KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Baseball is back, Kansas City.
The Kansas City Royals take on the Minnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon for Opening Day of the 2023 MLB season.
To make the day even more special, on the team’s 50th anniversary, the Royals will bring fan-favorite full powder blue uniforms back.
The boys in blue start the season with a lot of young talent on the roster, but they turned to veteran pitcher Zack Greinke to handle opening day duties.
Stars like shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., catcher/outfielder MJ Melendez and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino look to build on the successes of last season.
The Royals have retained most of their same roster from 2022 but have been injected with new energy thanks to new manager Matt Quatraro and his staff.
Pasquantino said making the playoffs is one of the team’s expectations this season.
“That’s the goal every year,” he said. “That’s why I play the game is to win.”
Meanwhile, the Royals announced just before Thursday’s game that catcher Salvador Perez has been named team captain. He’s only the fourth team captain in Royals history, according to the team. George Brett, Frank White and Mike Sweeny also served as past team captains.
From practice to the final pitch, check out the photos below for all the sights from Opening Day. We’ll update as the game goes on.
