nowhere, an opportunity came up to work at 610 Sports. I took the job but was still finishing up my work with SMWW. I realized that I had a great opportunity with 610 Sports and after spending most of my adult life in limbo pursuing an acting career in L.A., I decided that a little security could not hurt. Last summer, 610 Sports had about 3 people pass on doing the Willie Wilson Classic at Community America Ballpark (home of the Kansas City T-Bones) and I told them I could do it. Having already established myself as a walking baseball encyclopedia around the office, they gave me the opportunity. Since I originally went to college to pursue a broadcasting career and also spent 4 years studying improv in L.A., I think my past training and instinct just took over. I think I turned some heads and when the opportunity to do the post game show came up, I was pretty relentless in my pursuit of it. I have to say that, as a kid, I used to play baseball outside with my buddies and I would always do the play-by-play of the games, complete with introducing lineups as each time you batted you became a Major League player and providing statistics.

Royals Nation: Besides on-air analysis, what are your duties at 610 Sports?

Schaum: I was hired to do radio sales and that is my official position at 610 Sports. I love providing creative marketing strategies for my clients and making them a part of our Royals broadcasts has been a great part of my job.

Royals Nation: You originally worked at 610 Sports in a position not on the airwaves. Did you find the transition to the microphone difficult?

Schaum: As I said above, I am a busy man. I do sales during the day. I am also getting married July 24th so I don't have a lot of time to rest. Fortunately, as many people in sales know, I am able to have time to do my prep work and spend time with my fiancee and her 6 year old daughter, Lilly.

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Editor's note: Thanks to Greg Schaum for taking literally hours out of his busy workdays (and evenings) at 610 Sports for taking part in this exclusive interview. Schaum is currently on a honeymoon with his wife in the Dominican Republic, but will return next week for 'part deux.'