Royals pitchers showed they were ready for the season to start, as Paul Splittorff continued a string of strong performances in Kansas City’s 4-0 win over the White Sox in Fort Myers.

Splittorff held Chicago to one hit in six innings. That followed great starts from Jim Colborn (seven innings, three hits and one run) and Andy Hassler (five hits and no runs in six innings) in the last few days.

The game was played in a crisp one hour and 48 minutes. The win lifted the Royals to a 13-8 mark in spring training.

1977 baseball news: Two high-profile players expressed dissatisfaction with their contracts in public squabbles with team management. Pete Rose held a press conference to have his attorney read a statement that if the Cincinnati Reds didn’t agree to pay him $400,000 a year by Opening Day, his price would go up by $25,000. Meanwhile, the Yankees’ Graig Nettles showed his ire by checking out of the hotel New York was staying in as they played on the west coast of Florida for a week. Nettles didn’t show up for the Yankees’ game against the Blue Jays and apparently had returned to Yankee camp in Fort Lauderdale after a shouting match with owner George Steinbrenner. Nettles had signed a three-year contract the previous year, but New York had since signed Reggie Jackson and Don Gullett to big deals, and the third baseman wanted to renegotiate his contract after leading the AL in home runs in 1976. The Yankees announced they would fine Nettles $500 every day he was out.

Today’s birthdays: Bill Castro (1952), Mike Kingery (1961), Sean Lowe (1971), Kila Ka’aihue (1984)