Singer David Cook takes some hacks during visit to Royals spring training

Former “American Idol” winner David Cook was raised in Blue Springs, so he jumped at the chance Sunday to visit the Royals at spring training in Surprise, Ariz.

“I wish I could say I was smart enough to plan this out, but it just kind of fell on the calendar the right way,” Cook told reporters in Arizona. “I’m super-excited to be here. It’s awesome. Baseball is coming back, man, I’m excited.”

Cook and guitarist Daniel Damico took some swings against Royals pitcher Jeremy Guthrie. Here are some photos and a video from The Star’s John Sleezer (there are more photos above, too):

This story was originally published February 22, 2015 at 7:01 PM.