Lorenzo Cain leans back into retirement

On a scale of 17 to 38…It was a blast.

The Royals threw a party on Saturday night. It was a helluva shindig. Then they played a baseball game. That wasn’t as much fun.

Let’s start with the party…Lorenzo Cain means so much to this franchise, and by extension, this city. What’s gratifying is that the love and adoration is mutual. It’s not always that way between a player and a team and a city.

The Jerry Seinfeld joke is that when you cheer for a team, you’re rooting for laundry. Players come and go. Rarely does one make a lasting impact. And when a player does make an impact, he’s usually just passing through.

Cain though was different. He started in Milwaukee and finished in Milwaukee. But it’s what he did in-between—from 2011 to 2017—that defines him as a player and as a person. Kansas City loves LoCain. LoCain loves Kansas City back. That was evident on Saturday as over 29,000 entered The K to cheer the steadiest player on those championship teams one final time. For him to return to officially retire as a Royal says everything.

Yeah, none of this happens without the wins and the pennants. But many of those wins and most definitely those pennants don’t happen without Lorenzo Cain.

From the moment he stepped out of the home dugout and on the blue carpet, it was obvious how touched Cain was by his reception. The fans were ready for LoCain, but I’m not entirely sure he was ready for them. That’s ok, though. There were a lot of tears, but not all of them were shed by the man of the hour. There’s something just thoroughly gratifying to see a superstar player overcome by the moment. He was so cool at the plate in key situations and tracking down lasers hit to him in center field, but he was completely unnerved standing at the podium. His mom, who clearly means so much to him (and forbade him from playing high school football, much to our benefit) drew large cheers when she was introduced and again later when she stepped up to the podium to give her son a hug.

“This is my momma,” Cain said before he paused again to compose himself.

It was that kind of ceremony.

How could it be anything but that? Jeremy Guthrie was there, toting the two AL Championship trophies. Ned Yost, who truly looked delighted to be back at the yard, arrived with Cain’s 2014 ALCS MVP trophy. Alex Gordon, looking absolutely ripped, hoisted the 2015 World Series trophy. (I like to imagine that piece of hardware weighs a couple hundred pounds. Gordon is the only person in Kansas City fit enough to carry it, let alone lift it over his head.) Rusty Kuntz, so fundamental in Cain’s development at as an outfielder, got his usual ovation. His hermano, Salvador Perez, came out to present a cane to LoCain. The band wasn’t entirely back together (that will most definitely come later), but any time several of the key guys from those teams reassemble, it should be special.

“I will always be forever Royal,” Cain said. If that had been the only thing he said all night, it would’ve been enough.

Cain wasn’t necessarily a true five-tool talent, but there were times when it felt like he could do anything. Let’s say all five tools manifested at different times but were most definitely present.

The hit tool? How about the double he laced over shortstop that cleared the bases to pad the lead in Game Five and clinch the championship?

Cain was simply the steadiest offensive performer on those championship teams. On September 13, 2014, Ned Yost penciled Cain into the number three spot in the lineup. He didn’t really budge from that spot for the next three seasons. From 2014 to 2017, Cain hit .300/.352/.437, good for a wRC+ of 114.

Power? He crushed three dingers in a game at Yankee Stadium in 2016. The only other Royals to do that were George Brett and Bo Jackson. And the lean back was a true thing of beauty. You knew when he got into one.

Defense? Oh, yeah. Watching him play the outfield was sublime. His ability to cover ground—to somehow glide—was absolutely electrifying. Cain won the inaugural multi-position award at The Fielding Bible in 2014, an award that felt as if it were created specifically for him. He split time between center and right that season, accumulating 24 Defensive Runs Saved. He looked just so smooth out there. As if he were put on this Earth to patrol the space out there.

This was the first play from the bottom of the first inning in the 2014 ALDS against the Angels. Any questions as to if the Royals would carry a hangover from their thrilling Wild Card victory were quickly put to rest.

