On September 24, Royals legend Alex Gordon announced his retirement. If you are a Royals fan that was born in the early to mid 2000s, you probably watched Gordon at Kauffman Stadium. The beginning of his career wasn’t all that great. When the Royals drafted Gordon in 2005 out of the University of Nebraska, he was supposed to be the next George Brett. In my opinion, Gordon was just average at the hot corner. After the 2009 season, the Royals sent Gordon to Wilmington following a broken thumb that he suffered in spring training. Obviously, no injuries are good injuries; but, without the injury, I am not sure if Gordon would have been the same player he was in his career. Gordon switched jersey number from the number seven to the number four. Thank goodness he did. I know it’s just a jersey number, but what would have happened if he would have kept the number seven? During his transition to the outfield, Gordon was named to the Pacific Coast League’s All-Star team in 2010 playing left field. Shortly after being named an All-Star in the minors, the Royals recalled Gordon. His call back to the majors changed Royals history forever, thanks to an injury to another Royals player, David DeJesus, Gordon was recalled to play left field. Unfortunately, his return to the big leagues didn’t start out great. His batting was still a struggle. In 2010, he finished the season with a .215 batting average; but, the 2011 season I believe, was when Gordon really turned his career around. His 2011 spring training was incredible. He had a 19-game hitting streak heading into the upcoming season. In 2011, Gordon was one vote away from being named to the All-Star game. Unfortunately, White Sox Hall of Famer Paul Konerko got the final vote. In 2012, Gordon signed a one-year deal worth $4.7 million. Shortly after signing the deal, the Royals signed Gordon to his first of two, four-year deals in his career. His first four-year deal looked good for the Royals when they gave him the $37.5 million. The second long term deal he signed with the Royals was one of the worst deals in the history of the franchise. However, the Royals had to make this signing to keep Gordon in a Royals uniform for his entire career. In 2016, Gordon signed the biggest contract in Royals history, a four-year deal worth $72 million. Before the Royals signed Gordon to his big contract, other teams had interest in him. The teams that were interested in Gordon included the Orioles, White Sox, Braves, Cardinals, and a few other teams. In today’s game, it is becoming more and more rare to see players stay with one organization their entire careers, but Gordon obviously did. During his 14 year career, Gordon appeared in three all-star games, won seven gold gloves, including a platinum glove in 2014. Gordon also won multiple awards in his college career. It is obvious that Alex Gordon will get his jersey number retired with the Royals; but, the real question is, will he get a statue at Kauffman Stadium? If I were the Royals, I would give him one in a heartbeat.
