DENTON, Texas ? Just over there is the window Hunter Dozier?s father, Kelly, told the kids not to play near. ?For some reason? they did anyway, his little sister Kenzie said, gazing that way and smiling.
Naturally, her brother fouled off a pitch and shattered the glass.
?We finished the game, though,? Dozier, a potential cornerstone of the Royals? future, recently said with a laugh.
That was par for a trail to the major leagues, or at least the foundation of it, laden with broken ceiling fans, lights, cratered walls and a cavity in the garage door that may still need repair.
Out in the back yard, though, sits the most telling testament to Dozier?s path from being undrafted and virtually unrecruited coming out of high school to becoming the eighth overall pick in the 2013 draft to, at last, a breakthrough 2019 season.
There sits the batting cage fashioned by his father, once an arena in itself and a priceless symbol in so many ways.
Ask Dozier how much of where he is today stems from the dynamics of that setting, and he?ll instantly say, ?All of it ? all of it.?
Never mind that 16 years later, beset with wind storms and pine needles and squirrels, the cage is perhaps more a monument than anything else.
A year or two ago, Dad was behind the L-screen he?d fashioned with baling wire, pitching again to the boy he?d thrown to tens of thousands times before. About four half-speed swings in, the boy called it off, worried he?d smash a ball through the screen.
?I just wanted so bad to throw to him again, but I could see his point,? Kelly Dozier said, laughing and adding, ?I?ve still got both eyes.?
Through the family?s eyes, you can see the root of all that was to come from that scene.
It speaks to the power of loving family, including Dozier?s older brother, Devin, his greatest fan; Kenzie, who considers both brothers her role models and particularly admires Hunter?s insistence on finding the good in everyone and a warm-hearted mother also named Kelly.
(If having the same names poses some confusion, at least it comes in handy when solicitors call and say, ?Is Kelly there?? Here, honey, she?ll say, ?it?s for you.? Many who know them call him Big Kelly and her Little Kelly, or ?Kelly Boy? and ?Kelly Girl.?)
Among other nurturing touches, she has texted Hunter enthusiastically reviewing every ? single ? game he?s played since he left for college at Stephen F. Austin in 2010.
?I guess I want him to know I saw everything he did,? she said, laughing and adding, ?Like he doesn?t know what he did.?
