Lorenzo Cain, remembered for his speed, glove and big moments, will retire as a Royal
Lorenzo Cain will retire as a Royal.
Cain, who patrolled center field for seven seasons in Kansas City — including the pennant years of 2014 and 2015 — will sign a one-day contract with the club and be honored before the Royals’ May 6 home game against the Oakland Athletics.
Cain was acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers after the 2010 season, a deal that also brought shortstop Alcides Escobar to Kansas City in exchange for pitcher Zack Grienke to Milwaukee.
The Royals had found their center fielder for the championship seasons; Cain played in 713 games, scoring 383 runs, hitting 56 home runs and slashing .289/.342/.421. He stole 120 bases, tied for 10th in team history.
In 2014, Cain was named MVP of the American League Championship Series when he hit .533 in the Royals’ sweep of the Baltimore Orioles.
The next year, Cain helped the Royals to their first World Series title since 1985 when they defeated the New York Mets. Cain hit a bases-loaded double in the 12th inning to break open the clinching fifth game.
He set career bests in most offensive categories that season, finished third in the American League MVP voting and was a member of the AL All-Star team.
If a single play can sum up Cain’s speed and hustle, it came in Game 6 of the 2015 ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays. In the eighth inning, Cain scored from first base on Eric Hosmer’s single for the go-ahead run a 4-3 victory that clinched the AL championship.
Cain was one of baseball’s top defensive players, winning four of his five Wilson AL Defensive Player of the Year awards while competing for the Royals.
He played 13 seasons in the majors, returning to the Brewers in 2018 as a free agent, and was a member of three playoff teams in Milwaukee.