Manager Matt Quatraro heard from many current and former players Sunday after the Royals announced his contract extension.
One of those conversations stood out. It was from first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino.
“He congratulated me,” Quatraro said Monday, “and then he said, ‘You’re welcome.’” Quatraro shared that funny story during a Zoom call that included general manager J.J. Picollo and Chris Quatraro, the Royals manager’s wife. It’s unusual for a spouse to join a media call, but she wanted to praise Kansas City for being a great place to raise a family.
“This was a pretty huge emotional leap for our family, and we really wondered how we were going to be received in the Midwest, being New York natives,” Chris Quatraro said. “And when we approached this, we had three top priorities, obviously, having winning seasons, but also on a human level, schools were super important. And what neighborhood were we going to raise our kids in? So that was my job. I think I did a great job doing that.”
Chris Quatraro laughed at that bit of boastfulness. Then she talked about how the couple loves life in Kansas City. The Quatraros have two sons, Leo and George.
“But in all sincerity, can’t tell you how much we appreciate the warmth from the staff when we go to every game at The K, from parking to getting our tickets in and to finding our seats,” she said. “So The K has just been like a second home to us. And with regard to the schools, truly, the schools here are phenomenal.
“We feel so grateful for the elementary school our boys attend. And finally, the neighborhood. We really have some of the best neighbors and friends anybody could ask for. So we hit the trifecta here with winning seasons, great schools, great neighborhood, and we really thank you for letting us continue such prosperity and such good fortune in our lives, in our world.”
Fell for KC right away
Success wasn’t immediate for Quatraro, who was hired in October 2022. The Royals lost 106 games in his first season but astonished the baseball world by making the playoffs in 2024.
The Royals had a winning record last season, despite a rash of injuries. That was why Picollo felt a longterm extension for Quatraro was a no-brainer.
“The bottom line is we believe we have one of the best managers in the game,” Picollo said. “You look at the work he’s really completed over the last three years, it’s really exceptional.”
Quatraro’s focus since Day 1 has been on the future and how he can get the Royals prepared to win each night. He rarely talks about the past.
But on Monday, he took a look back to December 2022 and echoed the sentiment of his wife about why Kansas City is a great place to call home.
“We were staying at a hotel before getting into the house. But as we drove around — actually, J.J.’s wife drove us around to look at neighborhoods and stuff — it was just such a warm feeling,” he said. “Just the neighborhoods, the people we ran into, that was long before anybody knew who any of us were or anything. But we just felt really welcome.
“And now that we’ve been here more, there’s a ton of culture, there’s a lot of activities for our kids, as Chris talked about, the schools have been great. The neighborhood has been phenomenal. Not only the friends that we’ve made through our kids, but just our neighbors that either don’t have kids or have older kids, everybody’s just been extremely welcoming. So all of those things go into saying it’s just been a really, really easy transition for us and a place that we really feel like we can be long term.”
