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Kansas City Royals catcher Carter Jensen was unexpectedly taken out of the starting lineup on Thursday for an incredibly human reason: He overslept.<\/p>\n
Jensen was set to start against the Minnesota Twins, giving veteran catcher Salvador Perez a break. But Jensen was late after sleeping through his alarm, leaving manager Matt Quatraro with no choice but scratch Jensen late and put Perez back behind the plate.<\/p>\n
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\u201cCarter had an oversight,\u201d Quatraro said after the Royals\u2019 5-1 loss<\/a> to the Twins, via MLB.com<\/a>. \u201cOverslept. Wasn\u2019t here on time, and we made the decision to scratch him from the lineup.\u201d<\/p>\n Quatraro clarified that this was a rare instance for the 22-year-old catcher.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a stand-up guy, a really hard worker, a great kid. He feels terrible. He\u2019s accountable to it. It\u2019s not something that has been a pattern or any of that kind of stuff. Nobody feels worse than he does, and I think he\u2019ll admit to that. And we\u2019ll move on,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Jensen ended up stepping in as catcher in the top of the ninth inning, giving Perez a breather. Minnesota hit three solo homers in that inning to take the 5-1 lead.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Postgame, Jensen was up front about his mistake.<\/p>\n \u201cNo running from it,\u201d Jensen told reporters, via MLB.com<\/a>. \u201cJust didn\u2019t wake up to my alarm. Slept through it. Don\u2019t really have an excuse, nor should I. It sucks. Happens. I felt like I let my teammates down, coaches down. Just learn from it and know it won\u2019t happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said postgame that the team was initially worried that something had happened to Jensen, but that he hoped that the young catcher would learn from the situation.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce you find out he\u2019s OK it\u2019s like, alright, it\u2019s a growing moment. He\u2019s really young. There are some things that cannot happen and that\u2019s one of them. He\u2019s going to have to wear it on the chin, same way anybody would have to. It can\u2019t happen. And hopefully, it doesn\u2019t happen again,\u201d Pasquantino said, via KSHB\u2019s McKenzie Nelson<\/a>. \u201cI know he feels really bad. I know that it was not his favorite drive to the field this morning, but it wasn\u2019t our favorite morning, either, trying to figure out what was going on. He\u2019ll learn from it. Grow up a little bit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re here for him, though. It\u2019s not like anybody\u2019s mad at him,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut you got to learn from mistakes like that, and maybe get another alarm clock or something.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Pasquantino pointed out that Perez, who was supposed to just be the designated hitter before Jensen was scratched, was able to step in as a catcher despite having \u201chis world get a little rocked\u201d an hour and a half before the game.<\/p>\n \u201cCredit to Salvy today for being ready,\u201d Pasquantino said.<\/p>\n\n
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