Royals, alumni forge deeper connection

This story was excerpted from Anne Rogers¡¯ Royals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Edinson Volquez might look like he has a few more pitches in that steady right arm of his, but don¡¯t ask him to get on a mound any time soon. The former Royals pitcher says he spends his retired life playing golf while flying back and forth from Miami to the Dominican Republic, where he has a baseball academy.

¡°Everything hurts,¡± Volquez said, laughing. ¡°I can¡¯t pick up the ball and throw it. I don¡¯t pitch anymore, I don¡¯t play catch anymore. I just have fun.¡±

Having fun is what Volquez was doing at Royals camp in Surprise, Ariz., for a few days last week, coming in as a guest instructor after manager Matt Quatraro and the front office put together a list of former players they wanted to bring in as resources for the current roster.

Joakim Soria and James Shields were both in Surprise late last week and into the weekend, and several more former Royals will be in town over the next three weeks: Wade Davis, Greg Holland, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Alex Gordon. The Royals always have a week in which team Hall of Famers -- such as Bo Jackson, Steve Busby and Willie Wilson -- come to Spring Training, but Quatraro wanted the newest generation of former players to come, too.

It¡¯s an effort to connect with current players who were kids watching that core group win an American League pennant in 2014 and a World Series in 2015.

¡°This next generation coming back, I think it ties to the successful years,¡± Quatraro said. ¡°But those guys are more than what their stats are on a baseball card. They¡¯re great people, great teammates. They bring that energy that I think the city thrives on.

¡°The organization really revels in their accomplishments. The players who didn¡¯t know the guys in the ¡¯70s and ¡¯80s, these are the guys they watched as they grew up. And some of our guys played with or against these guys. So I think just tying that more recent history together is really important.¡±

Shields spoke with the team on Thursday about (among other things) creating a family atmosphere in the clubhouse by being your teammates¡¯ biggest fan, a conversation that resonated with several players. Volquez spread a similar message and talked about changeups with Cole Ragans and Michael Wacha. Soria, who didn¡¯t pitch in the playoffs with Kansas City but was an All-Star reliever in the early 2010s, held court with the Latin players and watched bullpen sessions.

¡°It hasn¡¯t been too long since I retired, but as soon as you step out of the game, doing Dad duties, the game speeds up,¡± Soria said. ¡°The other day, I was amazed at how hard these guys were throwing. I¡¯m just watching Little League baseball [now]. It was just, ¡®Wow.¡¯

¡°... It¡¯s just like coming back home. I love Kansas City. The organization is super nice to me all the time, and I¡¯m just happy to be invited to Spring Training and watch all this talent they have here.¡±

Salvador Perez, the last remaining player from the Royals¡¯ 2015 team, reveled in the memories he made with his former teammates while encouraging his current teammates to use the guests as resources, especially Volquez.

¡°There¡¯s a lot of experience in that guy,¡± Perez said. ¡°He knows how to pitch. I hope the young guys, American and Latino guys, talk to him. He¡¯s got a lot to say.¡±

Davis and Holland were guest instructors last year, and the players responded well to them. So Quatraro and the Royals expanded the list this year. It¡¯s like a reunion before the reunion the Royals are hosting in Kansas City in May to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the 2015 World Series.

¡°Whoever they call, I think is going to show up,¡± Volquez said. ¡°It¡¯s been 10 years since we played here. To be back in Spring Training or KC, I think everybody wants to be there.¡±

And this current Royals team, the one that brought postseason baseball back to Kansas City last year and aims to make a deeper run in 2025, has some big fans in all the former players.

¡°I¡¯ve been watching the team since I left Kansas City,¡± Volquez said. ¡°I think they¡¯re going to have a great team and a bright future. They made it to the playoffs last year, and I think they have a chance to win this year. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m a little early to say that, but I believe in the team and that they can do it.¡±