SURPRISE, Ariz. -- There is always a pivotal time after ACL surgery when the player finally realizes he can trust his knee again.
That moment for Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas arrived last September as he was taking some grounders before a game at Kauffman Stadium. The infield practice came roughly four months after his procedure, and Moustakas was simply breaking up the boredom of rehab.
"I fell, I slipped," Moustakas said. "But then I got up and I was good to go. I thought, 'It's all right, and it's not going to tear again, so if it's not going to tear if I fall down, then it's good to go.