Royals fans could hardly wait for these 5 debuts. Jac Caglianone is next big one
Jac Caglianone’s major-league debut, Tuesday night in St. Louis, has become the most anticipated by a Royals player since ... ?
We don’t have to travel too far in the way-back machine. Our list of the five players Royals fans couldn’t wait to see spans generations and includes one from nearly each decade.
Let’s list them chronologically and recall how they fared:
Clint Hurdle
By the mid-1970s the Royals were winning AL West titles, and they had a top prospect in Hurdle, a first-round draft pick in 1975. Hurdle made his major-league debut on Sept. 18, 1977. In his second plate appearance, he homered into the fountains.
The following March, Hurdle graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, which called him “This Year’s Phenom.”
But it never happened for Hurdle, who spent five of his 10 seasons with the Royals and finished his career with 32 home runs.
Hurdle has won as a manager, taking the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates to the playoffs.
Bo Jackson
A fourth-round draft pick doesn’t usually attract much attention. But this was Bo Jackson, the Heisman Trophy-winning running back and overall first pick in the 1986 NFL Draft.
Bo said no to football, signing with the Royals.
Jackson spent 53 games with the Class AA Memphis Chicks before being promoted to the Royals and debuting on Sept. 2, 1986 before 17.418 at Royals Stadium. Jackson beat out an infield single against future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton in his first at bat.
Jackson spent five of his eight major league seasons with the Royals, topping out with a 32-home run season in 1989. He was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame in 2024.
Johnny Damon
The Royals stood at a crossroads. Battle for a playoff spot with a veteran team or embrace a youth movement.
The verdict: Go young. On Aug. 12, 1995, with the Royals still in the wild card picture, general manager Herk Robinson promoted Damon and Michael Tucker.
Damon, a former first-round pick, lead off against the Seattle Mariners, went 3-for-5 with a triple as the Royals won. The new energy didn’t produce a playoff, but Damon went on to a productive career, peaking in 2000, his last with the Royals, when he led the American League in runs and stolen bases.
And he did reach the playoffs, winning World Series with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
Alex Gordon
Baseball’s No. 2 pick in 2005, Gordon crushed it for the Class AA Wichita Wranglers and was named the Topps Minor League Player of the Year.
Gordon’s major-league debut came on April 2, 2007, opening day, at home against the Red Sox and ace Curt Schilling.
“This is the biggest day in Kauffman Stadium in recent memory, and Gordon is a big reason why,” Sam Mellinger, then a reporter for The Star (and now the Royals’ communications VP) wrote at the time.
In the first inning, Gordon, batting fifth, stepped into the box with the bases loaded and struck out swinging.
There would be better highlights. In 2010, Gordon switched to left field, where he won eight Gold Gloves, and became part of the nucleus of the 2014 and 2015 Royals teams that won pennants. His dramatic ninth-inning home run sent Game 1 of the 2015 World Series into extra innings and propelled the Royals to their second championship.
Bobby Witt Jr.
Witt’s first full professional year was delayed when the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 minor-league season. But he dominated in Northwest Arkansas and Omaha on his way to being named the 2021 minor-league player of the year by Baseball America.
He was the Royals’ opening day third baseman on April 7, 2022 with Adalberto Mondesi playing shortstop. Batting second, Witt went hitless in his first three plate appearances before dropping an RBI double into left field in the eight inning for the go-ahead run in a 3-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians.
Finishing second in the AL MVP voting with a 9.4 WAR by baseballreference.com, Witt is on his way to a stellar career.
A path that Caglianone hopes to take.
This story was originally published June 3, 2025 at 9:48 AM.