In the late 2000s, a center field prospect was going through the ranks in the Milwaukee Brewers system.
It was Lawrence Cain.
However, in December 2010, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals alongside Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jake Odorizzi in the Zack Greinke deal.
He made his debut with the Royals in 2011, back when they still were nowhere near a playoff team.
Cain was there when the team achieved a positive record in 2013 for the first time in ages.
When the Kansas City Royals made consecutive World Series appearances in 2014 and 2015, he was also there to play center field.
He was even there when the Royals tanked again in the post-World Series years.
You can say he was there for the really bad times, but also for the extremely good ones.
The franchise is about to show its gratitude for all those years by hosting a retirement ceremony for their former star.
“The Royals are hosting a Retirement Ceremony for Lorenzo Cain on May 6th,” Talkin’ Baseball tweeted.
The Royals are hosting a Retirement Ceremony for Lorenzo Cain on May 6th pic.twitter.com/a9CFPm3gVH
—Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 6, 2023
Kauffman Stadium should be sold out that day to celebrate one of their World Series heroes.
At the start of the last decade, in 2010, no one had the Royals making two World Series, let alone winning one.
They did it against the New York Mets in 2015.
Cain had a rather disappointing .619 OPS in that Fall Classic, but he played his usual excellent defense and was a terror for Mets pitchers with four stolen bases without getting caught.
Overall, Cain had a .289/.342/.421 line with the Royals, with a fine .763 OPS.
He was third in the MVP voting in that magical 2015 campaign.
He announced his retirement on March 7, 2023.
Royals fans will let him know how much they love him in May.
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