Kansas City Royals utility man Hanser Alberto homers in his return to Baltimore
Kansas City Royals utility infielder Hanser Alberto already had his chance to reunite with his former teammates and coaches from the Baltimore Orioles when they visited Kansas City in July.
But it meant more to him to come back to Camden Yards and play in front of Orioles fans this week after having spent the previous two seasons with the Orioles.
He’d taken to heart the messages and well wishes he’d received leading up to Monday’s series opener, and he appreciated the applause he received in Baltimore the first time he batted against his old club.
“Being here again means a lot because I spent the last two seasons here, played good, and I made really good friends here,” Alberto said with a smile. “It feels really good to be here, honestly. When I stepped onto the field, it was special.”
Then the second time he batted, Alberto smoked the farthest home run of his career (426 feet) off of left-hander Zac Lowther to tie the game and celebrated his homecoming by helping his new team to a 3-2 victory.
When asked about feeling like he had something to prove against his former team, Alberto said, “We always have stuff to prove, especially when you come to a new team. You’ve got to show what you’ve got. I know they know how good I did here in Baltimore, but this is another step that I need to show, especially the Royals — this is what they brought me for, to be a utility guy. They want me to grow in that area.”
The 5-foot-11, 215-pound Alberto, 28, entered Monday having had just 19 at-bats since Aug. 15. He has appeared in 90 games this season, through Monday, and started 47 combined between shortstop, second base, third base and designated hitter.
In 209 at-bats this season, Alberto has slashed .258/.273/.388 with 20 extra-base hits and 23 runs scored.
When Alberto smashed a fifth-inning homer to left-center field to tie the score 1-1 on Monday it marked his second home run of the season and snapped a drought of 71 at-bats dating back to July 2. Alberto has hit 13 of his 17 career homers at Camden Yards.
“Everybody was excited,” Royals outfielder Andrew Benintendi said following Monday’s game. “Obviously, he has played here. So I’m sure it’s nice to come back to a place you’ve played before and hit a home run. Everybody loves Hanser. He brings the energy every day. The guys were excited for him in that moment. He’s a fun guy to be around and a great player.”
A native of the Dominican Republic, Alberto made his MLB debut in 2015 with the Texas Rangers. He remained with the Rangers through the 2018 season.
After having appeared in 89 games in three seasons — a shoulder injury wiped out almost the entirety of his 2017 season —the Baltimore Orioles claimed Alberto off waivers in 2019.
He started 181 games for the Orioles in the past two seasons, including 52 games in last year’s 60-game season. He batted .299 with a .322 on-base percentage and a .413 slugging percentage from 2019-20.
As an everyday player, Alberto excelled against left-handed pitchers and batted .394 against lefties the previous two seasons. That average ranked first among players with at least 100 plate appearances against lefties.
Citing the financial ramifications of Alberto’s pending arbitration eligibility and expressing a willingness to potentially re-sign him on a less expensive deal, Orioles general manager and executive vice president Mike Elias decided to non-tender Alberto last winter and make him a free agent.
Alberto signed a minor-league contract with the Royals and came to spring training camp as a non-roster invitee.
“I credit my coaching staff, always kind of pushing me to make sure that some of these guys who haven’t been getting to play too much take advantage of either a good match-up or a good situation,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “This is a good situation, him coming back here. He has had a lot of success in this ballpark. We needed that little bit of a jolt. He did not disappoint.
“This guy has been so good all year for everything we’re trying to do and the job that we ask him to do. For him to come in and be able to contribute, that’s just icing on the cake for us.”
This story was originally published September 7, 2021 at 5:24 PM.
