Jac Caglianone on how Salvador Perez provided his ‘full circle moment’ in MLB debut
This is not an attempt to make Royals catcher Salvador Perez feel old.
But when Perez delivered the game-winning hit in the epic 2014 American League Wild Card Game that Royals fans will long remember, his newest teammate was just 11 years old.
Jac Caglianone, who was the Royals’ first round pick in last year’s Major League Baseball Draft, ascended to the big leagues less than a year after he was playing college ball with the Florida Gators.
And he mentioned how surreal it was to be batting sixth in the lineup, one spot behind Perez.
“I was super excited to share the field with all these guys,” Caglianone said after the Royals’ 10-7 win over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. “From the bats coming up the way that they did was really cool to watch. Kind of stepping into the batter’s box behind Salvador Perez was really cool. Growing up watching him, so was a cool first full circle moment.”
Caglianone went hitless in five plate appearances Tuesday, but the two hardest hit balls in the game were off his bat. He had a 113.9 mph grounder in the ninth inning and a 112.1 mph grounder in the fifth.
In his first big-league at-bat, Caglianone lined out to Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II. The ball traveled 392 feet with an exit velocity of 98.4 mph.
Caglianone said he knew he didn’t barrel the ball. And yet it still traveled a long way.
“I got it off the end a little bit,” he said. “And it was kind of confusing. I saw him running back, but I guess that’s just the way the wind was blowing.”
Sure, Caglianone didn’t get on base in his first game with the Royals, but he certainly made an impact with all those hard-hit balls. That includes the teammate Caglianone once admired as a kid.
Perez made a very specific prediction on Tuesday night.
“I told him that baseball is the best sport ever,” Perez said. “We’re gonna come tomorrow. We’re gonna have more opportunity, you know? So I think he’s doing pretty good today. He put the ball in play. He hit the ball hard. I think tomorrow’s going to be a home run.”
