Moose's 'fiery' attitude sparked playoff runs, clutch moments

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Mike Moustakas is emotional, no doubt about it.

That’s what drove him to dive into seats for foul balls and to crush playoff home runs. It’s exactly why general manager J.J. Picollo, 18 years after “Moose” was drafted by the Royals out of high school, still talks about the “fiery” role he brought to Kansas City’s legendary teams.

All that and more will be celebrated when Moustakas, who officially retired on Monday, signs a ceremonial one-day contract with the club on May 31. He’ll retire as a Royal with what will almost certainly be an emotional pregame ceremony at Kauffman Stadium.

“Hopefully I don’t cry too much,” Moustakas said Tuesday at Royals camp.

Moose went from being the 2nd overall pick of the 2007 Draft to winning two pennants with the Royals, culminating with Kansas City’s 2015 World Series championship. Along the way, his six career playoff home runs are tied with Salvador Perez for second most in team history behind only George Brett (10).

? Royals 6, Rangers 3

His 139 home runs as a Royal rank ninth most in franchise history, and the 38 he crushed in 2017 stood as a franchise record until Jorge Soler (2019) and Perez (2021) bumped that number up to 48.

“I always thought I would end my career as a Royal,” said Moustakas, who was a three-time All-Star. “It’s the place I wanted to be. This city, this organization means so much to me and my family.”

Picollo, the Royals’ farm director at the time, first crossed paths with Moustakas when the future Royal was an 18-year-old coming off a senior year at Chatsworth High School in suburban Los Angeles where he hammered a single-season state record 24 home runs.

Moustakas’ professional career got off to a slow start, though. He didn’t hit a homer in 11 games in Rookie ball before struggling at the onset of Single-A.

“I said [to him], ‘It’s early in your career, we’ve got a lot of games left to play’,” Picollo recalled.

Moustakas then clobbered 22 homers at Burlington, and by 2010 had progressed to Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha. He earned the Minor League home run title that year, blasting 36 total homers in 118 games between the two levels.

“Mike played with an edge,” Picollo said. “Once he learned how to play with the edge and control it and not lose it emotionally, that’s when he became a great player.”

Moustakas’ favorite moments as a Royal are ones fans would know by heart. He named Game 3 of the 2014 ALCS against the Orioles, where in a tied ballgame with the Royals up two games, he raced to the dugout suite rail along the third-base line and gave up his body to make an incredible catch while falling into the arms of fans to snag a key popup in foul territory.

“All the work that went up into [my career] after getting drafted and finally having the World Series, I think, is probably the most special moment in my career as a player,” Moose said.

Then Moustakas reminisces about the time way back in the Minor Leagues with Perez. The two were teammates at Triple-A Omaha in 2011 before playing eight seasons together with the Royals. Perez, who is coming off an All-Star campaign in 2024 where he won his fifth Silver Slugger, was in the clubhouse Monday when Moustakas -- suited up again in powder blue and wearing No. 8 -- hung out with the current Royals club.

“The way he prepared himself every day, the way he competes, the way he took care of his teammates,” said Perez, reflecting on what set Moustakas apart. “I had the chance to be with him every day. He was special. He took care of you like you were family.”

Moustakas is the latest in what has been a concerted effort to bring back a generation of Royals greats beyond the 1970s and ’80s eras to Spring Training. He joins notables like Greg Holland and Joakim Soria in Arizona, as well as Ned Yost, manager of the 2015 World Series club, who in February was named as a senior advisor to Picollo.

“Clearly those ’14 and ’15 teams were a huge part of Royals history,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “These [current players] relate to them well because they’re just done playing, or some of them even played against or with them.”

The 2024 Royals finished second in the AL Central, won the AL Wild Card round against the Orioles and took the ALDS to four games against the eventual pennant-winning Yankees. It’s a group -- that has similarities to the ‘14 club before its title -- looking to capture that magic and go on another playoff run themselves in ‘25.

“This team reminds me of those ’14 and ’15 teams, but different,” Moustakas said. “They have phenomenal players and it’s a different recipe for what they’re going to do.”

And while May 31 will be a special day for Moustakas, there is no doubt it won’t be the last time the Royals honor Moustakas for his contributions.

“One day he’s going to be a Royals Hall of Famer, and we look forward to that day,” Picollo said.