By ALAN HOSKINS
KCKCC Sports Information Director
KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- While the entire Royals fandom reveled in the success of Lorenzo Cain in helping the Kansas City Royals win the American League Division Playoff, it was even more significant for Rodney Christensen and Al Hobson.
Christensen is in his 17th year as head athletic trainer at Kansas City Kansas Community College; Hobson is in his 18th year as head track coach and both played major roles in Cain getting healthy and becoming a much quicker and faster outfielder and base-runner – of which Cain gave credit during a national telecast of the Royals’ four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS.
Royals announcer Steve Physioc was the first to make note of Cain’s relationship with Hobson and KCKCC during a national telecast and two local television stations followed up with taped interviews on the College campus.
Following injury-plagued seasons of 2011 and 2012 in which he played a combined 67 games, Cain underwent three months of workouts under the direction of Christensen and Hobson at KCKCC and while it would be pure folly to suggest their rehabilitation was the main reason for his recent success, the facts are that he played in 133 regular season games this year, led the Royals in hitting with a .301 average and was named the Most Valuable Player in the ALDS after hitting .533 and starring defensively.
