For Pete's Sake

Watch Lorenzo Cain (and his kids) throw ceremonial first pitch to Royals’ Salvador Perez

For the ceremonial first pitch, Cameron Cain, 8, completes a relay from center field and throws a ball to his dad and former Kansas City Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain during a retirement ceremony at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Kansas City. Cain signed a ceremonial one-day contract to retire as a Royal.
For the ceremonial first pitch, Cameron Cain, 8, completes a relay from center field and throws a ball to his dad and former Kansas City Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain during a retirement ceremony at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Kansas City. Cain signed a ceremonial one-day contract to retire as a Royal. nwagner@kcstar.com

Hours after he officially became a retiree, former Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain took the field at Kauffman Stadium before Saturday’s game against the Oakland Athletics.

Cain choked back tears during a retirement celebration that included his mom, wife, kids, former Royals manager Ned Yost, former teammate Alex Gordon and, of course, catcher Salvador Perez.

When it came time for the ceremonial first pitch, Cain’s sons Cameron, Jayden and Landon worked as relay men from center field, which dear ol’ dad once patrolled so well.

The ball skipped past Cain at the mound, but Perez was there to back it up. Perez tossed it back to Cain, who then delivered a strike.

This was a cool moment.

Here is Cain’s speech from the ceremony.

This story was originally published May 6, 2023 at 6:27 PM.

Pete Grathoff
The Kansas City Star
From covering the World Series to the World Cup, Pete Grathoff has done a little bit of everything since joining The Kansas City Star in 1997.
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