Kyle Isbel’s debut performance for the Kansas City Royals put him in rare company
As the Royals prepared to leave for their flight out of Arizona on Monday, Kyle Isbel knew he was getting on a flight to Kansas City. He just wasn’t sure if he’d be staying as an official member of the Opening Day roster.
Less than an hour before they were set to head out and with Isbel still getting dressed for the flight after the conclusion of the Royals’ final Cactus League game, manager Mike Matheny summoned Isbel to his office.
Isbel, one of the organization’s top prospects, had just completed his second year in major-league spring training camp. He’d impressed with his all-around play, but hadn’t been let in on the organization’s plan.
He certainly didn’t know he’d make his MLB debut as the starting right fielder for the Royals on Opening Day, a 14-10 win over the Texas Rangers on Thursday at Kauffman Stadium.
Isbel became the first Royal to drive in a run with a hit in his first major-league at-bat since Dusty Wathan hit an RBI double on Sept. 24, 2002.
But earlier in the week, Isbel didn’t know if he’d be standing in a major-league batter’s box.
“It was confusing,” Isbel said. “A lot of emotions going through my head. I didn’t really know what they were thinking. I knew what I wanted. I knew it was out of my hands, and I just knew I had to keep working for it.”
Isbel got his first true indication of the Royals’ intentions when he walked into Matheny’s office and saw Royals director of hitting performance/player development Alec Zumwalt.
“As a major-league manager I’ve had a lot of exposure to a lot of these guys, but I haven’t been in the trenches with them just scratching and clawing and figuring things out, literal blood sweat and tears all throughout the minor leagues, figuring it out,” Matheny said.
Isbel, the club’s third-round draft pick in 2018 out of UNLV, described his relationship with Zumwalt as “really tight.” Zumwalt has been one of the members of the organization Isbel interacted with the most since he was drafted.
“That’s what I kind of knew a little bit, because he always said that he always wanted to break the news to me,” Isbel said. “That was a crazy moment, something I’ll never forget. It was super-emotional and it was just a super-awesome experience.”
Zumwalt informed Isbel he made the club, and Matheny said he got goosebumps as he recounted the story for reporters.
The left-handed hitting Isbel, 24, joined left-handed reliever Jake Brentz and right-handed pitcher Carlos Hernández as Royals players who made the Opening Day roster for the first time in their careers.
Isbel, a native of Fontana, California, has drawn comparison from his veteran teammates to longtime Royals left fielder and franchise icon Alex Gordon.
Matheny’s message to Isbel prior to Thursday’s opener was simple and direct.
“First of all, you earned this,” Matheny said. “Secondly, you’re ready for this. Everything we’ve been watching you do has made us very comfortable that the time is right for you. So just go keep being you.”
Isbel’s first at-bat came with the bases loaded in the first inning with the Royals trailing 5-2. Isbel lined an RBI single into right field. The Royals scored five runs, the most runs in the first inning on Opening Day in franchise history.
He added two more hits and another RBI in his debut. He went 3 for 5 with two RBIs and a run scored. That made him the fourth Royal with three hits in his debut along with Mark Quinn (Sept. 14, 1999), Johnny Damon (Aug. 12, 1995) and Kevin Koslofski (June 28, 1992).
“I always imagined it to be pretty special,” Isbel said of his first game in the majors. “But the emotions I had going out there were even more special. Going out there with that group of guys, being able to start with them on Opening Day, it was a dream come true for sure.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2021 at 7:34 AM with the headline "Kyle Isbel’s debut performance for the Kansas City Royals put him in rare company."
