The Royals host Kirk Gibson’s Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at 7:10, with Mike Moustakas appearing at home for the first time with the big league club. 

Tonight is Retro Night – Hy-Vee Infield tickets are $7.  Retro entertainment includes a pregame concert by ’80s cover band The Shanks and in-game features include retro scoreboard graphics.  The event also features Retro Night concession specials with hot dogs, peanuts and small Pepsi products just $2 each.

The first 10,000 fans will receive this shirt!

Let’s take a look at the lineup:

(Gordon – LF), (Cabrera – CF), (Hosmer – 1B), (Francoeur – RF), (Butler – DH), (Moustakas – 3B), (Treanor – C), (Getz – 2B), (Escobar – SS), (Hochevar – P)

 The Royals will turn back the clock during the upcoming homestand, June 21-26, as they welcome the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs to Kauffman Stadium for Interleague action.

The homestand begins on Tuesday, June 21 with Retro Night, featuring a 1980s ticket offer based on pricing from that era, concession specials, ‘80s-inspired entertainment and scoreboard graphics, and a retro T-shirt to the first 10,000 fans courtesy of Pepsi.  The Royals then celebrate the career of Kevin Appier, as the club’s all-time strikeout leader is inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 25. 

The Royals will also go “Hollywood” during the Cubs series when Kansas City natives Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis and Rob Riggle join others stars of television and film for a Celebrity Wiffle Ball Game at the U.S. Toy Little K on Friday, June 24.  Fans are encouraged to arrive early as seating is limited.  Gates to the ballpark will open early at 5 p.m. with the wiffle ball game set to begin at 5:30 p.m.

In addition, the homestand features a number of great ticket deals and special events for the entire family.      

Tuesday, June 21 – Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Royals, 7:10 p.m.

·         Retro Night – The Royals celebrate Retro Night with a 1980s ticket offer based on pricing from that era, featuring Hy-Vee Infield tickets for only $7.  Retro entertainment includes a pregame concert by ‘80s cover band The Shanks in the Outfield Experience and in-game features including retro scoreboard graphics.  The event also features Retro Night concession specials with hot dogs, peanuts and small Pepsi products for just $2.  www.royals.com/retro.

·         T-Shirt Tuesday – The first 10,000 fans receive an exclusive Royals retro T-shirt presented by Pepsi. (Photo attached.)  For details, visit www.royals.com/tshirttuesday.

·         $84 Summer Play Pack for $25 – www.royals.com/playpack.

Wednesday, June 22 – Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Royals, 7:10 p.m.

INK Student “Night” – Rivals Outfield Box or Hy-Vee Infield tickets are available for all Wednesday home games for high school and college students with valid ID at the Kauffman Stadium Box Office for just $7.  Seating is subject to availability.  All Student Nights feature live local music prior to the game in the Outfield Experience and include a $7 hot dog and beverage special at the Crown Classic concession stand in the Outfield Experience prior to the game.  For details, visit www.royals.com/studentnight.
INK Local Music Showcase – Catch a free pregame concert on us.  With support from 96.5 The Buzz, every Wednesday INK Student Night features live local music prior to the game in the Outfield Experience.  Hearts of Darkness will be performing prior to the Diamondbacks-Royals game.  For details, visit www.royals.com/studentnight.   
·         $84 Summer Play Pack for $25 – www.royals.com/playpack.

Thursday, June 23 – Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Royals, 7:10 p.m.

·         $84 Summer Play Pack for $25 – www.royals.com/playpack.

Friday, June 24 – Chicago Cubs vs. Royals presented by Sprint, 7:10 p.m.

·         Celebrity Wiffle Ball Game presented by Big Slick Poker Tournament & Party – The Royals host Kansas City native Paul Rudd and other celebrity guests for a Wiffle Ball Game at the U.S. Toy Little K.  Gates to the ballpark open early at 5 p.m. with the game set to begin at 5:30 p.m.  Limited seating will be available, so fans are encouraged to arrive early.

·         Hy-Vee/Pepsi Fireworks Fridays – A spectacular fireworks show after every Friday home game.

Saturday, June 25 – Chicago Cubs vs. Royals presented by Sprint, 6:10 p.m.

·         Royals Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony – Kevin Appier, the club’s all-time strikeout leader, becomes the 24th member of the Royals Hall of Fame during a special on-field induction ceremony prior to the game.  Festivities are set to begin at approximately 5:30 p.m.

