Royals have fun under media spotlight

KANSAS CITY -- The upside to a team winning a pennant is that, to state the obvious, it gives it a chance to bring a world championship to the organization and the city.

The downside -- or, maybe we should say, the not-so-upside -- is that every media outlet that covers baseball in every market throughout the country is now focused on just two teams. And they're all here, in one small space, seeking quotes, notes, insight, and, of course, tweetable, Vine-y moments.

• Shop for Royals postseason gear

So, if you're not exactly the type that enjoys attention, this can be a challenging environment. For some Royals players -- well, maybe just one Royals player, catcher Salvador Perez -- the media crush can be tolerable, and maybe even fun.

:: World Series: Mets vs. Royals -- Tune-in info ::

The quintessential people person, Perez has a high comfort level when it comes to engaging perfect strangers in conversation, and that was obvious during Monday's media day at Kauffman Stadium, in advance of Game 1 of the World Series, which begins Tuesday night (7:30 p.m. ET air time on FOX, 8 p.m. game time).

For others, this process is not quite as much fun. Still, every player involved in the World Series realizes this is just part of the job, an exercise that hundreds of ballplayers watching all of this unfold online and on television wish they were going through.

So … yeah. Perspective.

"The media, to me, it's a bit much for me personally to be in the spotlight and doing all this stuff," said Lorenzo Cain, the friendly Royals outfielder, who is one of the more media-accessible Kansas City players. "It just comes with the territory. We have a chance to play in the World Series, so it just comes with it."

Laughing, Cain added, "Some guys like it. I'm not a big fan of it."

By "some guys," Cain meant, of course, one guy -- the one sitting directly to his left, who was imploring his teammate to throw in an "I love Salvy" while fielding questions.

Video: Royals share their favorite Halloween costumes

"Before you start to talk," Perez said, "Say it -- 'I love you, Salvy.'"

"I love Salvy," Cain responded.

Perez, who also at some point switched the nameplates above his and Cain's stations, answered a flurry of questions about the number of hits he's had this postseason -- not base hits, but actual hits -- to the mask, to the throat, off his chest, and on and on.

Video: Royals share their favorite fan displays

He also was asked how he stays so durable. Nutrition?

"No," he said.

Follow any special diet?

"I'm from Venezuela," he said. "I like to eat. My mom's here with me. And I'm just eating."

Video: Royals players choose their Secret Service names

It could be said the Royals are all looking for a feast, one that they narrowly missed last year when they lost Game 7 to the San Francisco Giants. This year, the goals are the same.

"This group of guys has gone out and accomplished everything they've set their mind to this year," manager Ned Yost said. "And they wanted to win the division, they did that; they wanted to win home-field advantage, they did that; they wanted to get back to the World Series, they've done that.

"And of course, we had a large contingency of Royals in the All-Star Game. They wanted to get home-field advantage for the World Series, they've done that. They've accomplished everything that they've set their minds to up to this point, and we've got one big Series left."