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KANSAS CITY -- Royals Major League video assistant Drew Epperson was 5 years old when he started going to the ballpark with his dad, Chad Epperson, the Red Sox's interim third-base coach and a longtime coach in Boston’s system. But this week was the first time the two met each other on the Major League field -- right at home plate. With the Red Sox in Kansas City earlier this week, the Royals orchestrated a family reunion of sorts for the Eppersons, with Drew -- a member of the club’s support staff -- surprising Chad during the lineup card exchange before Tuesday’s game. “There’s nothing that’s going to match that,” Chad said. “Not even close. A really cool moment that I know both of us will never forget. And Mama [Chad’s wife and Drew’s mom, Anne], too. She said that picture can go up in the house.” Royals bench coach Paul Hoover has come to know Chad throughout their years in baseball, and late last week, Hoover reached out to the Red Sox to see if they would be willing to have Chad do the lineup card exchange with Drew. It never would have happened at the beginning of the season, as Chad was the Double-A Portland manager to begin 2026. But the Red Sox overhauled their coaching staff last month, firing manager Alex Cora and promoting interim manager Chad Tracy. Epperson joined the staff as interim third-base coach. When that move was made, Drew thought of the schedule right away, knowing the Red Sox would be in town in mid-May. Hoover connected the dots, too, and got the lineup card exchange all set. First, the Royals had to get Drew some baseball pants. As part of the support staff, Drew isn’t in uniform, spending the game in the Royals’ video room. |
“I had to go to Pat [Gorman, director of Major League equipment], and I was like ‘Pat, I need the smallest waist you got,’” Drew said with a laugh. Drew didn’t bring up the plan with his dad at all, hoping that it might be a surprise. He thought that Chad might know and was doing the same thing to him, but Chad had no idea. He actually didn’t want to go out at all on Tuesday when Tracy and interim bench coach José David Flores approached him in the dugout. “They’re like, ‘Hey, we need you to take out the lineup card,’” Chad said. “I’m like, ‘Absolutely not. We won last night. I’m not getting involved with that.’ Tracy goes, ‘No, I need you to do it.’ He pointed, and I turned around to see Drew walk out of their dugout. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’” Chad has been in baseball for over 30 years, playing nine seasons in the Minor Leagues before beginning his coaching career. His roles in the Red Sox's Minor League system have included coach, manager and catching coordinator. So Drew grew up in the game -- and always knew he wanted to stay in it. He played some, but “high school was my big leagues,” he says with a grin. Chad was the one who got him thinking about other opportunities in the game beyond the field. “He was a pretty shy kid,” Chad said. “When he got to the field, this was his sanctuary. That’s where I saw who Drew really was.” Drew was the student manager for the University of Massachusetts Lowell baseball team, where he “did the laundry” his freshman year, he said, but worked his way up to advanced scouting and video by his junior and senior year. “They got a Rapsodo, so I worked with that,” Drew said. “That kind of helped prepare me for the next step.” |
The next step was with the Royals, who hired him in 2022 as their video trainee. In '25, he was promoted to the Major League staff as video assistant and now manages the club’s video, technology and analytical equipment, among many other duties to help the coaching staff. Many conversations with his dad revolve around the new-school and old-school approaches in the game. “It makes for some interesting conversations, I will tell you that,” Chad said. “I’m like, ‘You keep believing in that, kid, I know what my eyes are telling me.’ He’s like, ‘Dad, you have to know this.’ But the way he is able to translate the new version to me, there’s so much feel there. Growing up before this and then him taking on all the new stuff and understanding it and learning it, being able to present it the way he does, it’s what makes him who he is.” Drew added: “He does have a lot of knowledge. I think he’s more analytical than he lets on. I learn from him, he learns from me. I think.” And Drew does appreciate both schools of thought. “The game evolves, right?” Drew said. “I started going to the field in like 2004, when analytics weren’t really a thing. I kind of learned the old school way first. And when I realized I wasn’t going to play, I realized that analytics and video and technology could be the way.” That couldn’t make Chad prouder. “For him to be doing this, not only in the game, but at this level, I know that makes him so happy,” Chad said. “He’s so good at it. And that makes me really happy.” |
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
Cole Ragans (left elbow impingement) is scheduled to begin his rehab assignment tonight with Triple-A Omaha, starting for the Storm Chasers in St. Paul at 6:37 p.m. CT. He’s expected to throw four to five innings and/or 60-65 pitches, which is a good baseline to start out with as he gets back on the mound. Ragans hit the 15-day injured list on May 8 after he exited his May 6 start against the Guardians with valgus extension overload in his elbow. The hope was that the IL stint would be on the shorter side, and getting out on a rehab assignment just over two weeks since the injury occurred is definitely a good sign. The next step after tonight’s start will depend on how Ragans throws and feels both during and and after the outing. |
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