Welcome, Matt! Royals manager savors visit to Hall of Fame

Matt Quatraro, born and raised 60 miles east of Cooperstown, had visited the mythical birthplace of baseball many times. But this most recent trip was his first as manager of the Kansas City Royals.

The Albany, N.Y., native, has been skipper of the big league team for the last three seasons, compiling a 224-262 overall record. This included an 86-win 2024 campaign, the franchise’s first postseason berth since capturing the 2015 World Series.

Accompanying Quatraro on his National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum visit on Nov. 24 was his wife, Chris, and sons George and Leo, aged 10 and eight, respectively.

“Being from Upstate New York, we’re back in the Albany area for Thanksgiving, and my wife had the idea we’ll come out here a day early and spend a little time, bring the boys to the Hall of Fame and get them to experience it for the first time,” Quatraro said. “I’ve been fortunate to come here throughout my life, and it’s brand new every time.

“I was very fortunate as a kid. We played our American Legion state tournament here. We got to play high school games here and some recreational games here from time to time. I’ve been to the Hall of Fame a handful of times, most recently when I was managing in the New York-Penn League. We’d bring a whole team here for the morning before a game when we played in Oneonta.”

A highlight of the stroll through baseball history was stopping to watch the film Generations of the Game inside the Grandstand Theater.

“Getting to watch the movie, and the emotions that that stirs up, you just consider how lucky you are to have been a small part of this game,” he said. “The people that you’re watching speak in that film are the best of the best. Some of them I idolized growing up, and others were before my time, but just to hear about what they think about the fabric of the game, and what it means to the fans, too, and how they connect to the fans, and the fans connect to them, it’s just really special.”

With the 2025 season being Quatraro’s 30th in professional baseball, that kind of longevity brings with it a unique perspective when visiting the Hall of Fame.

“Like a lot of things, it becomes more meaningful the older you get. I think when you’re a kid and you’re bouncing around here and you’re thinking about your Little League game or your high school game that day, whatever, you’re not quite as into the ‘what it means’ as part of the fabric of the game,” said Quatraro, who turned 52 on Nov. 14. “But as you get older, you understand how lucky you are to be a part of it.

“Thirty years in pro baseball makes me feel old, but at the same time, I still feel young at heart as someone that’s involved in the game. And as the players stay the same age and you get older, you have that boyish drive to stay in the game and just make it fun.”

After starring at Old Dominion University – where he was named Male Athlete of the Year in 1996 – he spent seven seasons in the minors with Tampa Bay. His second life in the game began after being cut by the Yankees during Spring Training in 2003.

“I always knew I wanted to coach. I didn’t know I would be doing it at the pro level. I thought maybe I’d be coaching in high school or college. But then once I finished my playing career, and I was asked to come as a coach in Spring Training with the Devil Rays at the time, once I got into it, I fell in love with it, and I was very fortunate to stay in ever since,” he said. “It wasn’t something that I set out to say, ‘I want to manage a major league team.’ I knew I wanted to coach baseball, and I’ve been fortunate to be able to be in it in some form or fashion ever since I stopped playing.”

According to Quatraro, it’s hard to believe he was named Royals manager a little more than three years ago, on Oct. 30, 2022.

“It flies by. The first year is basically a blur, as you’re getting used to everything, and then these last two years, you kind of hit your stride a little bit,” Quatraro said. “You’re still getting to know people and understand the organization.”

Quatraro joins a long litany of former catchers who’ve gone on to successful managerial careers, a list that includes Connie Mack, Yogi Berra, Bruce Bochy, Mike Scioscia, Kevin Cash and A.J. Hinch, to name a few.

“I know there’s plenty of great managers that played other positions or didn’t play at all, but I think you’re just involved in so much, so many of the meetings with the pitchers, and so many of the relationships you have, whether that’s people that speak different languages, pitchers, catchers, infielders, you’re involved in everything,” Quatraro said. “So, just probably that has the most to do with it, that you’re used to navigating a lot of different relationships.”

As for his current team, catcher Salvador Perez has spent his entire 14-year career in Kansas City, having been named to nine All-Star teams, captured five Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards, and named MVP of the 2015 World Series.

“I’m hoping to come here someday and see his plaque on the wall. I certainly think he’s deserving,” Quatraro said. “He’s the captain of our team and he’s deserving of all the accolades he gets, but everything you see about him on the field is dwarfed by the person he is off the field. His generosity, his energy, his professionalism. He’s a Hall of Fame person.”

Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., arguably one of the best in today’s game, is another player Quatraro gets to see on an everyday basis. In his young career, the 25-year-old has already finished in the top seven of American League MVP voting three times, been named to two All-Star teams and won a pair of Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards.    

“He is one of the best players in baseball, and just like Salvy, even a better person. The humility, the work ethic, all those kinds of things, but his physical talent is second to none,” he said. “The combination of speed, power, defense, hitting ability, all the five tools are there, but the sixth tool, being the person, is even more remarkable. And he’s still so young, so I think we’re just seeing the beginning of what he can do.”

Having earned a history degree at Old Dominion, Quatraro’s tour through decades of baseball history had special meaning,  

“When I was young, my goal was I wanted to work in a museum. I thought this would be a really cool thing to do, not necessarily a baseball museum, but a history museum,” he said. “So, I have this kind of in my blood, and to be here and soak this in has been great.

“As you know, it’s a game, but at the same time, it’s a pastime. It means a lot more than just a game to a lot of people, myself included, so to see the way things are preserved, and to be able to read the articles and see the videos from the past, it’s remarkable. It’s very moving.”

Bill Francis is the senior research and writing associate at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum