Daily Clips
March 5, 2018
LOCAL
Comedian Rob Riggle visits KC camp
Actor, lifelong Royals fan makes annual ST appearance; Hammel perfect in spring debut
March 4, 2018By Owen Perkins/MLB.com
Jackson joins Royals camp as guest instructor
Former two-sport star has 'diplomatic immunity,' will assist where needed
March 4, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Griffin sharpening mental mechanics in camp
Royals' No. 10 prospect aiming to advance to Triple-A in 2018
March 4, 2018By Owen Perkins/MLB.com
Royals 10, Reds 3: Jason Hammel looks sharp in spring debut
March 4, 2018By Maria Torres & Pete Grathoff/KC Star
Royals prospect Q&A: Foster Griffin on meeting Zack Greinke, learning from Danny Duffy
March 4, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
Bo Jackson had shoulder replacement surgery last year for injury suffered as a Royal
March 4, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
MLB TRANSACTIONS
March 5, 2018 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Comedian Rob Riggle visits KC camp
Actor, lifelong Royals fan makes annual ST appearance; Hammel perfect in spring debut
March 4, 2018By Owen Perkins/MLB.com
Royals super fan and comedian and actor Rob Riggle was in Spring Training camp over the weekend, giving his 9-year-old son George some final preparation for his first Little League game on Monday while affording Riggle his annual opportunity to live out his baseball dreams.
"Every time I come, the Royals are always very, very nice, and they're gracious enough to let me and my son and my family walk around here, which is kind of a fantasy camp for me," Riggle said. "Just seeing the players and the coaches, everybody here -- it's very familial in a way."
Riggle is part of that family these days. The Shawnee Mission native who made his mark as a stand-up comedian and is known for roles on everything from "Saturday Night Live" and "The Daily Show" to appearances in "The Hangover," "The Office" and "Modern Family" is a lifelong Royals fan who makes a regular pilgrimage to Surprise each spring.
Sunday was special due to the appearance of a Royals family "favorite uncle" also appearing in camp as a guest instructor.
"Today was probably one of the coolest days I've had," Riggle said. "Bo Jackson was here. To see him in the Royal blue again was pretty fantastic. And just to talk to him and meet him. He was so nice to my son. It was a great morning."
One of Riggle's responsibilities in his role as special guest comedian is to prognosticate on the fate of the Royals in the coming season.
"You hear people talk about rebuilding," Riggle said. "It is what it is. But I think the guys are motivated. I was watching them yesterday in practice, I watched the game yesterday. They're playing inspired. They're playing motivated. They seem to be having a good time. If they can relax and have some fun, I expect good things. But, you gotta remember, I always predict us to win the World Series every year. It worked out there in '15!"
Hammel's debut
Jason Hammel couldn't ask for much more out of his Cactus League debut. He threw a perfect pair of innings in a 10-3 victory over the Reds, striking out two with the other outs coming on soft popups.
"Good heaters, a couple good changeups, some sliders -- kind of threw it all out there just to gauge where it is, and so far, so good," Hammel said, noting he revised his two-seamer grip over the offseason. "Definitely want to get the ball on the ground. I know it was weak contact, like popups, but the two-seamer's going to be a big thing for me this year, and I need to get that back, because the homer hurt me last year."
Jackie, Buck … Who's next?
Kansas City took a small step to continue its legacy of pioneering social change through baseball when the Royals invited RISE to speak to the players in the Major League Spring Training camp about the importance of registering to vote.
RISE -- the Ross Initiative for Sport Equality -- was founded by Miami Dolphins owner Steven Ross as a means of using sports to improve race relations and drive social change. They began working with student-athletes, the NFL and the NBA on their voter registration initiative last year, and the Royals are the first MLB team they've visited on a quest to reach every club this spring.
"Several players as well as the head coach were registered to vote today," said RISE spokesperson Erin Pellegrino.
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum director Bob Kendrick joined RISE to speak to the Royals Sunday, citing Jackie Robinson's leadership in leaving the Kansas City Monarchs to serve as the catalyst for the social advancement of the country and the embodiment of the athlete as role model.
"Buck O'Neil, who co-founded the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and was a great baseball player in his own right, talked about the fact that as a grandson of a slave he got to be a part of the change and then he got to live long enough to enjoy the change that he helped to impart," Kendrick said, pointing out that O'Neil's own father wasn't allowed to vote in his hometown of Sarasota, Fla., while O'Neil met with presidents and used his voice into his 90s.
"It's important that we carry on that legacy," Kendrick said. "It's important the work that RISE is doing to push this kind of initiative out there so that we can galvanize more people to exercise their right to vote in this country."
Up next
After a day off Monday, the Royals send Nathan Karns out for his first Cactus League start as Kansas City hosts the Padres at 7:05 p.m. CT.
