This Royals tradition is a hit in the bullpen. You might have seen it at The K
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- Royals assign a Hello Kitty backpack to the least experienced bullpen reliever.
- The backpack carries essentials like snacks, medicine and supplies for games.
- Veterans use the tradition to build camaraderie and mentor younger pitchers.
One of the Kansas City Royals’ richest traditions sits in plain sight. It’s hard to miss, if you know what to look for.
Players take turns adding their own spin with a creative stroke, but everyone respects the rule associated with this unique tradition. They’ve heard the stories along the way and keep it going.
“Everybody before me had to do it at some point,” Royals relief pitcher Lucas Erceg said, “and everybody after me has to do it. It’s just a cool little tradition to keep going.”
So what is this mysterious tradition that brings the Royals’ younger relievers into the bullpen circle of trust? Upon reaching the majors, the reliever with the least major-league service time has a special assignment.
The Hello Kitty backpack.
“It’s just fun and games, at the end of the day,” KC reliever Jonathan Bowlan said. “It’s usually to the youngest guy in the bullpen. I wore it last year and the year before a little bit. It’s one of the things we like to do. It has all the things we kind of need down there.”
The Hello Kitty backpack travels everywhere with the Royals. Whoever has possession of the bag is responsible for supplying snacks, essentials and anything else a teammate might need in the bullpen.
It serves an important purpose: Relievers can’t typically shuttle back and forth from the bullpen to the dugout for supplies during games. The Hello Kitty backpack usually contains things players might need, such as ibuprofen, wet wipes and ointments to relieve sore muscles.
“It’s all the stuff a bullpen pitcher might need going into the start of the game to help you get ready,” Erceg said.
The Royals make it fun. Fans cast sidelong glances at the Hello Kitty backpack as it travels to the bullpen. The current iteration is a pink and white bag with various pockets.
Bowlan was responsible for the backpack on Wednesday. It remained at his locker in the clubhouse. As its keeper, he was tasked with making sure his veteran teammates had exactly what they needed for the evening’s game against the Yankees at Kauffman Stadium.
NFL and NBA rookies often have a similar role. But instead of carrying shoulder pads and gym shorts for veteran teammates, younger Royals relievers do this instead.
The Hello Kitty backpack will travel from the clubhouse to the bullpen. It will ride on the team plane for road trips and be available for any on-field activities.
“It teaches you to be responsible up here and take care of your own stuff,” veteran Royals closer Carlos Estévez said. “And you also have to have our backs.
“So with that, you’ve got your stuff in there, but you also got everyone else’s. It’s basically what we expect from you. It’s a really fun way to let them know.”
Being a major-league reliever comes with pressure. Oftentimes, a young pitcher is thrown into a high-stress situation and asked to be flawless — throw a shutdown inning, or get the team out of a messy situation.
Having Estévez and other veterans around as a sounding board is a definite plus.
“I got a lot of help coming up through the big leagues,” Estévez said. “Like the learning process and how to pitch in situations, the older guys always had my back. It got easier for me when I had someone help me that way.
“I feel like I’ve got to do the same. I know that if those guys are good, the whole team is going to be good, too.”
Estévez, who signed with the Royals this past offseason, has taken such younger teammates as Steven Cruz and Angel Zerpa under his wing. Last season, the leadership role he occupies was held by now-departed Will Smith and Chris Stratton.
“That’s one thing that helps them,” Estévez said. “I don’t do it for a reward. It was the way I was raised and how I was taught. I was helped and I’ve just got to translate the message.”
Estévez is the longest-tenured reliever in the Royals’ bullpen, in terms of time in Major League Baseball. But he, too, will carry the Hello Kitty backpack when needed. The bag can transition down the service time ladder if the person with the least experience is pitching or otherwise occupied.
In that instance, Estévez would bring the bag in from the dugout and return it to the youngest available reliever.
Normally, Estévez likes to make sure the bag contains some of his favorite candy. Other relievers have their own preferred essentials for getting through a game.
The camaraderie among the Royals’ relievers is tangible. Each pitcher has stood out in his own way, and that’s helped the entire pitching staff flourish.
“It’s a cool little tradition that I think brings the bullpen together a little bit,” Erceg said. “You have to wear it for a while, metaphorically and physically.
“I mean you have to ‘wear it.’ But when you graduate and you have someone else younger, or with less service time than you, you get to hand it off.”
And that is what makes it fun for the Royals. So the tradition continues.
This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 7:01 PM.
