Vinnie Pasquantino, Kansas City Royals ‘not hiding from anybody’ as losses pile up
Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino is having quite the season at the plate.
It’s the kind of season where — even when the Royals seemingly couldn’t get a hit off Minnesota starter Tyler Mahle in an eventual 7-1 loss — Pasquantino found a way to smash a solo home run, his fifth long ball of the season.
Pasquantino is hitting .285 with eight RBIs in 2023. His offense has been a bright spot in a season filled with plenty of losing thus far, but he hasn’t taken much solace in his individual play.
His focus: The Royals rank 29th in MLB with 83 runs. They are dead last in team batting average (.215). So, it’s hard for Pasquantino to focus on his performance with his teammates struggling.
“I’m not gonna separate the two,” Pasquantino said after Tuesday’s game. “We’re struggling and we’ve got to find a way to get out of it. There’s lots that can be said that I’m not going to say to you guys, but we’ve just got to find a way.”
It’s certainly been a trying season for this young Royals squad. The club is off to a 6-20 start for just the fourth time in KC history. Despite the losses mounting up, Pasquantino is trying to take the long-term view.
“We get to play tomorrow,” Pasquantino said. “May is coming up, so we’ve got that going for us. Just find a way. (Minnesota) is leading the division and we have a chance to take something from them. We need to do whatever we can.”
As for the clubhouse conversations...
“Nothing that can really be said,” Pasquantino said. “We are all professionals. We know what we have to do. We get it. Baseball is a funny game because it’s an individual game but a team sport. So you’ve got to show up and do your job. “
Still, the offensive struggles and the losing have affected the Royals’ clubhouse demeanor.
“I know guys are pissed off,” Pasquantino said. “There’s a lot of frustration and anger. We know we can be better than this, but we have to do it.”
Pasquantino emphasized the Royals’ struggles aren’t due to a lack of effort.
“Guys are working really hard,” Pasquantino said. “Nobody cares how hard we’re working, but guys are working very hard. This isn’t one of those things where guys are just showing up and playing. We recognize there are problems and we are working on fixing them. I’m not saying we will fix them, but we are working on fixing them.
“That’s all we can do. We’ll be right back out here tomorrow. We’re not hiding from anybody.”
Pasquantino doesn’t like for his frustration to linger.
“You try to sit on it for 5-10 minutes and you’ve got to move on,” Pasquantino said. “It’s been a tough month, but you have to find a way to get to tomorrow and get into that positive place because if you dwell on it it’s not going to be easy to get out of that.”
