Johnny Cueto annoyed with Royals after White House snub
Jonny Gomes wasn’t the only notable snub from the Kansas City Royals visit to the White House on Thursday.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, Johnny Cueto, who pitched a shutout for Kansas City in Game 2 of the World Series before joining the San Francisco Giants in the offseason, was also not extended an invitation to the event. And, like Gomes, he’s not happy about it.
Cueto on the KC White House snub: “I feel they should have had the courtesy to invite me.”
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) July 24, 2016
More Cueto: “I did something for the team to win the World Series, so yes, I was expecting it. Nobody has called me or anything.”
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) July 24, 2016
As with Gomes, the Royals are saying they used a specific criteria when determining who would get an invitation and who wouldn’t. Under that criteria, no player currently representing another team would be invited.
Regarding Johnny Cueto not getting a White House invite, a Royals official says club didn't invite any players now with other clubs.
— Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) July 23, 2016
They selected a criteria — had to be on team all year, on postseason roster, not on another team now.
— Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) July 23, 2016
The criteria is fine and all, but maybe they could have called him to explain why it was a no-go?
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Of course, this is only a discussion because there was actually an opening for Cueto to make an appearance with San Francisco playing on the east coast. In fact, Thursday was an off-day for San Francisco, just as it was for Kansas City, so he had no other commitments.
On Wednesday, the Giants actually traveled from Boston to New York by train after wrapping up a series at Fenway Park. It’s noted that Cueto would have happily continued on to Washington to join his former teammates without any expense to the Royals.
It’s too bad things had to play out this way. Who knows if or when Cueto will get another chance to win a World Series.
The story also notes that the Giants haven’t let restrictions or hard feelings prevent them from inviting former players to the White House after their three recent championships. Most notably, they invited outfielder Michael Morse in 2015, even though he had signed with the Marlins. With that in mind, maybe Cueto is exactly where he needs to be if he hopes to enjoy the full World Series experience.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
