SURPRISE, Ariz. (Royals) — The pose is as iconic as the player, Alex Gordon rounding first base, right arm raised toward the sky, looking out toward the outfield after his game-tying home run ball in Game 1 of the 2015 World Series had just cleared the fence.
It’s a moment that will be forever remembered in Royals history, by a player who will be forever Royal — the organization’s standard for work ethic, dedication, Gold Glove defense and steadiness.
And now a Royals Hall of Famer.
Kansas City announced Friday that Gordon has been elected to the team’s Hall of Fame and will be inducted in a ceremony on June 13 before the Royals play the A’s at Kauffman Stadium.
Gordon, 41, will be the 31st inductee of the Royals Hall of Fame and will receive a blue jacket, joining the likes of his former manager, Ned Yost, and other team legends from George Brett to Bo Jackson.
Gordon’s career was different, but his place in Royals history as a homegrown player who helped Kansas City win a pennant in 2014 and the World Series in ‘15 is just as important.
Taken No. 2 overall in the 2005 MLB Draft out of Nebraska, Gordon’s rise to Kansas City was anything but linear. Originally a third baseman, he made his debut two years after he was drafted, but by his fourth big league season, he was back in Triple-A and talking with the organization about a position change. Gordon was hitting .194 when the Royals demoted him in May 2010 and asked him to learn left field. A young infielder named Mike Moustakas was quickly rising through the Minor Leagues.
If Gordon wanted to make it back, he was going to have to learn the outfield.
What happened next demonstrates why Gordon is so well-respected throughout the Royals’ organization. He worked. Hard. He learned left field and was steadfast in his routines. By the summer of 2010, he was back in the Majors.
Gordon won his first Gold Glove in 2011. He made his first All-Star team in ‘13. He became the model for the talented core the club was assembling, many of whom teamed up with him to bring a World Series back to Kansas City in ‘15. The Royals used to distribute film of Gordon’s pregame work in the outfield to their Minor Leaguers to demonstrate how it’s done. They named an organizational award after him in ‘23, calling it the Heart and Hustle Alex Gordon Award and giving it to the player who plays the game the right way, much like Gordon did.
Gordon was the league standard when it came to outfield defense, manning left field at Kauffman Stadium for a decade and winning two Platinum Glove awards on top of his eight Gold Gloves. He put together some good offensive years, ending his career with a .257/.338/.410 slash line and accumulating 34.5 WAR, according to Baseball Reference.
After 14 seasons, Gordon finished his career where it started, retiring with the Royals in 2020.
He finished his career ranking in the top 10 in Royals history in several offensive categories, including games played (sixth, 1,753), home runs (fifth, 190), RBIs (seventh, 749), hits (sixth, 1,643), walks (third, 684), doubles (fifth, 357), total bases (sixth, 2,622) — and first in hit-by-pitches with 121.
