Thompson Nails Down Spot on KC Royals' Roster

April 1 , 2004

SURPRISE, AZ — It was cutdown time Wednesday at the Royals' camp and when outfielder Rich Thompson was called into manager Tony Pena's office, it didn't look good.
      Thompson, a Rule 5 draftee who made his mark with Big League scouts when he paced the Cotuit Kettleers to the 1999 Cape Cod Baseball League Championship title, was snagged by the Royals in a winter meetings deal and had to make the club or be returned to the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization. It was ironic this pring that Thompson, pegged to give the Royals defensive help as the fifth outfielder, had struggled in the field during this spring training.

     He'd made the club as the 14th and final position player.

     As expected, closer Mike MacDougal, also a former Cotuit Kettleer (1997) was placed on the disabled list until he regains his strength after being struck by a stomach ailment early in camp. Kevin Appier, expected to emerge as the fifth starter, also was placed on the disabled list as he comes back from elbow surgery.

    "It was a pretty gray month," Thompson said, voice quavering with the emotion of the moment. "To stand here like this is unbelievable."

      But he had smoothed out his game recently, the Royals liked his tremendous speed, and they relied on good reports from superscout Brian Murphy.

     Thompson, 24, has never played in the Major Leagues. In four minor league seasons, he batted .287 with 165 stolen bases in 444 games.

   "He's one of the faster guys in the American League, for sure," general manager Allard Baird said, "and we could probably include the National League as well."

     Perhaps Thompson's nerves were jangled as he tried to impress the Royals this spring.

     "I hope that's what it was," he said. "I've never had defensive shortcomings like I did this year in Spring Training. It's nice they looked past this."

     If Thompson had been cut, the Royals would have had to hunt for another backup outfielder. They already had decided to send DeJesus to Omaha where he could be an everyday player and prepare to take over for free agent-to-be Carlos Beltran next season.

     Thompson, who attended James Madison University, collected 56 hits in 44 games for Cotuit in 1999, 9th best on the Cotuit Kettleer all-time list. The Montrose, PA native was named to the All-Cape League Team and was ranked 6th in the league in hitting with a .318 average. He was one of four Kettleers in 1999 who finished in the top 10 in hitting, a rare feat these days. He also led the league in stolen bases with 36.

Portions of this story were excerpted from the Official Web Site of the Kansas City Royals. © 2004, Kansas City Royals and MLB. All Rights Reserved.

Sean Walsh also contributed to this story

Main Page Photo © 2004, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved.

Cotuit Kettleers photos © 1999-2004, Sean Walsh/Cape Cod Baseball League