The WBC champ has yet to be crowned, but the Royals are the tourney’s big winner
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Royals players’ WBC showings raised their visibility among broader fans.
- Pasquantino’s historic 3-homer game and Caglianone’s big homer made headlines.
- Royals pitchers (Lugo, Cerantola) had strong outings and drew fan interest.
It’s been a rough week at spring training for the Royals, who lost five straight games before winning Thursday night.
Of course, the Royals’ best players aren’t with the team. But manager Matt Quatraro has loved what he’s seen from his guys who are competing in the World Baseball Classic.
“It’s been so fun for us to watch the guys from afar. We’re so proud of them all,” Quatraro said on the “Jim Rome Show.” “We got guys on a bunch of different teams around in the WBC, and they’ve all been performing. It’s been really cool for us. And there’s nothing better as a manager than just getting to brag on your guys.”
All week, the Royals players put on a show.
Bobby Witt Jr.’s defense wowed fans and brought a smile to the face of Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes. Jac Caglianone crushed a two-run homer as Italy beat Team USA. And Vinnie Pasquantino, also with Team Italy, became the first player in WBC history to have a three-homer game.
Pasquantino’s postgame interview (”You’re welcome, USA”) tickled fans, and capped a great week for the Royals playing in the WBC.
Next up for Italy is a game Saturday against Puerto Rico, which will be starting Royals pitcher Seth Lugo. He threw four shutout innings in a group-stage game against Columbia.
Third baseman Maikel Garcia had a four-hit game for Venezuela on Wednesday and is batting .429 in the tournament. Salvador Perez is the team’s captain and Luinder Avila is a pitcher (4.50 ERA) for Venezuela.
Carlos Estevez has made one scoreless appearance for the Dominican Republic. Royals minor-league pitcher Eric Cerantola hasn’t allowed a hit in two relief appearances.
As the Royals players have performed well in the WBC, they’ve opened the eyes of fans who don’t watch Kansas City on a regular basis. That’s the benefit of the WBC games being televised.
Those fans have professed the love for the Royals players.
Here is a bit of what fans of other teams have been saying.
