KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Outfielder Lorenzo Cain, relief pitcher Wade Davis and starting pitcher Yordano Ventura all had breakthrough seasons in 2014.
And subsequently, all were winners of the Royals' 2014 team awards as voted on by the Kansas City chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Cain was named the Les Milgram Player of the Year, Davis was named the Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year and Ventura was selected for the Joe Burke Special Achievement award.
Cain, 28, hit .301 with 29 doubles, four triples, five homers and 53 RBIs. He also had a career-best 28 steals. Cain also excelled in the postseason, winning the American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player award. During the postseason, Cain hit .333 with eight RBIs and 13 runs scored.
Davis, 29, led all major leaguers with a 1.00 ERA, the seventh-best ERA all-time by an AL reliever (50-inning minimum). He didn't allow an extra-base hit over his first 45 2/3 innings. He also was 2-0 with a 0.63 ERA in the postseason.
Ventura was 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA, the 10th-best ERA in the American League. He also had a 3.20 ERA in five postseason appearances, including his victory in Game 6 of the World Series.
You can follow Jeffrey Flanagan on Twitter at @jflanagankc or email him at jeffreyflanagan6@gmail.com.
