Carter Jensen’s cleats for Players’ Weekend are loud in all the right ways.
Bright colors, kid-made drawings and names splashed across the shoes give them a look that matches the Royals rookie catcher’s personality. One shoe features a big “Go Carter” message on the toe.
Another has a basketball hoop on the tongue, a playful twist that gives the Air Jordan logo something to dunk into. Jensen will wear them this weekend during the series against the Tigers at Kauffman Stadium, and every detail came with help from young patients at Children’s Mercy in Kansas City.
“They’re awesome,” Jensen said. “I’m sure the kids had fun with it.
Gave them a cool little thing they can put their piece on something that will be on TV and stuff like that. I hope it was a cool experience.”
For Jensen, the project fit naturally with how he’s spent much of the season. The 23-year-old Kansas City native is a regular presence at Children’s Mercy, where he’s met with kids, learned their names and families, and built real connections with young fans who light up when he walks in. If those same kids show up at Kauffman Stadium, Jensen makes a point to greet them.
So when Players’ Weekend rolled around, using Children’s Mercy as the centerpiece of his custom gear felt obvious.
“I think it just means a lot to me because I want to spread joy,” Jensen said. “And you could see that they were having fun with it when they started the project, and the designs they came up with are awesome.
That’s what I care about. At the end of the day, it means as much to me as it does for them to have something cool like this.
I hope they’ll see me wear them and it’ll give them a smile knowing they had a part in it.”
He said the visits have given him perspective he can’t get anywhere else. Jensen described the children at Children’s Mercy as people dealing with challenges far beyond anything he’s faced, and he said that being around them matters to him in a deep way.
“These kids are going through things that are harder than I’ve ever been through,” Jensen said. “Seeing them and knowing how hard it can be for them and their families, it’s tough.
But if I can help bring a smile to their faces, or make their day a little better when they’re going through tough times, that’s my goal. That’s what I want to do.
And it makes me feel better. Like, the focus is on me giving them something positive, but they give me a lot, too.”
The Royals also found another way to spotlight Children’s Mercy earlier this week with a “Reverse Signing Day” event at The K. Patients came in and signed autographs for Royals players, with nameplates, Sharpies and stacks of their own baseball cards laid out at the table like a standard player signing session.
This time, the players were the ones moving through the line as fans.
“I feel sometimes we complain about a lot,” Salvador Perez said, the stack of cards he received displayed proudly in his locker. “We strike out.
We don’t do well in a game. Then you go and see those kids.
It’s just a wake-up call. It’s life-changing.
They're going through a lot. And, you know, we always know we’re going to get an opportunity to come back here and compete the next day.
The reality for them is that they don’t know if there’s going to be opportunity for them the next day. So a day like that makes a difference.
“I know they’re big fans of us. But we really love them, too.”
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