Lorenzo Cain is hanging up his cleats.
The two-time All-Star and former American League Championship Series MVP will officially retire this summer as a Kansas City Royal.
“I left it in the hands of my boys,” Cain, father to three boys ages 5 to 8, told The Athletic. “I said, ‘Hey, do you guys want Daddy to continue to play ball? Or are you ready for Daddy to be done and go home?’ And they said, ‘Dad, we want you to go home.’ And I said, ‘OK, then.’ So I’ve been done. I just haven’t announced it, I guess.”
The Royals are working on logistics of when to invite Cain to Kaufman Stadium for a ceremony. Cain suggested sometime in May.
“He’s going to be a Royal Hall of Famer,” Kansas City general manager JJ Picollo said. “Just the times that he rose to the occasion speaks volumes about what type of competitor he was. I don’t think he had the prettiest swing. I don’t think he was the most talented guy. But when it was a big moment, he loved those moments. And that was pretty special.”
Cain, 36, spent the past five seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers but hasn’t played a complete season since 2019 due to injuries.
He hit .179 in 43 games last season before the Brewers released him on June 21.
He was drafted by Milwaukee in the 17th round of the 2004 draft and made his major league debut with the Brewers in 2010 before being traded to the Royals in December 2010 – along with Alcides Escobar – for Zack Greinke and Yuniesky Betancourt.
Cain, along with Escobar, would go on to help the Royals reach two World Series (2014, 2015) and one Fall Classic title, in 2015 over the New York Mets. Cain was named ALCS MVP in 2014, when he hit .533 in a four-game sweep over Baltimore.
He finishes with a slash line of .283/.343/.407 to go with 1,220 hits, 87 home runs, 626 runs, 190 stolen bases and one Gold Glove (2019).
