March 28th, 2024, was an exciting day in the baseball world. Stadiums sold out, fans lined up at the gates, bobbleheads were given away, and smiles could be seen all around. Some people even consider it a holiday. I’m talking about opening day for Major League Baseball!
The Kansas City Royals played their opening day game on March 28th, 3:10 PM at Kauffman Stadium vs. a fellow American league competitor, the Minnesota Twins. Opening day is always a special day, and the fun begins hours before the first pitch.
Parking lots to the public opened bright and early at 9 AM and gates opened at noon. A concert was performed by the local band, Lost Wax, and later music by DJ Code P was played. Whiteman Air Force Base B2 presented a flyover minutes before the game, and 2024 Super Bowl Champion head coach Andy Reid threw an honorary first pitch.
Despite the electric and fun time at Kauffman yesterday, the Royals took an opening-day defeat, losing to the Twins 4-1. However, as many opening-day games are, the thrill of the game was still present. Notably, the Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans set a new Royals Opening Day record, racking up nine strikeouts and surpassing 2015 World Series champion and previous 2017 record holder, Royals pitcher Danny Duffey. Maikel Garcia, Royals third baseman, got the glory of hitting the first Royals regular season home run after going up in the bottom of the first inning and hitting a sweeper for a home run to left field. Garcia ended up going one for four hits per at-bats.
Unfortunately, Twins third baseman, Royce Lewis, suffered a quad injury. He was forced to exit the game after hitting the first Twins regular season home run and rounding second base. Lewis hit an impressive 423 ft home run into the left field fountains. Lewis has suffered multiple ACL injuries during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, causing him to miss many of those seasons. Hopefully, he gets a speedy recovery and can return to the field for the Twins soon.
Bobby Witt Jr., the future and face of the Royals franchise, batted second and ended up going one for three. The Royals have made it clear that they are going to be building their franchise around the twenty-three-year-old shortstop as best as they can. Recently, Bobby Witt Jr. signed the largest contract extension in Royals franchise history, signing a deal to stay in KC for the next 11 years in exchange for 288.8 million dollars. This means that the young star will be staying in KC to see a brand-new stadium.
The Royals have been talking about a new stadium for some time now, but recently Jackson County voters voted against implementing a tax to fund the new stadium and to fund the Kansas City Chiefs stadium renovations.
John Sherman, Royals Chairman and CEO, said on an official Royals Instagram post, “We respect the voters of Jackson County and the results of the election today… We will take some time to reflect on and process the outcome and find a path forward that works for the Royals and our fans.” At the moment, it is still unclear what the Royals and Chiefs are going to do at this point, but all we can hope for this year is a good Royals season!
