This past week, Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore explained his organization's plans to continue paying minor-league players a full stipend and not release any players, and he did so with an eloquent description of how the minor-leaguers of today are the coaches, scouts, and umpires of the future that help nurture and grow the fans and players of generations yet to come. Call them the Johnny Appleseeds of baseball. And there will be fewer in 2021 -- and possibly beyond. To better understand Moore's comments, Kansas City Star sports columnist Vahe Gregorian joins St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold to discuss the Royals' approach, the Royals' place in their community, and, of course, the Royals' new manager, Mike Matheny, and what plans the team had for 2020. The conversation keeps revisiting the idea of baseball's place in a community as a way to connect people -- across states, across countries, and across divides. But that takes the game being a part of the community, not abandoning it. The Best Podcast in Baseball, brought to you by Closets by Design, is a production of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

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