JAWS and the 2026 Corridor of Fame Poll: Alex Gordon

The next article is a part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing take a look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2026 Corridor of Fame poll. For an in depth introduction to this yr’s poll, and different candidates within the sequence, use the device above; an introduction to JAWS could be discovered right here. For a tentative schedule and an opportunity to fill out a Corridor of Fame poll for our crowdsourcing venture, see right here. All WAR figures seek advice from the Baseball Reference model until in any other case indicated.

Alex Gordon spent almost a decade and a half embodying the ups and downs of the Twenty first-century Kansas Metropolis Royals. His 14-year profession started with unreasonably excessive hopes after which typical rising pains earlier than culminating in one of many extra unlikely championships in current reminiscence, adopted by a steep decline.

After dominating at each the highschool and school ranges in Lincoln, Nebraska, Gordon was drafted as a 3rd baseman by the Royals with the second choose in 2005, and touted because the Subsequent George Brett, an almost unattainable bar to dwell as much as in any period, not to mention one by which his workforce was a perpetual doormat in want of a savior. He hadn’t even performed a serious league recreation earlier than Brett himself claimed to be flattered by the comparisons. Within the spring of 2007, as Gordon labored to make the bounce from Double-A to the majors, the Corridor of Fame third baseman with three batting titles, 3,154 profession hits, and a rock-solid declare as the perfect participant in franchise historical past informed a reporter, “I take it as a praise. Once I watch him play, he makes the sport look fairly simple. Once I performed the sport, I knew how arduous it was. He’s higher than I used to be at (23). A lot better.”

Even setting apart the truth that Brett made his first All-Star workforce and received his first batting title at age 23, Gordon couldn’t dwell as much as that billing, not that it was his fault. “He was wildly cheered earlier than he ever did something, confronted next-to unattainable circumstances for a rookie, and confirmed some flashes of promise,” wrote the Kansas Metropolis Star’s Sam Mellinger within the spring of 2008, wanting again on Gordon’s first season.

Accidents contributed to Gordon’s early-career struggles. He bought so misplaced on the plate that in each 2009 and ’10, he was optioned again to Triple-A. A shift from third base to left subject underneath the auspices of roving teacher Rusty Kuntz, and an overhaul of his swing with hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, helped him lastly put all of it collectively. From 2011–15, he was one of many majors’ 10 most precious place gamers by WAR; inside that span, he reeled off streaks of 4 straight Gold Gloves (2011–14), three straight All-Star choices (2013–15), and helped the Royals win back-to-back pennants (2014–15), to not point out their first championship in 30 years (2015), an effort he aided with an iconic ninth-inning homer in Sport 1 of the 2015 World Collection towards the Mets. After that, additional accidents turned his 30s right into a slog, besides, his protection — or a minimum of his defensive repute — was robust sufficient that he introduced dwelling one other 4 straight Gold Gloves, with a Platinum Glove in 2018 to affix the one he received in ’14.

Gordon was inducted into the Nebraska Excessive Faculty Sports activities Corridor of Fame in 2018, the Faculty Baseball Corridor of Fame in ’23 and the Royals Corridor of Fame this previous season, however Cooperstown is one other story. By each conventional and superior reckonings, his numbers don’t measure as much as Corridor requirements. He’s one in every of many candidates on this poll — among the many weakest in current reminiscence — who’re prone to go one and achieved, falling wanting the 5% of the vote wanted to retain eligibility. Nonetheless, his is a profession value celebrating.

Alex Jonathan Gordon was born on February 10, 1984 in Lincoln, Nebraska, the second of 4 sons of Mike and Leslie Roux Gordon. Baseball ran within the household. Mike’s father, Charlie Gordon, coached baseball at Lincoln Southeast Excessive Faculty, successful 5 state championships throughout his 25-year teaching profession (1955-80). Mike performed highschool baseball at Lincoln Southeast, and collegiate baseball on the College of Nebraska; later he labored as a gross sales supervisor for Coca-Cola and for Ok&Z Distributing, a beer distributor, and coached his sons from Little League by means of Babe Ruth League. All 4 sons performed at Lincoln Southeast after which on the collegiate degree, with Eric (the oldest) and Brett (the second-youngest, named after you-know-who) each doing so at College of Nebraska-Omaha; Eric went on to a quick stint within the impartial Frontier League in 2003. Derek Gordon, the youngest, performed at Park College in Parkville, Missouri, then had a five-year run in skilled baseball from 2014–18, together with two seasons (2015–16) pitching in the Royals’ system. Leslie, who labored as a registered nurse and owned an vintage retailer, had an older brother (John Roux) who performed on the College of Nebraska as nicely.

