Royals In Monarchs Duds: June 13, 2004

Tom Glavine

Eric Valent, Desi Relaford

2004 Mike Sweeney game-used jersey

The 2004 Salute to the Negro Leagues at Kauffman Stadium saw the Royals paying tribute to the 1945 Kansas City Monarchs. They met the New York Mets, who wore throwbacks of the 1944 New York Cubans.

2004 Carlos Beltran game-used jersey

Hilton Smith, circa 1945

Jackie Robinson, 1945

Satchel Paige & Jackie Robinson, 1945

Here's Kaz Matsui from the 2004 game:

Gerald Williams game jersey

This photo is dated 1946, but the Cubans jersey is looks like a match:

Unsure of the date of this photo of Cubans manager Jose Fernandez:

The game pitted a former Cy Young versus a future Cy Young in Tom Glavine and Zack Greinke. It was Greinke's fifth career game. The veteran Glavine had the better day, allowing no earned runs in 7.2, while Greinke allowed 5 in 7 innings. Mike Piazza took Greinke yard, and the Mets prevailed 5-2.

From a preview of the game on Royals.com:
Rookie pitcher Zack Greinke likes to be prepared. So he even tried on his Negro Leagues uniform in advance of Sunday's start against the New York Mets.

"I've always wanted to wear one," Greinke said. "I think they look cool on TV."
Greinke found the shirt quite comfortable but the old-style pants were, well, a bit baggy.
The uniforms were purchased by the Royals and will be donated to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.