KANSAS CITY -- As Royals general manager Dayton Moore spoke to inmates at the Lansing (Kan.) State Prison on Monday, he was struck by the sincerity in their faces.
"There was a spirit of humility in them," Moore told MLB.com. "You could see the tremendous sense of remorse in their faces, in their body language.
"These are people who know they did something wrong, against property, against another human being. And they live with that every day."
Moore was invited as a guest speaker by the prison on behalf of his foundation, C You In The Major Leagues, which is designed to help children and families through association with baseball.
Moore admitted to being a bit overwhelmed by the experience.
"It was very humbling," Moore said. "These are people who want to get better, to have opportunity again."
Moore fielded questions from inmates in the medium and minimum security facilities at the prison.
"Many of the individuals were going to get out at some point, whether it be one year or five years," Moore said. "They were very sincere in wanting to know how to get a job and how to be successful.
"And they also asked some very poignant questions, like how do we go about forgiving others and even forgiving ourselves. Like I said, it was very humbling."
Moore also discovered that there were plenty of Royals fans among the inmates.
"They asked so many questions about the Royals and the decisions we have made," Moore said. "They wanted to know how come we couldn't keep Ben Zobrist or Kendrys Morales. They wanted to know about Yordano Ventura's development. They were very informed."
In all, about 400 or so inmates listened to Moore speak and many later interacted in with him in one-on-one meetings.
"It was just a message of hope," Moore said. "You have to start with hope."
Moore and his foundation donated 400 signed copies of his book, "More Than A Season," authored by Matt Fulks, to the prison.
"I was very honored to be invited," Moore said. "It was very memorable."