By Adam Gardner / March 12, 2026
It was a joy to see Royals crushing it in the United States vs Italy World Baseball Classic game on Tuesday night.
Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone combined for four hits and Vinnie Pasquantino made a pair of incredible stretch plays at first base, hitting the splits both times. The only negative was Vinnie still hadn’t notched his first hit in the WBC, but that all changed when Italy played Mexico on Wednesday night.
Witt doing his part
I’ve enjoyed the love Witt is receiving, particularly after his terrific game against Mexico. He doubled twice and made two impeccable plays in the field. He even made Paul Skenes smile, and Paul Skenes doesn’t hand out smiles very often. Skenes had a famous reaction when he won Rookie of the Year, barely showing any hint of happiness.
But ROY awards don’t prevent runs, Bobby Witt does. And that’s what can make Skenes smile.
Even his girlfriend, Livvy Dunne, had fun with the smirk that spread across her boyfriend’s face.
Witt has a .357/.471/.500 slash line in his three WBC games, with 2 doubles, 3 singles and 3 walks. He’s also added 3 steals. Witt is getting on base and using his speed to get into scoring position, yet he somehow has scored just 1 run. He’s been the ideal leadoff man but the all-star crew behind him can’t bring him in.
Even Tuesday night against Italy, Witt singled in the ninth inning to give the United States a chance. Both Gunnar Henderson and Aaron Judge entered the box with a chance to tie the game; both struck out. It makes me want to start #BringBobbyHome on social media.
But Bobby is putting on a show for the world, and I love that. Folks who didn’t already know what we have in Kansas City are seeing the total package now.
Jac showing his potential
The United States simply couldn’t get Jac Caglianone out on Tuesday night. Cags was 2-for-2 with a rocket for a home run, a single, a walk and a hit by pitch. My heart skipped a beat when his back foot was hit, but he was fine.
There was also a moment when Caglianone was charging at Witt on a potential double play ball but former Royal pitcher Brad Keller did us all a solid and spiked the throw, making sure there would be no contact at second base.
I’m really excited that the home run came against Ryan Yarbrough, a 6’5” left-hander who is tough on left-handed hitters. In his career, these are Yarbrough’s splits vs right-handed and left-handed batters:
- Right – .263/.317/.435
- Left – .207/.269/.343
But that didn’t stop Cags from destroying a sweeper from Yarbrough in the fourth inning with an exit velocity of 110 mph. He has a tendency to hit the ball hard.
Caglianone actually had reverse splits in 2025 across his time in the minor and major leagues, meaning his numbers were actually a little better against lefties than righties. This is great news. If Cags becomes the slugger the Royals and Royals fans dream of, it’s nice to know he can’t be neutralized by a lefty reliever.
Pasquantino breaks out
As mentioned, Vinnie remained hitless through his team’s first three games, going 0-5 with 2 strikeouts against the United States. He’s still a key part of that Italian team, though, showcasing why his teammates seem to love him.
The defensive plays at first were extremely impressive. Pasquantino is listed at 6’3” and 245 pounds. He’s not a gymnast but he showed off some impressive moves by hitting the splits twice.
Vinnie is a professional athlete and I know he puts in the work to be able to do that sort of thing, but it reminded me of my playing days in high school when I would do the splits at first base out of necessity. I was always surprised I could do it and more surprised that I could get back up and keep playing.
Pasquantino also brings good vibes to the dugout. Yes, I’m 42 years old and talking about vibes – working at a college around 18-22 year olds, I’m bound to have some of their vocabulary slip into my daily life.
As the captain, Vinnie was leading the way despite his cold bat. He was there to greet his teammates with a shot of espresso and double-cheek kiss after their home runs. During a tense moment late in the game, Vinnie calmed everyone down during a mound visit. He’s their leader and he finally woke up the bat Wednesday night, belting three home runs. More espresso, please.
Other notes from USA vs Italy
I wasn’t aware George Brett nicknamed Vinnie “The Italian Nightmare” until Joe Davis mentioned it during the broadcast. Apparently Brett did this several years ago, but it had escaped my ears until now. I still like Pasquatch better, and simply “Vinnie” even more.
It was nice to see Michael Lorenzen pitch so well. I appreciated his time with the Royals. He doesn’t have Cole Ragans-type stuff, but you always knew Lorenzen would go out there and battle. His demeanor impressed me, too. I wish him luck in Colorado – and if you didn’t know he signed with the Rockies, it’s OK, Davis and John Smoltz only mentioned it about 10 times during the broadcast.
Mets pitcher Nolan McLean looked absolutely unhittable in the first inning before getting scraped up for 3 runs in the second inning. His sweeper had some nasty movement and he’ll be an interesting guy to keep an eye on as he enters his second season.
There were so many Royals fans in the stands Tuesday night. It felt like every shot of the crowd included one or two Royals shirts, jerseys or hats. It makes me wonder: Are we a cool team now?
I shouldn’t be surprised – with a superstar in Bobby Witt Jr., a lovable slugger in Vinnie Pasquantino, and former college superstar and budding power threat Jac Caglianone, there is a lot to love. Add in Maikel Garcia and Salvador Perez, and there’s even more.
Maybe we are one of MLB’s cool teams now. Or maybe we just had a lot of people in the KC area who were on spring break and decided to head to Houston to watch some of our guys.
Garcia and Salvy
Maikel Garcia is having a tremendous WBC. In Venezuela’s loss to the Dominican Republic Wednesday, Garcia was 4-4 with a walk. He’s hitting .429 with a double and he’s added 3 stolen bases.
The entire WBC has a small sample size disclaimer wrapped around it – especially with hitters facing pitchers who won’t sniff the major leagues in some games – but it’s still encouraging to see good numbers from Royals hitters.
Salvador Perez, I’m hoping, is on the other end of the small sample size disclaimer. He’s just 3-14 with no extra base hits. Salvy doesn’t need to anchor the middle of the order for the Royals anymore, but KC still needs some pop to show up from their captain. Hopefully this is just a little slump in March.
Excitement in the air
My wife Emily and I visited some friends in San Diego last weekend, the first trip to California for both of us. We stayed in Ocean Beach, specifically right next to Dog Beach, which was wonderful.
We don’t currently have a dog, so it was fulfilling to plop our chairs in the sand, soak in some sun and ocean breezes, and watch dozens of dogs tear around the beach and play in the water.
The food in Ocean Beach was incredible, too. We stopped into the famous Hodads for burgers and had fish tacos and fried calamari at Blue Water.
Every meal we had was great and I think it’s made even better that you get to enjoy the southern California sunshine and the beach is just steps away.
Another fun activity was sitting at the bar at La Doña. The bartenders were friendly, the drinks were good, and they had Spring Training baseball on the TV. The restaurant is open air, so we constantly felt the breeze and could see the sunshine.
All of that mixed with baseball on the TV has me craving a day at the ballpark. I can’t wait to visit Kauffman Stadium for the first time this season, feel the sun and breeze on my skin, and cheer on our Royals.
A bonus: Emily suggested a west coast vacation in 2027 to visit some ballparks. We’ve been to stadiums for the Royals, Cardinals, Cubs, Brewers, Reds and Rockies. If the schedule allows, we can plan a trip to add the Mariners, Giants, Angels, Dodgers and Padres to our list.
Yes, dear, I think that’s a wonderful idea.
