Carter Jensen Opens Up on Special Honor Coming in His Hometown

Catcher Carter Jensen grew up in Kansas City, and after a big first full season with the Kansas City Royals, his hometown is giving him a starring role in one of its favorite holiday traditions.

Jensen, a Park Hill High School graduate, will flip the switch to light up the Country Club Plaza at the 97th annual Plaza Lighting Ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 26, according to KSHB 41.

The event is free and open to the public and starts at 5 p.m., and Jensen is set to turn on the lights at about 6:25 p.m., which will then stay on through Jan. 10, 2027.

Jensen spoke about the honor in a press release from Country Club Plaza, and it was easy to tell how much it means to a hometown kid.

"The Plaza Lights are a Midwest staple that all Kansas Citians know and love, and to be able to do this in my hometown with my Kansas City family is an incredible honor," Jensen said in the release, via KSHB 41.

He also said he and his family are grateful for the chance to help light up the city that raised him, and that he cannot wait to celebrate the holidays with everybody.

The ceremony has been around since 1930, and in recent years the switch has been flipped by Kansas City Chiefs owners Clark and Tavia Hunt and by players from the Kansas City Current, so Jensen joins a list that already has some big local sports names on it.

He has earned the spotlight on the field, too.

The Royals took him in the third round of the 2021 draft out of Park Hill, and in 149 games this season he hit .239 with a .323 on-base percentage, a .467 slugging percentage, 35 doubles, 27 home runs and 81 RBIs.

His 27 homers led the team, and he is one of three Royals who were named Silver Slugger finalists this week, with the winners set to be announced Nov. 17.

The team around him did not have the same type of year, as Kansas City finished 69-93 and in fifth place in the American League Central.

That is a big reason why Jensen means so much to this franchise right now, because a young catcher with real power who also happens to be a local kid is exactly the type of player a struggling team can build around.

I love this for Jensen and for the Royals, since there is already a case that he is one of the better catchers in baseball, and a moment like this ties him even closer to the fans who will be watching him for years.

The bigger test will come next season, when the Royals need Jensen to take another step at the plate after a tough early power ranking this offseason.

Kansas City still has plenty of work to do on its roster before then, but on Nov. 26, the most exciting young bat in the lineup gets to be the guy who lights up the Plaza, and that is a nice moment for a team that needed one.