Hours before he made his first start in a Royals uniform, Jorge López arrived Wednesday morning at Kauffman Stadium and wandered.
He met his new trainers and coaches, introduced himself to a manager who had inside knowledge about him and began to ingratiate himself to new teammates.
Then he made himself comfortable in the home clubhouse, the one with the blue carpet and the Player of the Game sign that hasn’t lit up frequently this season.
He liked what he saw and what he felt. There was camaraderie; there was a sense of purpose, even in dwindling months of a season with a team on pace for 113 losses.