Jackson joins Royals camp as guest instructor
Former two-sport star has 'diplomatic immunity,' will assist where needed
March 4, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
The baby blue Royals uniform still slides on easily and looks quite natural on Bo Jackson.
"Like riding a bicycle," he said. "… I just have to go up one size."
Jackson, one of the most popular players to ever don a Royals uniform, arrived in Royals camp on Sunday as a guest instructor, one of several guest instructors who'll arrive over the next two weeks. The list also includes Royals legends Fred Patek, Cookie Rojas, Amos Otis, John Mayberry, Willie Wilson and Dennis Leonard.
Jackson, who played for the Royals from 1986-90, spoke briefly to the team in the clubhouse in the morning, then headed out to the practice fields.
Before that, he spoke with reporters as the players went through their morning stretches.
What's your assignment here?
"Anything I want to do. I've been told I have diplomatic immunity. I can [mess] with anybody. I'll go over and visit with the Minor Leaguers. I've actually been doing this sort of thing with the White Sox right up until this year. It's nothing new."
You still have your businesses in Chicago?
"Right now my baby is my food company -- Bo Jackson Signature Foods. I'm even doing some retail business in Kansas City. I'm not letting grass grow under my feet. I have my sports complex in Chicago and one in Columbus, Ohio, and am building a second one around Chicago. It's for summer sports in the winter. Each one is about 90,000 square feet."
I assume the food company is health food?
"Do I look like I eat healthy? I'll leave that to the health nuts. No, it's mostly chicken and fish. High protein stuff."
What's it like to be back wearing a Royals uniform?
"It's fun. It's back where it all started. It's good to come back home, so to speak."
What do you get out of this?
"What I get out of it is meeting all the old Royals, and meeting some of today's players I only get to see on TV. Most of the [young] players weren't even born when I played, or they were babies. I just give them whatever advice I can."
They might have been babies but they know who Bo Jackson is.
"I hope so."
What did your former teammate George Brett have to say to you?
"Oh, we talk all the time. We golf once or twice a year. He's sort of like me -- he has diplomatic immunity here."
Do you still bowhunt?
"I do, just not this year. I had shoulder replacement surgery. It was a baseball injury that happened the night I hit three home runs [against the Yankees in 1990].
"I separated that shoulder diving for a ball that Deion Sanders hit. That [shoulder] finally caught up with me."
Are the players the same as they used to be?
"Nope. The players are bigger and stronger. The players look like football players. Looks like they should be playing for the Chiefs, not the Royals. Plus, the technical side is much greater. There's more computers, more analysis."
What was your prep and study for a game?
"Nothing. I just got up there and if the pitcher got one into the zone, I'd try to hit the hell out of it."
Griffin sharpening mental mechanics in camp
Royals' No. 10 prospect aiming to advance to Triple-A in 2018
March 4, 2018By Owen Perkins/MLB.com
Foster Griffin learned a new grip for his curveball in 2017 and went to a two-seam grip on his changeup to give it more fade, but those are just a couple of examples of the sharp learning curve he used to solidify has stature as a promising left-hander in the Royals' system. The biggest tweak to his game has been sharpening his mental mechanics.
Griffin was a first-round Draft pick by the Royals in 2014, and stumbled a bit as he progressed through the system. By 2017, though, he'd shown the capacity to learn and adapt, landing in Double-A Northwest Arkansas, and winning the 2017 Paul Splittorff Minor League Pitcher of the Year award while being named an MiLB.com Organization All-Star and appearing in the All-Star Futures Game.
Now he's in his first big league training camp, ranked as MLB Pipeline's No. 10 prospect for the Royals, and he's pushing himself to make another leap to Omaha.
"I'm going to do everything I can to compete for a spot in Triple-A," Griffin said Sunday. "Then I'm just an injury away. Prove to the front office and the coaches here that I'm able to play in the big leagues. If someone goes down or a trade happens I can be a knock on the door. That's the main goal."
For a pitcher drafted with the potential the Royals saw in him, Griffin is not content to return to Double-A, where he made 18 starts in 2017. Between Class A Wilmington and Double-A last year, Griffin combined to go 15-7 with a 3.35 ERA, posting 141 strikeouts against just 54 walks in 161 1/3 innings.
"I used to give hitters way too much credit," Griffin said, focusing on the key development that led to last year's success. "I'd nibble at the corners way too much early in counts. I would fall behind if I didn't hit those counts. 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, even 3-1, and you have to come to them after that. With these professional hitters, it really doesn't matter how hard you throw, they're going to be able to hit the ball a long way if it's over the center of the plate.
"So last year my mental approach was just attack the zone early, attack the hitters, and then you can go to the corner after that. That was a big key for me mentally."
