KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Neil Allen grew up about 10 minutes from Kauffman Stadium, a short drive west on Interstate 70, on the Kansas side of the Missouri River.
"I lived a block from Minnesota Avenue, right across the street from Ward High School," said Allen, who later starred at the same school that produced big-leaguers Ray Sadecki and David Segui.
Now the Twins' first-year pitching coach, Allen attended just one Royals game as a boy. It was in 1970 or 1971, when Allen was 12 or 13, but what an experience it was.
A schoolmate named Matt Zych, who was two years older, invited Allen to join him at a Royals game at old Municipal Stadium on Brooklyn Avenue.