Lorenzo Cain

The Royals made the playoffs for the first time since winning the 1985 World Series.

In the Division Series, Cain's defensive play in center field – featuring four Spectacular catches in two games – was widely credited with helping the Royals sweep the highly favored Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

In Game 2 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) against the Baltimore Orioles, Cain added to his postseason highlight reel with yet another stunning, extra-base hit-stealing grab, this one of a J. J. Hardy line drive to right center field in the 6th inning to preserve a 4–4 tie.

Lorenzo Lamar Cain (born April 13, 1986) is an American former professional baseball center fielder.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers and the Kansas City Royals.

The Brewers drafted him in the 17th round of the 2004 MLB draft from Tallahassee Community College in Florida.

The Milwaukee Brewers selected Cain in the 17th round of the 2004 MLB draft out of Tallahassee Community College.

He began his career in 2005, playing for their Rookie League Helena Brewers and AZL Brewers.

In 2006, he was promoted to the Class A West Virginia Power, where he was named to the South Atlantic League's mid and post-season All-Star teams.

Cain was promoted to their Class A-Advanced Brevard County Manatees in 2007.

Beginning the 2008 season in Brevard County, Cain was called up to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds on June 10 to replace outfielder Hernán Iribarren, who was recalled by Milwaukee.

In 2010, Cain made his MLB debut, and, following the season, the Brewers traded him to Kansas City with three other players for pitcher Zack Greinke.

Four years later, he placed in the top 10 in the American League in batting average (.301) and stolen bases (28).

Known for his defensive acrobatics, he won four Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Awards for outfielders and three Fielding Bible Awards.

Cain was called up to the Brewers when pitcher Doug Davis was placed on the disabled list on July 16, 2010.

He made his major league debut against the Atlanta Braves that evening as a pinch-hitter.

He was robbed of a hit in his first at-bat due to a diving catch by Braves left fielder Matt Diaz.

Two days later, in his next at bat in that same series, he got his first major league hit.

He then replaced CF Carlos Gómez for the rest of the game and finished the game 2 for 2 with two singles; Cain went on to appear in 43 games for the Brewers.

On December 18, 2010, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals with Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jake Odorizzi for Zack Greinke and Yuniesky Betancourt.

Cain was sent down to KC's AAA ball club, the Omaha Storm Chasers, before the start of the 2011 MLB season, and played six games in his initial season with the Royals.

On February 18, 2012, the Royals announced they had signed Cain to a one-year contract for the 2012 season.

No financial terms of the deal were released.

Cain began 2013 as the starting center fielder, with Jarrod Dyson as the backup.

Around late June, Dyson started getting more starts.

On August 10, Cain was placed on the disabled list with a strained left oblique, When he returned on September 4, Cain had 14 more starts on the season, 7 in right and 7 in center field.

In 115 games (106 starts), Cain hit .251/.310/.348 with 4 home runs, 46 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.

Further, he won the 2014 American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award due in part to his defensive play.

In 2014, Cain finished the regular season hitting .301/.339/.412 with five home runs (one inside the park), four triples, 29 doubles, 28 stolen bases, 46 RBIs, and 55 runs in 133 games.

Both his batting average and stolen base total placed eighth in the AL.

He notched twice as many infield hits as he had the year before – this as a result of the work he had done with Al Hobson, track coach at Kansas City Kansas Community College to improve his base-running sprint speed.

At the plate, he went 4-for-5, tying George Brett's franchise record for most hits in a postseason game, and drove in a 9th-inning run that helped seal the Royals' 6–4 victory over the Orioles, their sixth consecutive win in the 2014 postseason.

Cain ultimately ended up winning the ALCS Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) award for his efforts at the plate as well as in the field.

He finished with a .533 batting average, eight hits, five runs, and numerous Spectacular defensive plays which helped the Royals to sweep the Orioles and move on to the World Series.

He finished third in MVP voting in 2015, and seventh in MVP voting 2018.

Cain's father died when Lorenzo was four years old.

His mother, Patricia, raised him and his brother, and still works at a printing plant in Madison, Florida.

In contrast to most professional ballplayers, Cain did not start playing baseball until his sophomore year in Florida's Madison County High School.

He only did so, he said, because he was not chosen for the school basketball team.

At the time, Cain didn't own a baseball glove.