He’s one of the players that embodied a style and excellence that comes with the brand of the Kansas City Royals.” “You always had respect and admiration for the way Alex played the game,” Matheny said, “but also the way he wore the jersey. His tying shot off Mets closer Jeurys Familia in Game 1 forced extra innings, and the Royals won in 14 to set the tone for the rest of the World Series. It was during the 2015 that Gordon hit one of the iconic homers in Royals history. The Royals wound up losing to the Giants in a seven-game thriller, but they returned to the Fall Classic the following year and beat the Mets in five games to win the World Series.
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Gordon won the first of three defensive player of the year awards in 2014, when he helped Kansas City return to the World Series for the first time since its 1985 championship. He is the only outfielder to earn seven Gold Gloves in a nine-year span, a number that trails only White’s eight for the most in franchise history, and there are enough replays of him crashing into the outfield wall at Kauffman Stadium or throwing out a runner at the plate to run for hours. While he never quite hit with the kind of average the Royals hoped he would, Gordon did through sheer grit turn himself into one of the best defensive players in the game.
“There’s always going to be ups and downs,” he said, “but that’s part of life. The three-time All-Star also holds the dubious distinction of being the Royals’ career leader in getting hit by pitches. He heads into a weekend four-game series against Detroit with the third-most walks (682), fourth-most homers (190), fifth-most doubles (357) and sixth-most games played (1,749) in club history. He wound up playing his entire 14-year career in Kansas City, joining George Brett and Frank White as position players with that much longevity with the franchise. He made his big league debut two years later and, after a few years shuttling back and forth to the minors, moved from third base to the outfield and finally found success. Gordon was the second overall pick in the 2005 first-year player draft after a standout career at Nebraska, where he won the Golden Spikes Award as the best amateur in baseball. His work ethic and commitment truly has reached legendary status.” “It’s very difficult to articulate your feelings and emotions at a time like this,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said, “but Alex has set the bar on the field, off the field. He often plays golf with teammates Whit Merrifield and Greg Holland during the season, and the left-handed Gordon wants to finally beat them by this time next year.Īnd, after diligently adhering to a healthy diet, he’s dying for some pizza. Gordon said his immediate plans are to hit the links. but at the same time I’m excited to be around my family, be around my kids, and just catch up on things I’ve missed my whole life.” “It’s kind of bittersweet because this is hard for me to do. “I feel like at the end of the day, I’m missing my kids and their activities more than I’m going to miss this,” he said. With the game shut down, Gordon knew this would be the end. That changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. But with teammates such as Danny Duffy and Salvador Perez still in the clubhouse, Gordon decided to keep playing for a team he believes is on the cusp of winning. Gordon thought about retirement last year, when the Royals were hiring Mike Matheny to replace his longtime manager, Ned Yost, and the team appeared to be rebuilding. “You grow up playing this game, it’s a game you love, but you come to that day when you know it’s over - it’s hard.” I think any baseball player would say that,” said Gordon, who turns 37 in February.
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Gordon had signed a one-year deal to play with the Royals, and now he will do what so few have done in pro sports: end his career with the team where it began. He said during a Zoom news conference Thursday that the pandemic reinforced his feelings that he wants to spend more time with his family and “catch up on things I’ve missed my whole life.” (AP) - Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Gordon, whose rollercoaster career took him from near bust to All-Star and Gold Glove winner, will retire after the season.
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