Griffin doesn't have overpowering stuff, using a mix of a two-seam fastball, a four-seam fastball, a curveball and a changeup, while adapting from game to game to use whatever he can to keep opposing hitters off balance. As a result, Griffin's repertoire is leading him to learn more about pitching than other prospects who might have more dominating raw stuff and get by in the Minors without fine-tuning the mental game.
"I like his stuff, I like his demeanor, I like his actions," manager Ned Yost said, noting that this spring camp may be more important for what Griffin can take out of it than what Yost can see from Griffin.
"This is a great experience for young guys -- first time in big league Spring Training, being around the veteran guys, getting to watch big league baseball games with guys they've heard about and read about at the Major League level and get a chance to see them play. See how these guys go about their business, what are their routines like, what are their personalities like, and how do they prepare every single day to step out on that field."
Griffin has taken full advantage of the opportunity, picking the brains of pitchers like Ian Kennedy and Danny Duffy while relishing the chance to take the mound in Cactus League games and test himself in a big league environment.
"You want to pitch against the best of the best," Griffin said. "That's what gets you better."
Royals 10, Reds 3: Jason Hammel looks sharp in spring debut
March 4, 2018By Maria Torres & Pete Grathoff/KC Star
The Royals jumped on Cincinnati Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani, scoring four times in the opening inning Sunday, and cruised to a 10-3 victory at Goodyear Stadium.
The game
Second baseman Whit Merrifield made DeSciafani work to start the game. Merrifield belted the 10th pitch he saw for a leadoff triple, and scored on a single by shortstop Erick Mejia.
"Whit's had a great spring so far, really swinging the bat well," manager Ned Yost said. "There's just been no work-in period for him. It just seems that the first day that he got here, he was in midseason form and has consistently been really, really good no matter where we put him in the field and swinging the bat really well."
Merrifield's spring average is .529 (9 for 17) with two doubles, two triples, a home run and a robust 1.588 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.
After Mejia's RBI single, the next three Royals got on base. Center fielder Paulo Orlando singled, left fielder Jorge Soler reached on an error and right fielder Jorge Bonifacio doubled. After an out, third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert singled and Soler scored to make it 4-0.
Bonifacio added an RBI single in the fifth inning that gave the Royals a 5-0 lead, and raised his average to .438 (7 for 16 with four doubles and a home run).
he Royals scored three more runs in the sixth inning, one in the seventh and one in the ninth inning.
The starter
Jason Hammel worked an efficient two innings in his first outing of the spring, needing just 24 pitches to breeze through the two innings.
"The objective is throw strikes, so that one we achieved," Hammel said. "Definitely wanted to get the ball on the ground. I know it was weak contact, like pop-ups, but two-seamer (fastball) is gonna be a big thing for me this season. I need to get that back because the home run is what hurt me last year. Worked a lot on the two-seam grip this offseason and gotta execute with that for more success this year."
Hammel allowed 25 home runs last season in 180 1/3 innings. On Sunday, he struck out two, and only one ball was hit hard. Hammel didn't hold back any pitches.
"Good heaters, a couple of good change-ups, some sliders, threw it all out there to kinda gauge where it is," Hammel said. "So far, so good. Got a lot of swings early. Just happy to fill up the strike zone with some strikes."
Peralta bounces back
After a dreadful spring debut, reliever Wily Peralta looked much sharper Sunday. Peralta, who gave up six runs (four earned) on four hits and a walk in one inning last Tuesday, struck out two and allowed a single in his inning of work.
Five of the other six relievers pitched a scoreless frame. The exception was Glenn Sparkman, who served up a two-run homer as part of a three-run sixth inning.
Waivers cleared
Outfielder Billy Burns will be back in Royals camp
Burns was assigned to Class AAA Omaha on Sunday after clearing waivers. He was designated for assignment Wednesday to make room for first baseman Lucas Duda, who signed a one-year contract with the Royals. Duda has been getting into shape and is expected to start a game as soon as Tuesday.
Burns, 28, was the odd man out of a crowded center field competition in which he was featured alongside Orlando, Bubba Starling and former Blue Jays outfielder Michael Saunders.
Up next
Following the first off day of camp Monday, the Royals (6-2-1) will play host to the San Diego Padres at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday at Surprise Stadium. Fox Sports Kansas City will televise the game.
Royals prospect Q&A: Foster Griffin on meeting Zack Greinke, learning from Danny Duffy
March 4, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
Royals pitching prospect Foster Griffin was given two lists his senior year of high school.
Sports agents to consider on one — and those to stay away from on the other.
Griffin hadn’t asked for it. He had barely just wrapped his mind around becoming a prospect the previous summer, after hitting a 5-inch growth spurt that shot him up to his listed 6-foot-3 frame and helped him break the low 90s with his fastball. Even as a sophomore at The First Academy in Orlando, Fla., he assumed he would pursue golf because he didn’t have colleges offering him baseball scholarships yet.