Saturday, June 20

Welcome to this edition of the Royals Beat newsletter. My name is Anne Rogers, and I'll be delivering news and insight to your inbox all season. Thanks for following along!

KANSAS CITY – When the Royals win at Kauffman Stadium, the sounds of their clubhouse include loud music, players in great moods, and ... children’s voices.

You have to be careful to sidestep a 3-year-old running at full speed with a basketball across the room, or a 4-year-old spinning wildly in a chair at a locker. Sometimes there might be baseballs flying (although that was more common when Zack Greinke’s kids were here). It’s chaos in the best way, with the players’ kids running around celebrating the win with their dads.

“When we win, Liam knows he can go in the clubhouse, so he gets super excited,” infielder Nick Loftin said. “He knows he gets to run around and get a popsicle, so, I mean, I don’t think there’s anything better than that.”

The Royals’ roster is full of dads with young kids, brand-new dads and soon-to-be dads, so with Father’s Day on Sunday, we surveyed a few to understand what it means to them to be a dad as they navigate their job on the field.

Lucas Erceg

5-month-old daughter, Elsie

On what he’s learned since becoming a dad: “It’s like a challenge from God. I don’t think I had much patience growing up, not only with myself but with everyone around me. This is a test of learning how to be patient. And understanding that this is now my job, my responsibility, to guide her and teach her, make sure that she understands that there’s a right way and a wrong way to do things. It totally gives me perspective on everything. It’s the best thing ever.”

Nick Loftin

2-year-old son, Liam, and baby girl expected this fall

Loftin on how his perspective of the sport shifted: “It doesn’t matter if I go 4-for-4 or 0-for-4. When I go home, he doesn’t know the difference. So me being frustrated about an 0-for-4 day or overly joyful about a 4-for-4 day has no effect on how he views me as a dad. He’s always happy as soon as I walk in the door. Losses are no fun, for sure, but there’s something bigger than the game of baseball going on at home, and it’s growing and molding my son, and now future daughter, to be the best person they can be. Biggest blessing I could ever ask for. I love every second of it. I have fun every day with Liam.”

Michael Wacha

3-year-old daughter, Marcia, and 9-month-old son, Tommy

On being able to show his kids what he does for a living: “It’s a lot of fun. Whether it’s fireworks night or coming in here after a win, bringing them out to the field and getting them on the turf – we take a lot of pictures, so hopefully one day, they’ll think it’s pretty cool. Being a dad really is probably the coolest and most fulfilling thing in my life, really. Waking up in the morning, seeing their faces first thing, and then coming home after being at the field and seeing them smile, it’s something I always look forward to. It’s an incredible honor to be a father to those two kids.”

John Schreiber

3-year-old son, Charlie, and 1-year-old daughter, Madison

On how he’s changed since he became a father: “The perspective is a big thing. My son and daughter are so excited to see me when I get home, and they bring so much joy no matter what happens at the field. But another aspect of that is that it’s given me even more drive to succeed and play as long as I can. Not only to give them the best life, but so I can show them hard work and determination. And as they get older, I want them to see me doing the thing I love doing.”

With a grin, he also shared the biggest piece of advice he gives his teammates about to be fathers: “Don’t feel bad about taking a nap when you get to the field. You got to rest up when you can. Those kids can wake you up pretty early after a late night game.”

With England making its World Cup base in Kansas City during the tournament, staying in Prairie Village, Kan., and practicing at Swope Park, the Royals hosted a few members of the club for a night at the ballpark on Thursday to show them America’s pastime.

Head coach Thomas Tuchel threw out the ceremonial first pitch with a few of his players, including star Harry Kane, keeping a watchful eye behind the mound. Tuchel threw a strike to Royals manager Matt Quatraro, who joked pregame that he just hoped that he caught it.

“I’m trying to figure out if I should be fully geared up or just go with the uniform,” Quatraro said. “Should I use a glove, should I use [mascot] Sluggerrr’s glove?”

Sans catching gear, Quatraro jogged out to home plate with what looked like a catcher’s mitt, and he caught the strike from Tuchel.

“He got a strike, so fair play to him,” Kane said afterward. “It’s not easy. That’s the first time I’ve been on the mound in 12 years, so I forget how far away it actually is. When you’re watching the professionals do it and they’re launching that ball at 98-100 mph, it’s impressive.”

Read the full story here.

Royals No. 4 prospect David Shields delivered his second consecutive 10-strikeout game on Thursday night for High-A Quad Cities, and the lefty now leads all Royals Minor Leaguers in WHIP (1.12) and batting average against (.220) despite being one of just five pitchers in their age-19 campaign at High-A.

Shields has a 4.03 ERA across 13 starts for the River Bandits this year, and he’s struck out 67 in 58 innings. He was also just reunited with his former Single-A teammate Kendry Chourio, who was promoted to High-A this past week and made his debut on Friday. The Royals' No. 2 prospect allowed seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings, but he struck out 10 batters, too, without a walk.

To subscribe to Royals Beat, visit this page and mark "Royals Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Royals or that they're checked as your favorite team.

View Online

© 2026 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Please review our Privacy Policy.

You (mlb-newsletters@mlb.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages or purchased a ticket from MLB. 

Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.

Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.