Robinson Cano The New York Yankees' MVP candidate strives to be the best in the game.

     Robinson Cano has a flair for the dramatic. Just after Opening Day, Cano announced he was joining Jay-Z and Roc Nation to become their very first athlete client in a new joint venture with CAA that has the sports world abuzz with the ramifications. “At this point in my career, I’m ready to take a more active role in my endeavors on and off the field,” Cano said.
     Now in the final year of his contract with the New York Yankees, the baseball world eagerly awaits for baseball’s free agency roulette wheel to stop to see where the best second baseman in the game will end up for the rest of his career.
     Despite having played for the most celebrated franchise in baseball history, with two potential Hall of Famers on the left side of the infield, Cano no longer plays in anyone’s shadow. He has become one of the most feared hitters in baseball, regularly hitting over .300 with power and fielding his position with a Gold Glove-caliber performance. Could this be the year he breaks through and wins the Most Valuable Player award that many believe he is capable of achieving? “I don’t think about anything like that,” he says. “I never set goals for statistics. I don’t want to put any more pressure on myself. I just want to play my best every day.”
     In playing his best, Cano has built a huge fan base from his performance. But it’s his work behind the scenes that has created an entirely new legion of devoted fans. Cano regularly shows his soft spot for kids both through his foundation—which is devoted to education and health initiatives in the New York area and the Dominican Republic—and with his visits to sick children around the world. The Hackensack University Medical Center has named a wing for pediatric physical and occupational therapy after him.  Whenever he arrives for a visit, you can instantly feel a positive change in the environment as kids flock to him. “Often, no one visits these kids other than their families,” Cano says. “When you come to see them, it’s a special feeling. Their face lights up. They can’t believe you’re there. It makes them feel special. Once you start to do it, and you see the impact you have, you want to keep doing it.”
     Cano knows as he continues to have an impact on the field, his influence grows off of it. It’s the fundamental reason why after he’s finished with his photo shoot, he jumps in a car and heads straight to the ballpark to arrive earlier than his due time. He wants to warm up properly and get some hitting and fielding in before tonight’s game. “If I put in the work,” he says, “everything else will take care of itself.”