A pure right-hander, Alex was simply 4 years previous when his father — who would spend hours throwing batting apply to his children — observed that he positioned his palms on the bat like a lefty. He inspired Alex to maneuver to the opposite facet of the plate and take a look at swinging like that; the experiment took. Whereas Alex was superior for his age each in hitting and throwing, his father/coach made positive to instill classes about being a very good teammate, rotating him out and in of video games together with all the different children, and ensuring he didn’t hog the ball on protection. When Alex was 9, he made a workforce of 12-year-olds.

At Lincoln Southeast, Gordon performed soccer and basketball in addition to baseball. He earned all-state honors as a defensive again, and quite a few honors on the diamond, together with the Omaha World-Herald’s Male Excessive Faculty Athlete of the 12 months in 2001 (he was the primary participant to win the award as a junior) after hitting .597 with 10 homers, and the Gatorade Nebraska Participant of them 12 months in ’02 after hitting .500 with 31 RBIs. Because of his baseball and soccer exploits, the Nebraska Excessive Faculty Sports activities Corridor of Fame named him its Prep Athlete of the 12 months in 2002.

“I keep in mind his mother and pa asking me when he was a junior, ‘How excessive of a degree do you assume Alex can play at in school? Is he a junior school participant? Can he play Division I?’ They knew I had performed in school,” Mike Dobbs, who coached Gordon’s American Legion workforce, informed the Lincoln Journal Star in 2007. “I regarded them within the eye and mentioned there in all probability isn’t a Division I faculty within the nation that couldn’t use Alex.”

Whereas faculties akin to Baylor and the College of Tennessee recruited Gordon, he selected to comply with in his father’s footsteps by staying near dwelling. He completely thrived at Nebraska, turning into probably the most embellished participant at school historical past. He was a Freshman All-American in 2003, and a first-team All-American in ’04 and ’05 in addition to the Huge 12 Participant of the 12 months in each of these seasons. In 2004, he received MVP honors whereas main Staff USA to a gold medal on the World College Championship in Taiwan. In 2005, he received the Golden Spikes Award, the Dick Howser Trophy, and Baseball America Faculty Participant of the 12 months Award. The Royals selected him with the second choose of the 2005 draft, after the Diamondbacks chosen Justin Upton; Ryan Zimmerman, Gordon’s Staff USA teammate, went fourth to the Nationals, Ryan Braun fifth to the Brewers, and Troy Tulowitzki seventh to the Rockies.

Gordon signed with the Royals for a $4 million bonus in late September, too late to play within the minor league common season, however he went straight to the Arizona Fall League, the place he hit a decent .260/.403/.460 for Shock. Baseball America positioned him thirteenth on its Prime 100 Prospects record within the spring of 2006, and the Royals despatched him straight to Double-A Wichita, the place he hit .325/.427/.588 with 29 homers and 22 steals and have become the primary participant to win BA’s Faculty Participant of the 12 months and Minor League Participant of the 12 months awards in consecutive seasons. He rocketed to no. 2 on their Prime 100, with the publication praising his swing:

“He has a easy stroke with spectacular bat pace and is ready to generate energy to all fields… He finds methods to get hits even when his swing isn’t at its greatest, additional proof of his knack for centering the ball on the barrel of the bat. He has a powerful idea of the strike zone and is keen to attract walks.”

BA did notice the Royals working to get him to generate backspin and extra loft together with his swing, and expressed some concern about his stiffness at third base, offset by the idea that his offense may assist a transfer to first base or an outfield nook.

Gordon made the Royals out of spring coaching in 2007, and in honor of his pending debut, the Lincoln Journal Star devoted three pages of its six-page season preview to him, together with a full-page cowl picture, with Gordon-related factoids sprinkled throughout the opposite three pages. No stress, child! The following day — April 2, Opening Day — Gordon started his tough introduction to the majors. A season-high 41,527 followers packed into Kauffman Stadium and gave him a standing ovation earlier than his first plate look, however the Purple Sox’s Curt Schilling spoiled the second, putting him out swinging at an inside fastball with the bases loaded to cap a seven-pitch battle.

“Lot of hype, lot of hype,” Brett, by then a Royals government, recalled in 2008. “Sitting up within the suite with [general manager] Dayton [Moore], it was like, ‘Wow, are you able to consider this?’ This man’s by no means been within the large leagues earlier than.’”

Schilling struck out Gordon wanting in his subsequent journey to the plate, and whereas he later reached base when Javier López hit him with a pitch, he was 0-for-8 by the point he collected his first hit, a single off Daisuke Matsuzaka in his third recreation, on April 5.