·         Joplin Jersey Hand-Off – The Royals host a unique fundraiser for Joplin relief efforts by giving fans the opportunity to win an autographed “Teams Unite for Joplin” jersey from a Royals player.  During the event, volunteers will sell $1 instant-win scratch tickets with proceeds benefiting the American Red Cross and Royals Charities disaster relief efforts.  Following the game, winners are escorted to the field where Royals players and coaches will award the jerseys they wore during the Royals-Cardinals series, June 17-19 at Busch Stadium, that is being dedicated to Joplin.  Fans can bid on the opportunity to secure a spot on the field at www.royals.com/joplin.  Please note that this auction item will close on Monday, June 20.

·         610 Saturday – Enjoy great activities, including a caricature artist and music from the John Joiner Band, prior to the game in the Outfield Experience.  For details, visit www.royals.com/610saturdays.

·         Organ Donor Awareness Day at The K presented by The University of Kansas Hospital – Fans will receive a Royals pen for signing up as an organ donor, and health professionals and special Royals guests will be on hand to provide valuable information on the importance of being an organ donor.

Sunday, June 26 – Chicago Cubs vs. Royals presented by Sprint, 1:10 p.m.

·         Family FunDay Sunday – The June 26 festivities feature face painters, a balloon artist and live family-friendly entertainment from Richard’s Vaudeville Slapstick Show.  Fans can also enjoy the All-Day Play Pass for unlimited activities in the Outfield Experience for just $10. www.royals.com/sunday.

·         Fun Run presented by Sprint – All fans can run the bases after the game (conditions permitting).

·         $84 Summer Play Pack for $25 – www.royals.com/playpack.

 The Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals have announced details about “Teams Unite for Joplin” events, a collaborative effort with the St. Louis Cardinals, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association to help Joplin, Mo., recover from a devastating tornado that ripped through the city on May 22. 

The upcoming I-70 Series at Busch Stadium, tonight through Sunday, will feature a number of fundraisers and awareness efforts dedicated to Joplin relief.  Details are outlined below.

“Teams Unite for Joplin” Patch:  For all three games of the weekend series, the Royals and Cardinals will wear a special commemorative “Teams Unite for Joplin” jersey patch.  Fans have an opportunity to help support the Joplin relief effort by purchasing the commemorative patch for $10 online at www.royals.com/joplin or at Kauffman Stadium beginning Tuesday, June 21.  All proceeds will benefit Joplin relief efforts.  The patch will also be available at Busch Stadium this weekend. 

“Teams Unite for Joplin” Items Featured in Online Auction: In addition, Royals Charities is hosting a special online auction featuring commemorative “Teams Unite for Joplin” game-used items from the Royals-Cardinals series.  The auction, which includes items such as game-used bases, home plate, player jerseys and lineup cards with the commemorative logo signed by select Royals and Cardinals players, is now live at www.royals.com/joplin.  The auction also includes the opportunity to secure a spot in the Joplin Jersey Hand-Off fundraiser scheduled for Saturday, June 25 following the Cubs-Royals game.  In addition, the club is selling a limited number of commemorative “Teams Unite for Joplin” logo baseballs signed by select Royals.  The auction will close on Sunday, June 26 at 8 p.m. with all proceeds benefiting Royals Charities disaster relief efforts.

Special Pregame Ceremony Details for Friday:  The Royals and Cardinals will salute members of the Joplin High School softball team during pregame ceremonies.  Danielle Campbell and Mikaila Craig, outfielders on the 2011 Eagles softball team who both lost their homes in the tornado, will both throw out a ceremonial first pitch with a Royals player and Cardinals player serving as catchers.

Special In-Game Ceremony Details for Saturday:  During the first inning of Saturday night’s game, eighteen teammates of the Eagles baseball team will join Royals and Cardinals players in a special tribute to Joplin High School, which was also destroyed by the tornado.  Kansas City and St. Louis will wear the Joplin Eagles caps during pregame activities and when each team takes the field for the game.  Members of the Joplin baseball team will participate in an on-field hat exchange with the big leaguers and receive an autographed baseball.  The special Joplin Eagles hats worn by the Royals will then be included in a future auction to benefit Joplin relief efforts.  Auction details will be announced at a later date.

Text to Donate:  Royals fans can continue to support the Joplin relief effort by texting “REDCROSS” to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. 

