Royals players share insights into the conversations that take place at first base
Earlier this month, it appeared the Royals had turned a nifty double play against the Cardinals at Kauffman Stadium.
However, St. Louis challenged both outs, and while the play was under review, cameras caught the Cardinals’ Willson Contreras chatting with Salvador Perez, who was playing first base.
Unsurprisingly, Perez was smiling.
As someone who has a zest for baseball life, Perez has enjoyed playing more at first base this season in part because it affords him the opportunity to interact with others.
“You get to know people that you never have the opportunity to talk to,” Perez said. “It’s fun. I like it.”
Perez noted when he’s behind the plate there is time for little more than a quick hello. A batter is focused on his at-bat, while the catcher is thinking about the next pitch.
But first base is the baseball version of an office water cooler.
Being a good conversationalist isn’t a job requirement for a first baseman, but the Royals who have manned that position this season enjoy that aspect of it.
“It’s a really cool part of playing the position being able to talk to different guys around the league,” said Vinnie Pasquantino, who is on the injured list. “It’s fun getting to know people in small, small sequences like that. So for me, it’s an enjoyable part of the game for sure.”
Here’s the thing about those conversations at first base: there is no set topic. It could be baseball or life away from the ballpark.
“(We’ll) talk about how he’s hitting,” Pasquantino said, “talk about his family if I know him a little bit. Anything can come up, talk about other sports, talk about life, really anything, the weather, whatever it may be. So yeah, there’s tons of things that go on over there.”
While first basemen also will chat with an opposing coach and the umpire, most of the time is spent greeting opposing players.
For Nick Pratto, who also is on the injured list, being at first base is a great way to get to know veteran players. However, not everyone is in a mood for talk.
“There’s guys that I’ve watched play for a long time, so it’s been interesting to kind of chat them up,” Pratto said. “Some guys are more friendly than others. Some guys just are very ultra-focused. But you can usually feel that out when they get over there.”
Matt Duffy, who has been in the majors since 2014, agreed that there are quiet players.
But he’s also encountered opponents who can’t wait to share their woes.
“Other guys, you’re kind of like a therapist for them over there,” Duffy said. “They immediately open up, ‘Yeah I’m grinding, this and that and my body is killing me.’ It’s similar to the barbershop scene (in ‘Gran Torino’), just a couple of old guys bitching. That’s kind of how it can be over there.
“Most of the time if it’s somebody you’re familiar with, you’ve played with, it’s ‘How are you doing? How’s your wife?’ Kids if they have them, so it varies from guy to guy, very wide range.”
‘A little bit of gamesmanship’
The Royals first basemen all know the flip side of these conversations. When reaching base, they generally like talking to an opposing first baseman.
Duffy explained how a few foes use the conversations to their advantage.
“There’s some infielders that will purposefully like get all up next to you and they’ll be talking this and that,” Duffy said. “Then they’ll try to pick you off.
“So there is a little bit of gamesmanship. I think it’s probably better than it used to be. I would guess it’s rarer than it used to be.”
Duffy, who also has played second and third base this season, said there is more to concentrate on at first.
In his mind, Duffy ticks off questions like: who will cover second if he tries to start a double play? Is a pickoff throw coming from the pitcher? And will the catcher try a snap throw to get the runner at first?
Still ... that hasn’t stopped Duffy from trying to gain an edge at times when he’s playing first base.
“There’s certainly guys that if a dude is talking all the time, I’ll try my best to like keep it going while trying to exploit him not paying attention at the same time,” Duffy said. “We’re talking but we’re also playing. It’s kind of a little bit of everything. I try to use some feel that if a guy doesn’t want to talk, he doesn’t want to talk.
“I certainly don’t care either way, I could be perfectly happy with never talking to anybody over there and just being locked in.”
An added twist to the uniqueness of a first-base conversation is no one knows how long it will last.
During a replay review, there could be a few minutes for a discussion. Other times, the talk could end after one pitch when the batter puts the ball in play.
“They’re all strange in their own different ways, because you’re only talking to somebody for a few minutes,” Pasquantino said. “And a lot of times your conversation gets cut off because something happens in the game and they leave first.”
This story was originally published August 24, 2023 at 9:00 AM.
