Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas have 413 career home runs between them across the 13 seasons they each played in the Major Leagues. They’re retired now, onto a different part of their lives that includes mostly shuttling their kids to and from school and practices (and, as Hosmer relayed, getting advice from his former teammates on how to navigate the school pickup line every afternoon).
But they still think they’ve got a few more homers in them. At least, they’re going to try.
Hosmer and Moustakas are among the group of former Royals participating in Saturday’s Home Run Derby X at Kauffman Stadium, a 3-on-3 coed competition featuring power hitting and athletic catching. The event will feature four teams, and the Royals are going all-in on their 2015 champions 10 years after the Royals beat the Mets in the 2015 World Series.
“Any time we get to come back to Kansas City, it’s always great,” Moustakas said. “It’s a home away from home for us. We love being there. Being around the people, being in the city, it’s always fun for us.”
Hosmer, Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Alex Gordon and Ben Zobrist are participating Saturday in hopes of mashing dingers and earning a spot in this year’s finals in Salt Lake City. It’s a team-based Derby: Each player gets one at-bat for 2 1/2 minutes. During the at-bat, the opposing team is in the outfield.
Teams earn offensive points for hitting home runs and defensive points for making catches. At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins.
Former MLB players are joined by the best active players from women’s baseball and softball teams. Here’s who will be participating Saturday at The K:
Royals outfield: Cain, Zobrist, Ashton Lansdell | Coach: Alex Gordon
Royals infield: Hosmer, Moustakas, Amanda Lorenz | Coach: Jeremy Guthrie
Blue Jays: Kevin Pillar, Devon Travis, Rachel Garcia
Mets: Daniel Murphy, Michael Cuddyer, Tiare Jennings
“It’s such a fun event,” Moustakas said. “Such an awesome time to be able to get back on the field and try to hit some homers. It’s going to be awesome to get all the boys back out there again, feel like we’re competitive again and maybe kind of living in the glory days.”
It won’t be the first trip back to Kansas City for Hosmer and Moustakas, not even this year. They were part of the 2015 team reunion in May, and Moustakas officially retired as a Royal a few weeks later. In June, Gordon was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame.
Reliving the 2015 World Series title will never get old.
“I feel like we’re closer than ever,” Moustakas said. “We came up through the Minor Leagues together, grinded it out in the big leagues. That core of us. Got the World Series championship. You don’t really realize 10 years later how close you’ll be.”
Retired life is great, but participating in the Home Run Derby X means that Hosmer and Moustakas needed to get a bat back in their hands over the past couple of weeks to prepare. That was a little different feeling.
“It’s a one-day thing, so we just gotta hold it together for that day,” Moustakas said. “Hopefully not throw our backs out trying to hit some homers. But it’s different when you haven’t played in a year or two. The body parts that hurt are really different. Holding your bat, you forget how many different parts of your body you’re using. After my first session, my hands were hurting. My back was hurting. Things you’re not used to after you’re not playing.”
Hosmer is always in the backyard playing ball with his son, Jack, but he has had to explain recently that now it’s Dad’s turn to swing in order to prepare for the event.
And Hosmer is hoping that The K is packed with Royals fans.
He’ll need the boost.
“It’s different this trip: We’re bringing the bats, we’re bringing the gloves,” Hosmer said. “We’ll see how we recover after this trip. I’m hoping that it’s a good turnout, so I can get some adrenaline pumping from the fans. Because, like Moose said, I’ve been doing some swings every now and then, but certainly not every day. We’re going to see how it turns out. I’m banking on some adrenaline from the fans, for sure.”