Joplin Jersey Hand-Off Fundraiser: The Royals will also host a Joplin Jersey Hand-Off fundraiser on Saturday, June 25, giving fans to opportunity to win one of the autographed “Teams Unite for Joplin” jerseys from a Royals player.  During the event, volunteers will sell $1 instant-win scratch tickets with proceeds benefiting the American Red Cross and Royals Charities disaster relief efforts.  Following the club’s 6:10 p.m. game against the Chicago Cubs, winners will be escorted to the field where Royals players and coaches will award the jerseys they wore during the Royals-Cardinals series.  Fans can bid on the opportunity to secure a spot on the field at www.royals.com/joplin.  Please note that this auction item will close on Monday, June 20.

Additional Efforts at Busch Stadium: The Cardinals will have volunteers outside all stadium gates this weekend to collect cash donations as fans enter the ballpark.  In addition, the Cardinals will host a special live on-air auction of unique Cardinals experiences on KMOX and Fox Sports Net on Friday.  The club will then host Cardinal Care Jersey Day, giving fans chances to win the game-used jerseys from the Cardinals after Sunday’s game.  Like the Royals, St. Louis will also host an online auction with game-used items from the weekend series that will run from June 18-26.  For details on all these efforts, fans may visit www.cardinals.com/joplin.

In the wake of the Joplin tornado, Royals Charities made a $25,000 donation to Heart to Heart International for its relief efforts and made a goodwill trip to the city in conjunction with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, the club’s Double-A affiliate in Springdale, Ark., on June 6.  In addition, Royals fans generously contributed more than $18,000 during an in-stadium collection that will benefit the American Red Cross relief efforts. 

Fans are encouraged to visit www.royals.com/joplin for more details on the club’s disaster relief efforts and to learn about how they can help.

“Boys in the Hall” is a new weekly series on FOX Sports hosted by Tom Brokaw.  Each show profiles a baseball legend, and this week, the show has a Kansas City emphasis as the great Buck O’Neil will be featured.

The half-hour episode debuts Sunday, June 19 at approximately 4:15 p.m. on FOX Sports Kansas City, immediately following Royals baseball. It replays several times throughout the week. 

Each episode of Boys in the Hall presents a candid conversation with a baseball legend as he reveals his personal stories about the highlights of his career, from the first time he put on his Major League uniform to the iconic moments that moved generations of fans.

The Baseball Hall of Fame will receive full rights to the series after it makes its debut on FSN, allowing visitors to Cooperstown to view it for years to come.

Longtime NBC News’ anchor and acclaimed author Tom Brokaw, a lifelong baseball fan himself, will serve as the “voice” of the show by introducing each episode, providing a postscript, and narrating other elements.  “It was like a trip to the ballpark on a sunny afternoon to spend time with these insightful interviews of my long-time heroes. They perfectly captured the authenticity of their character and their humility.  I loved the experience.”

Air dates for Boys in the Hall: Buck O’Neil on FOX Sports Kansas City:
Sunday, June 19 at 4:15 p.m. and Midnight
Monday, June 20 at 12:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Friday, June 24 at 2 p.m.
Saturday, June 25 at 5 p.m.

Since 1993, the Royals have partnered with the Dream Factory of Greater Kansas City to make dreams come true for critically or chronically ill children in our community.  As our players learn soon after joining the Royals, Wednesday is Dream Factory Day.

For each Wednesday home game throughout the season, the Royals invite a Dream Factory child to join us for a special day at the ballpark.  The child and their families arrive at Kauffman Stadium in a limousine and are then escorted down to the Royals dugout where they meet Royals players and watch batting practice from the best seat in the house.  After being recognized during pregame ceremonies, the child enjoys the game and refreshments.  Each child’s Royals experience appears on the KMBC-TV (Channel 9) 10 p.m. newscast.

Following today’s 3-2 win over Toronto, the Royals optioned infielder Mike Aviles to Omaha.  Tomorrow the club will select the contract of third baseman Mike Moustakas from Omaha.  He is expected to be in uniform (#8) for tomorrow night’s game in Anaheim (9:05 Central on FSKC).  The Royals will make a corresponding 40-man roster move tomorrow.

Before wrapping up a four game series vs. the Toronto Blue Jays with Thursday’s 3:10 contest, Royals manager Ned Yost spoke with the media about his decision to place outfielder Mitch Maier in the leadoff spot in today’s lineup. The skipper’s decision was based partially on Maier’s .467 OBP for the 2011 season (albeit in limited time), hopefully giving the Royals squad an advantage to produce runs. Yost praised Maier for his positive attitude towards every game.

“Every day he [Maier] shows up ready to play, if he is playing or not. Every inning of the game he is ready for any situation that may come up… He is a very admirable fill-in, he’s a guy that’s very capable of producing… he is perfect in every sense,” Yost said.

