Royals Time Machine: All-Time Defensive Team

RIGHT FIELD: LORENZO CAIN

Here I decided to take some poetic license in the interest of putting the best nine gloves on the field.

Yes, Lorenzo Cain is primarily a center fielder with the Kansas City Royals. But, he frequently moved to right in 2013 and 2014 when Jarrod Dyson came into the game as a defensive substitution. In fact, the 77 games Cain moved to right in 2014 probably cost him the 2014 Gold Glove in center field.

However, Cain made a name for himself in the 2014 playoffs by running down ball after ball in center field for the KC Royals. Many pundits started calling him “Super-Cain” and marveled that the Kansas City Royals outfield of Cain, Alex Gordon, and Jarrod Dyson might be among the best defensive units in major-league history.

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If Lorenzo Cain can be part of the ultimate outfield while playing in right field, I guess it’s good enough for my KC Royals all-time defensive team here on Kings of Kauffman.

Even if he hasn’t won a Gold Glove.

And there’s the rub. Because both Jermaine Dye and Al Cowens HAVE won Gold Gloves as members of the Kansas City Royals while playing right field. In my defense, neither played during the modern era of defensive metrics.

Thus, Jermaine Dye won his 1999 Gold Glove primarily for gunning down 17 runners with outfield assists. But, according to Baseball-reference, BOTH Cowens and Dye had negative dWAR numbers in their Gold Glove seasons (1977 for Cowens, 1999 for Dye).

So, it’s pretty easy for me to pick Lorenzo Super-Cain for this KC Royals all-time team.

Next: Center Field