SURPRISE, Ariz. -- New Royals owner John Sherman made his first appearance at camp on Monday since purchasing the team.
Sherman met briefly with reporters before walking toward the fields to observe the first full practice of spring.
Sherman, who previously had been a minority owner with the Indians, said it obviously feels different being the man in charge.
“It feels different from a responsibility standpoint, moreso than when I was in Cleveland,” Sherman said. “My responsibility level and getting to do this in my hometown makes a difference.”
The past few months have simply been about absorbing knowledge about the organization.
“It’s mostly about learning about our talent level,” Sherman said. “But this will be great being down here because I get to look at the baseball side of things. I’ve been more into the business side the last two months.”
Sherman added that his relationship with general manager Dayton Moore has been solid, and it didn’t take long to get in sync with Moore about the club’s future.
“Not very long at all,” Sherman said. “I’m in sync with Dayton. I’m learning about how to be helpful for him.
“No one is happy about [back-to-back 100-loss seasons]. But we know what our goals are, to compete for a championship. We’re happy with our leadership group.”
Moore on the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win
Moore said the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory serves as motivation for the Royals to get back to the World Series.
“Of course it does,” Moore said. “When you play and compete in the playoffs and the World Series, there is nothing that is a substitute for that. Watching what the Chiefs were able to accomplish brings back great memories for us. It fuels that fire and passion. It’s just a different level of intensity in the playoffs.
“You were all able to experience that in 2014 and 2015. Getting to a World Series and winning it all just does so much for the community. It just reminds you how special it is.”
Standing ovation for Gordon
Before manager Mike Matheny gave his first speech Friday morning to the entire squad, he said players in the clubhouse gave a standing ovation for veteran left fielder Alex Gordon, who returned this season on a one-year deal.
“That was special,” Matheny said.
Signings
The Royals announced they agreed to terms on 2020 Major League contracts with pitchers Scott Blewett, Carlos Hernandez, Tim Hill, Jakob Junis, Glenn Sparkman and Kyle Zimmer; infielder Adalberto Mondesi, infielder/outfielder Hunter Dozier and outfielder Bubba Starling.
New roles for Sveum, Jirschele
Former bench coach Dale Sveum’s new title is special assistant/scout. Sveum said so far he has been looking over quite a bit of video of college hitters. Presumably, Sveum will be helping out with the MLB Draft.
Former third-base coach Mike Jirschele now is a special assistant to the general manager. His duties will vary.