Bruce Chen and Kyle Davies began their rehab work yesterday and each threw outings around 50 pitches. Both starting pitchers will be looking to reach a 60 to 70 pitch count during their next outing.

“Hopefully we can get them [Chen and Davies] back in, get our starting rotation a little settled, and get them back to doing what they can do,” Yost said.

The Royals will begin their 10-day, 9-game road trip tomorrow at 9:05 (Central) vs. the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The 2011 First-Year Rule 4 Player Draft wrapped up today, with the Royals selecting 50 players over three days.  Assistant General Manager for Scouting/Player Development J.J. Picollo and Scouting Director Lonnie Goldberg met with media members after the draft.  Here are a few notes from the press conference:
Picollo said that the Royals selected 10 players who participated in a recent pre-draft workout at Kauffman Stadium.  He said that the Royals selected several young projectable pitchers and high ceiling players.  It will be five to seven years before an overall evaluation of this draft is known.

If it were up to Picollo, the signing deadline would be tomorrow.  He wants to get players into the KC system right away, noting that a draftee could get 200 at-bats or 60.0 innings.

Goldberg mentioned that pitching was the strength of the draft.  The Royals also looked at up the middle talent.  The club selected six right-handed power hitters and nine speed players.  Of the five speedsters that Goldberg mentioned, he listed Terrance Gore, KC’s 20th round selection, as the fastest.

When asked about catcher Cameron Gallagher, KC’s second round pick, Goldberg said that Gallagher was someone that the Royals had targeted.  He was pleased that the high school player was available.  Gallagher is a power hitter with great intangibles.

Before Wednesday’s 7:10 contest vs. the Toronto Blue Jays, Royals manager Ned Yost spoke with the media about tonight’s starting lefty Danny Duffy and the squad’s young bullpen. Yost commended Duffy on his excellent ability to execute pitches and increased ability to command the ball.

“For young kids with good stuff, the lesson that they learn up here is that my stuff is good enough to compete and he [Duffy] is learning that… but it’s a process and he is learning to stay within himself,” Yost said.

The skipper commented on the Royals young bullpen, touching on left-handed reliever Tim Collins and his ability to work through adversity, like last night when he tossed an inning and allowed a two-run home run.

“You have to go through those bumps in order to learn and to get better… so the focus for him [Collins] is to command the baseball and you do that by staying within yourself… it’s a fine line for our young players before they understand and have success that I can just go out, be myself, command my composure, and be a pitcher,” Yost said.

Yost spoke about the progress that catcher Jason Kendall has been making since being placed on the 60-day disabled list.Kendall has been hitting and throwing everyday according to the Royals manager and has progressed since then.  There is no timetable yet on a rehab assignment, but it is getting closer.

The Kansas City Royals completed the third and final day of the 2011 First-Year Rule 4 Player Draft today, selecting a total of 50 players over the three days.

The Royals selected 18-year-old Derek “Bubba” Starling, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound centerfielder from Gardner Edgerton High School in Gardner, Kan., with the fifth overall pick on Monday.  Starling was ranked by Baseball America as the number one high school prospect and the best high school athlete in the draft.  The right-handed hitter and thrower batted .481 with nine home runs this spring for the Trailblazers, averaging a home run every six at bats.

Among the selections with local ties, in addition to Starling, were left-handed pitcher Adam Schemenauer, a 6-foot-9 southpaw from Park Hill (Mo.) South High School and right-handed pitcher Christian Witt, a 36th-round pick from Truman State University and Kearney (Mo.) High School. Included in the 50 selections were teammates and fellow outfielders D’Andre Toney (14th) and Terrance Gore (20th) from Gulf Coast Community College.  In addition, the Royals picked left-handed pitcher Stephen Lumpkins in the 13th round.  The 6-foot-8, 225-pounder averaged 13.5 points and a team-leading 8.2 rebounds in 30 minutes for the American University Eagles Men’s Basketball team during the 2010-2011 campaign, his junior season.  American does not field a baseball program, but Lumpkins played for a collegiate summer league team as well as at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, Calif., and was drafted by Pittsburgh in the 42nd round in 2010.

Here is a breakdown of the Royals 50 selections from the 2011 draft:
- 20 high school selections
- 30 college selections (25 four-year and five junior college)
- 25 pitchers (18 right-handers and seven left-handers)
- Five catchers
- 13 infielders
- Seven outfielders

Below is a complete list of the players selected by the Kansas City Royals in 2011 Rule 4 First-Year Player Draft.