Royals hope youth yields edge through condensed spring camp

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Dayton Moore has spent more than three decades in baseball, first with the juggernaut Atlanta Braves of the 1990s and the last 16 in charge of the Kansas City Royals, leading them to two World Series and a long-awaited championship.

He still sounds like a giddy schoolboy when spring training begins.

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Which is altogether appropriate: The Royals begin camp Monday at their base in Surprise, Arizona, with one of the youngest rosters in baseball, led by a bunch of 20-something arms and with even more youth coming up through the system.

"There's nothing like that first day, those first couple days, when players come together," said Moore, who s now president of baseball operations after passing along the general manager title late last season to longtime understudy J.J. Piccolo,

"They haven't seen each other all winter and really, the little boy is alive in them," Moore said. "We all come together, we all share the expectations and the dreams for a great season, regardless what your record was the previous season, regardless of what the predictions were. These guys are Major League Baseball players. They've reached the tope of their profession, and the key now is how do we stay focused on the things that are important?"

It could be a whole lot easier for Moore and the Royals than the rest of the teams around the league.

FILE - Kansas City third baseman Bobby Witt Jr. fields a ball against the Texas Rangers during an alternate training site baseball game, Saturday, April 24, 2021, in Arlington, Texas. Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman, Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and Detroit