And it provided us with the terrific Vargas reaction meme. Priceless.

The arm? That wasn’t exactly his calling card, although he did record 33 assists in his time in Kansas City.

Speed? You know…He can fly!!!

Still just about my favorite moment from those years. The moment Cain pops up from his slide across the plate and just elevates…It just symbolizes everything about 2014 and 2015. The aggression…The opportunism…Finding a weakness in the opponent (the Royals knew right fielder José Bautista always threw to second base) and just using it to destroy them. God, what a sequence.

I wouldn’t say it was a playoff atmosphere at The K before Saturday’s game, but there was just a ton of blue in the seats. It’s a reminder that Kansas City will support this team, and the fans are itching to get behind them again, but they have to compete. With the Oakland A’s in town for a three-game set, this would be a good opportunity to get on the right track. The A’s are a horrid baseball team. And they are horrid on purpose. The pitching stinks, the hitting is terrible and the stadium is a dump they’re actively looking to evacuate. The A’s are a prime opponent for any team looking to get right.

Brady Singer, however, was not up to the challenge on Saturday. He was spraying his sinker everywhere—when he wasn’t throwing it down the middle. With a lack of command of that pitch, it made it easy for the A’s to lay off the slider down and out of the zone. He needed 96 pitches to get through four innings. Mercifully, there would not be a fifth.

But…These are the Oakland A’s. The Royals were able to chip back in the fourth. Freddy Fermin launched one into the fountains, Jackie Bradley Jr. doubled and then Bobby Witt Jr. crushed one just to the left of center. Just like that, the Royals were back in this and the crowd came to life. A hearty “Let’s go Royals” chant rang through the stadium and it felt like not-so-old times, back when Cain and his cohorts were swashbuckling through ballgames.

When the bullpens took over, things got serious.

One of my favorite things about this game is that sometimes, one organization can become associated with one certain player or position. For the Royals, that player is obviously George Brett. The bar is incredibly high and he will likely never be passed as the iconic figure of the franchise. For the position, though…That has to be center field.

Maybe it’s the acreage at The K. Maybe it’s just happenstance. Whatever the reason, center field in Kansas City is where some of the best players in franchise history have plied their trade. Just check out these names.

Three of the greatest players in franchise history patrolled center. I think we can put Cain in that class to say four of the greatest players in franchise history patrolled center.

That’s really incredible.

The current Royals lack the killer instinct of those LoCain clubs. Saturday they had an opponent ripe for the taking, yet couldn’t reclaim the lead they lost in the second inning. They had opportunities in that fourth after a pair of home runs sandwiched around a double…Edward Olivares walked but was picked off. That let the pressure off Oakland starter Ken Waldichuk. In the fifth, with his pitch count reading triple-digits, Michael Massey worked a leadoff walk. He was stranded though after Hunter Dozier, Freddy Fermin and Jackie Bradley Jr. went down on strikes.

With the starters out of the way, the game was a little less chaotic. The Royals had another chance in the seventh when they loaded the bases against Richard Lovelady, who landed in Oakland after getting DFA’d by the Braves. He struck out pinch hitter MJ Melendez on three pitches. They had a chance in the eighth with a walk and a hit batter with two outs. No dice. And they had a final chance in the ninth with Michael Massey leading off with a single and advancing to 2nd on a wild pitch. They couldn’t score.

Oakland’s bullpen sports a 6.80 ERA, the worst in the majors. Yet they held the Royals scoreless on Saturday. The A’s won back-to-back games for the first time all year. The Royals dropped to 8-26 overall and 2-16 at home.

To their credit, most of the fans stayed to the end. It was a perfect night for baseball and the game was close. It was a good crowd, but we are a long way from the glory years. For one night though we got to remember how fun it was when Lorenzo Cain patrolled the outfield and the Royals were winners.

And we wonder if the Roylas will ever be winners again.