Cueto, above, not invited to join Royals for visit to White House.
NEW YORK — Johnny Cueto pitched a two-hitter for the Kansas City Royals in winning Game 2 of the World Series last October.
Apparently, that’s not enough to earn an invitation to join the team for their congratulatory visit to the White House. And Cueto is not happy about being snubbed.
“I believe that I earned it,” Cueto said through interpreter Erwin Higueros. “I was on the team. I did something for the team to win the World Series. So yes, I was expecting it.”
But the Royals never contacted Cueto to join their party to visit with President Barack Obama on Thursday, even though the Giants had a day off and the righthanded pitcher already was on the East Coast.
“I feel OK, I feel normal,” Cueto said. “But I also feel it’s the organization’s responsibility to invite me. I did a job for them so I feel they should have had the courtesy to invite me.”
The Royals were criticized earlier in the week for declining to invite outfielder Jonny Gomes. They also didn’t invite other club personnel, including their longtime radio engineer.
But Gomes wasn’t on the Royals’ playoff roster. Cueto most certainly was, and his performance in Game 2 helped Kansas City take charge of the series against the New York Mets.
The Royals have said that they didn’t extend invitation to anyone who wasn’t on the current team and also on last year’s postseason roster, citing restrictions from the White House on the size of their contingent. Infielder Ben Zobrist, one of their best players down the stretch, wasn’t invited, either. Zobrist signed with the Chicago Cubs and also could have attended, since his team didn’t play Thursday.
The Giants have made three White House visits since 2011, and although they faced similar restrictions, they were generous with invitations. They made certain to invite outfielder Michael Morse in 2015, even though he had signed with the Marlins prior to the season. Morse had a day off and was thrilled to hop on a plane and join his former teammates.
At least Cueto has his World Series ring. A scouting supervisor gave it to him in Arizona in April.