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Now back to today’s post!
Take a look at this screenshot of a situation from Game 4 of this year’s World Series. Lorenzo Cain at bat. Pause here and look at everything.
Got the picture? Now ask yourself … “If I’m Lorenzo Cain, the best, most productive player on the Royals, what am I thinking right in that moment?”
Unfortunately, most MLB players, especially the most productive ones, would be thinking, “Runner on second base and we’re two runs down in the 6th. A homer ties the game. Barrel one up and drive it!”
Not Lorenzo Cain.
He inside-outed a 2-strike pitch that he could have pulled in order to move the runner over to third base with no outs. Fortunately for the Royals, the ball was not in reach of the second baseman and went into center field for an RBI base hit. Cain later scored as well.
The game announcers talked about how clutch Cain was but totally missed the major point of that play. Lorenzo Cain, the most productive member of his team wanted to just put the ball in play behind the runner to, at the very least, move him to third base. I can guarantee his coaches did not tell him to do that. He did it on his own.
Baseball analysts are still talking about why the Royals won the World Series. They are correct to say their pitching and defense were tremendous. But this one play screams volumes about the type of player Lorenzo Cain is and how the Royals as a whole approach the game.
When your star player takes this unselfish approach, what excuse can anyone else on the team possibly give for not doing so themselves?
So my question to all of you is …
What would your star player do?
