Bobby Witt Jr. goes yard for Royals, Chiefs open annual rookie minicamp: KC Replay
After being swept at home last weekend against the New York Yankees, the Royals entered the week seeking better results.
After also losing a 1-0 game in St. Louis on Monday, they got a lift from one of baseball’s most elite young players on Tuesday.
Elsewhere the Chiefs kicked off their annual rookie minicamp, the KC Current played a big knockout match and Sporting KC contented itself with a tie at home against FC Dallas.
Here’s our KC Replay recap of top local-sports headlines over the past week or so.
Milestone for BWJ
Bobby Witt Jr. will experience a lot of “firsts” this year, his debut season in the majors. A recent one helped the Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 on Tuesday in the return half of a home-and-home set with the Redbirds.
There’s an odd footnote to BWJ’s first MLB dinger: After he belted the second-inning offering from St. Louis reliever Dakota Hudson over the fence and off the stadium wall at The K, the ball bounced back down to the grass ... where it was promptly picked up by a Cards outfielder and tossed into the fountains.
The post-homer splashdown wasn’t a slight — center fielder Harrison Bader had apparently intended to toss the ball up to some fans in the stands., but it wound up taking a bath instead.
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First look at new Chiefs
The Chiefs finished up their run through the 2022 NFL Draft last weekend with a fine haul of 10 new players, then added more fresh faces by signing numerous undrafted rookie free agents.
Each year, after the obligatory post-draft news conferences with each guy, the rookies’ next item on their shared agenda is the team’s annual rookie minicamp, which started on Saturday and continues today (Sunday) and Monday. The team’s coaches will get a good look at all 10 players drafted last weekend, plus those undrafted guys.
Here’s the list of players the Chiefs added through the 2022 draft, in order of their selection during the three-day draft process: cornerback Trent McDuffie; defensive end George Karlaftis; reciever Skyy Moore; safety Bryan Cook; linebacker Leo Chenal; cornerback Joshua Williams; offensive lineman Darian Kinnard; cornerback Jaylen Watson; running back Isiah Pacheco; and safety Nazeeh Johnson.
Two more Chiefs-related items of note: former Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu signed with his hometown New Orleans Saints, and The Star promoted Jesse Newell as its newest Chiefs beat writer alongside Herbie Teope.
Challenge accepted, but Current fall
The skies opened up Wednesday evening, but that didn’t stop the Kansas City Current from playing a big midweek game at Children’s Mercy Park.
Unfortunately for the Current and fans in attendance, the home team lost the NWSL Challenge Cup semifinal 2-1 to the North Carolina Courage. But the Current were not overly discouraged, pragmatically assessing the fact that they’d reached the penultimate, knockout round of a tournament like the Challenge Cup as something of a win in itself with the regular season now at hand.
“It meant a lot for us to have that first meaningful game for the club,” forward Kristen Hamilton said. “It’s good to have those types of games on your belt, to kind of feel the atmosphere or feel what it’s about.”
Sporting fit to be tied
Sporting KC trailed FC Dallas 2-1 by halftime of last weekend’s match at Children’s Mercy Park but secured a 2-2 draw thanks to crisper play in the second half.
Positive outcomes have been elusive for Sporting (2-6-2) so far this season, so gaining even a single point in the MLS standings was a plus. The mid-game turnaround started with a halftime recalibration speech from KC manager Peter Vermes.
“I just told the guys that you gotta go out in the second half and completely change your mentality,” he said.