Royals rookie Jac Caglianone gets first career hit and RBI
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Kansas City Royals rookie outfielder Jac Caglianone got a pair of firsts out of the way with one swing of the bat Thursday.
Caglianone ripped Miles Mikolas' curveball into the right-field corner for an RBI double that scored Salvador Perez in the fourth inning of the first game of a doubleheader against the Cardinals. It was the first career hit and RBI for the highly touted prospect who was selected sixth overall by Kansas City in the 2024 amateur draft.
'He's a very decorated pitcher, a veteran and all that, so I knew his command was really good,' Caglianone said. 'So, he started off two heaters up, get down 0-2, and luckily, just saw the curveball pop.'
Caglianone also added a nice running catch in right field to rob Alec Burleson of an extra base hit in the fifth in the Royals' 6-5 loss.
'He tracked that ball really well,' Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. 'I mean, it's hit hard and going towards the line, so it was a really nice play.'
Caglianone went 0 for 5 in his major league debut on Monday, but he came close to picking up hits during three of those at-bats. Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II raced 92 feet to make a running catch just steps away from the outfield wall on his first career at-bat and 10-time Gold Glove Award-winning third baseman Nolan Arenado made a pair of off-balance throws to nail him at first base later in the game.
'It's the big leagues,' Caglianone said. 'These guys are really good at what they do. Yeah, it's been good so far. A lot of hard contact, and just going to keep building on it.'
'I was able to have a nice dinner with my family,' Caglianone said. 'Had a good night's sleep, so I was good going into 18 innings today.'
The 22-year-old Caglianone hit .319 with nine home runs and 43 RBIs in 38 games with Triple-A Omaha after playing the first 12 games of the season with Double-A Northwest Arkansas.
'He's going to impact a lot of games for us,' Quatraro said. 'We're pretty confident in that. You know, he's been swinging the bat fine. Squared the ball up his first time as well, but for him to get that first one out of the way and kind of get that relaxation, that feel, is good for him, and it's good for us.'
Caglianone said he was thinking about his father when he got the hit. The ball will go home with his dad, who was in the stands to watch the milestone.
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The Basque separatist movement began in the late 1950s and was led by the now-defunct militant group ETA. In 2011, the group declared a 'definitive end' to an armed conflict that killed nearly 900 people, and it officially disbanded in 2018. What is pelota vasca and who won? Pelota vasca, also known as Basque pelota, is played on a court with players using their hands and different types of rackets to hit the ball against a high wall. Depending on which version of the sport is being played, there are different court measurements — all of them with a high front wall and most with another high side wall. The biggest court is 54 meters long (177 feet long). In the Basque Country region, it's considered by many as a national sport. There were jeers when the Spanish national anthem played at the awards ceremony in the Basque Country location of Gernika-Lumo. The Basque Country won the men's final on Friday night, while Spain took the victory in the women's decider. 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(AP Photo/Miguel Oses) Arai Lejardi, right, member of the Spanish national team competes during the Nations League match between the Spanish national team and the Euskadi national team at the Jai Alai fronton in Guernica-Luno, northern Spain, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses) People react during the Nations League match between the Spanish national team and the Euskadi national team at the Jai Alai fronton in Guernica-Luno, northern Spain, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses) MADRID (AP) — A small sport popular in Spain's northern Basque Country has stirred up a political controversy that triggered court action and fanned the region's long-held feelings of nationalism. There has been back-and-forth spats between sports officials and politicians after the Basque Country region was allowed to compete as a nation in international competitions in pelota vasca, a sport that was in the Olympics more than 100 years ago but is now rarely seen in most parts of the world. Advertisement Even sport's highest court was asked to get involved. The dispute culminated this weekend in what many had thought was an impossible scenario: The Basque Country and Spain playing against each other in an international sporting event — the pelota vasca Nations League. The Basque Country, also known as Euskadi, maintains a strong cultural identity and traditions in a region once scarred by violence. The Basque separatist movement began in the late 1950s and was led by the now-defunct militant group ETA. In 2011, the group declared a 'definitive end' to an armed conflict that killed nearly 900 people, and it officially disbanded in 2018. What is pelota vasca and who won? Advertisement Pelota vasca, also known as Basque pelota, is played on a court with players using their hands and different types of rackets to hit the ball against a high wall. Depending on which version of the sport is being played, there are different court measurements — all of them with a high front wall and most with another high side wall. The biggest court is 54 meters long (177 feet long). In the Basque Country region, it's considered by many as a national sport. There were jeers when the Spanish national anthem played at the awards ceremony in the Basque Country location of Gernika-Lumo. The Basque Country won the men's final on Friday night, while Spain took the victory in the women's decider. Advertisement Legal fight The sport's Spanish federation had strongly opposed the recognition of the Basque team, citing alleged illegalities in the recognition process by the international body. It denounced 'pressure, threats and coercion' against Basque players who had chosen to play for Spain. 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The Spanish federation said it only participated in the event out of consideration for its athletes who wanted to play and were afraid that the competition could eventually serve as a qualifier for next year's world championships in Argentina, as indicated by the international body. The Spanish federation insisted it can't be considered an official competition. The Basque federation of pelota vasca praised the fact that its national team became a 'reality.' Advertisement 'We were born to grow and promote pelota vasca. It is part of our culture, of our identity and of our people," it said. 'We look to the future with hope, the future is ours.' In addition to Spain and the Basque Country, the other participants in the Nations League were the United States, France, Mexico and the Philippines. Pelota vasca was an official Olympic sport at the 1900 Paris Games and has been a demonstration sport several times since then, most recently in Barcelona in 1992. Variations of pelota vasca include jai alai, which in the United States is mostly played in Florida. Other countries where the sport is seen include France, Argentina, Mexico and Cuba.
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