Gordon went 1-for-24 earlier than clubbing a homer off the Blue Jays’ Josh Towers in his sixth recreation, on April 9. He was nonetheless hitting simply .173/.285/.281 as of June 6, with the opportunity of a demotion to Triple-A Omaha looming, however hitting coach Mike Barnett helped him right a flaw in his swing. He started to show issues round, going 4-for-4 with two singles, a double, and a triple towards three Cleveland pitchers on June 7; from that time to the tip of the season, he batted a decent .285/.330/.478. Although he completed with only a 90 OPS+, he tallied 15 homers, 14 steals, and a mixed 8 DRS between third base and first, good for two.0 WAR. His season ended on an embarrassing notice: A nasty hop on a groundball broke his nostril through the closing recreation, forcing his fiancée to cancel a pre-wedding picture session. Nonetheless, after dropping 100 video games in every of the earlier three seasons and 4 out of 5 since an anomalous 83-79 end in 2003, the Royals improved to 69-93.

Gordon took a step ahead in 2008, hitting .260/.351/.432 (109 OPS+) with 16 homers and a couple of.8 WAR; notably, his stroll fee improved from 6.8% as a rookie to 11.6%. Alas, regardless of homering off the White Sox’s Mark Buehrle in his first plate look of the season in 2009, he went simply 1-for-20 earlier than being identified with a tear in his proper hip labrum. He underwent surgical procedure and missed three months, however a month after his return, scuffled to the purpose that he was optioned to Omaha till rosters expanded in September. He completed the season with a .232/.324/.378 (87 OPS+) line, six homers, and 0.3 WAR in 49 video games.

Issues would worsen earlier than they bought higher. In a Cactus League recreation in early March, Gordon fractured his proper thumb on a headfirst slide into second base. He started the season on a rehab task at Omaha, lacking the Royals’ first 10 video games. After two weeks of disappointing play upon being activated, he was optioned again to Triple-A, with Royals supervisor Trey Hillman saying that he would shift from third base (the place he’d totaled -15 DRS because the begin of 2008) to left subject; Alberto Callaspo would man the new nook for the close to time period, however by that time, the workforce envisioned 2007 no. 2 draft choose Mike Moustakas as its future third baseman.

Gordon remained upbeat regardless of the demotion, calling it one other “pace bump.” “I wish to play with Kansas Metropolis,” he mentioned after his second recreation again in Omaha and in left subject. “I feel in the long term it’s going to assist (being an outfielder within the group), and I’m going to get higher.”

“If he can catch a fly ball on this mess, he’s going to be OK,” mentioned Kuntz after Gordon’s left subject debut. “If you happen to take a man who’s fairly athletic, often it really works out.”

After two and a half months in Omaha, Gordon returned to Kansas Metropolis and performed common protection in left subject, however he continued to sputter on the plate, ending with dismal numbers (.215/.315/.355, 84 OPS+, -0.5 WAR). The Royals misplaced 95 video games, their sixth straight dropping season and the fifteenth out of their final 16; Hillman was fired lower than two weeks after Gordon’s demotion, changed by Ned Yost.

Gordon retained his optimism. In a press release that raised eyebrows on the time, in late September he informed the Kansas Metropolis Star‘s Bob Dutton, “I’m going to dominate subsequent yr.” The Athletic’s Rustin Dodd later known as it “one of the crucial uncharacteristic declarations” of the in any other case stoic and introverted Gordon’s profession, but it surely proved prophetic. Over the winter, Seitzer, the Royals hitting coach since 2009, labored with Gordon to revamp his swing, and through spring coaching, Yost saved him in spring video games for longer than regular to assist him get extra snug together with his mechanical changes. From Fox Sports activities’ Ken Rosenthal in April 2011, after Gordon jumped out to a sizzling begin:

“We did a serious overhaul together with his higher physique and swing path,” Seitzer says. “It was mainly a month of drills. We wished him to just about overlook what the previous swing felt like, ingrain an entire new path, lose rigidity within the higher physique, keep quick by means of the ball.

…“I used to be form of an all-effort man,” Gordon says. “I’m form of gearing again slightly bit, attempting to swing good and simple, good and free, take what pitchers give me.”

The adjustments caught, and Gordon set across-the-board profession bests by batting .303/.376/.502 (140 OPS+) with 23 homers and 17 steals. His 20 DRS ranked second amongst all left fielders and helped him earn his first Gold Glove, whereas his 7.3 WAR ranked sixth within the AL. Simply earlier than the beginning of the 2012 season, he signed a four-year, $37.5 million extension with escalators for awards and a participant possibility for ’16. Whereas he backslid a bit offensively (.294/.368/.455, 14 HR, 123 OPS+), he led all main leaguers with 51 doubles, and all left fielders with 24 DRS whereas rating fifth within the AL with 6.3 WAR.

The Royals received 71 video games in 2011, and 72 in ’12. With catcher Salvador Perez, first baseman Eric Hosmer, and designated hitter Billy Butler becoming a member of the 29-year-old Gordon because the lineup’s solely above-average hitters, James Shields and Ervin Santana anchoring the rotation, and nearer Greg Holland and reliever Luke Hochevar bolstering the bullpen, the workforce rocketed to 86 wins, its highest whole since 1989. Gordon’s offensive numbers dipped once more (.265/.327/.422, 20 HR, 102 OPS+), however he made his first All-Star workforce, and his protection remained elite; his 4.1 WAR was 0.1 shy of the workforce lead.

