I was a huge Royals fan as a kid. In fact, they are the only team I cheer for that has ever won a national/world championship.
It always amazed me as a kid how Brett ended up being a third baseman. He is a natural lefty, yet when he was a kid his big brothers were right handed and his parents couldn't afford to buy him a right-handed mitt. So, in order to play baseball he had to learn how to throw right handed. That's pretty damn impressive, especially when you consider how good his arm was on that corner. He did take home one gold glove - in that magical '85 season.
He was also the ultimate gamer. He willed that team to victory down the stretch in '85, carried them in their comeback against Toronto and then batted .370 something in the World Series. Not to mention all the great games he had against the Yankees in the late '70s. The pitching staff in '85 was solid, but when you look at the line-up they trotted out there, they didn't have much business winning a World Series.
Brett is also only one of four players in MLB history to accumulate 3,000 hits, 300 home runs, and a career .300 batting average.
Writing all of this makes me miss baseball. I have a really hard time getting excited about it anymore since my team never has a chance in hell of winning.