With Wade Davis transferring from the rotation (the place he had been unsuccessful) to the bullpen (the place he turned lights-out dominant) and several other different pitchers previous and new stepping up, the Royals went 89-73 and claimed a Wild Card berth in 2014. The offense was a feeble one, with Gordon’s 118 OPS+ (.266/.351/.432) and 6.1 WAR each the perfect on the workforce. Nonetheless, it was sufficient, notably with Yost relying upon a lockdown late-game bullpen starring Kelvin Herrera, Davis, and Holland. Within the American League Wild Card recreation, the franchise’s first postseason recreation in 30 years, Gordon went 0-for-5, however the Royals overcame a 7-3 deficit to beat the A’s 9-8 in 12 innings. Gordon went 3-for-10 with 4 RBIs in a Division Collection sweep of the Angels, highlighted by a three-run first-inning double off C.J. Wilson in Sport 3. He adopted that by going 3-for-4 within the ALCS opener towards the Orioles, with a three-run double off Chris Tillman within the third inning, and a tie-breaking solo homer off Darren O’Day within the tenth; whereas he didn’t accumulate one other hit within the sequence, he performed some stellar protection, and the Royals swept the Orioles.

Gordon went simply 5-for-27 within the seven-game World Collection towards the Giants, driving in his solely runs through doubles off Tim Hudson in Video games 3 (a 3-2 win) and seven. Within the ninth inning of the latter, with the Royals trailing by a run and all the way down to their closing out, Gordon blooped a single into middle subject off Madison Bumgarner, and reached third when the ball bought previous middle fielder Grégor Blanco and eluded left fielder Juan Perez as nicely. The query of whether or not third base coach Mike Jirschele ought to have waved him dwelling loomed giant when Perez fouled out; right here at FanGraphs, Jeff Sullivan dug in and concluded that Jirschele in all probability made the appropriate name to carry him up, although that was chilly consolation.

Gordon helped the Royals get one other chunk on the apple in 2015, however his season was marred by a extreme groin pressure, suffered whereas operating down a fly ball off the bat of the Rays’ Logan Forsythe on July 8. Forsythe rounded the bases for an inside-the-park dwelling run as Gordon crumpled to the bottom, and he needed to be carted from the sphere. Hitting .280/.394/.459 (136 OPS+) with 11 homers on the time, he was one in every of 4 Royals voted into the AL’s beginning lineup for the next week’s All-Star Sport in Cincinnati. He missed eight weeks and struggled in September, together with his closing OPS+ sinking to 119.

Whereas Gordon posted a modest .241/.349/.426 line in 63 plate appearances within the postseason, he had some key hits. His ground-rule double off Collin McHugh within the fifth inning of Division Collection Sport 5 chased the Astros’ starter; Gordon scored the go-ahead run moments later when Alex Rios doubled off Mike Fiers, and the Royals by no means regarded again. He once more drove within the go-ahead run and knocked out the starter in Sport 2 of the ALCS, this time with a seventh-inning double off the Blue Jays’ David Worth.

The Royals received that sequence in six and superior to the World Collection towards the Mets. In Sport 1, Gordon clubbed a game-tying homer off Jeurys Familia with one out within the backside of the ninth; by Championship Win Likelihood Added, it was probably the most impactful play of the season. The Royals received that recreation in 14 innings, and received the sequence in 5, simply their second championship in franchise historical past. On that rating a minimum of, Gordon had lastly matched Brett.

After the World Collection, Gordon declined his $14 million participant possibility, however he quickly returned to the fold on a four-year, $72 million deal that included a mutual possibility for 2020. Sadly, his profession principally went downhill from there. From 2011–15, he had been the majors’ eighth-most beneficial place participant in keeping with WAR:

Gordon truly ranked sixth on the time of his groin harm, however from that time by means of the rest of his profession, he netted simply 3.8 WAR, lower than in any season from 2011-14, as his offense fully collapsed; amid the launch angle revolution, he hit extra groundballs than ever. He hit a mixed .234/.318/.362 (82 OPS+) over his closing 5 seasons because the Royals receded from competition, first to 81 wins in 2016, then 80, then dreadful seasons of 58 and 59 wins, and a 26-34 document through the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Additional accidents have been a part of the issue. He collided with Moustakas in pursuit of a foul ball in Might 2016, fracturing his proper wrist and spending simply over a month on what was then the disabled record, and two years later suffered a tear of his left hip labrum whereas sliding into second base; as an alternative of present process one other surgical procedure, he missed simply the 15-day minimal, however that needed to take a toll.

The worst of Gordon’s offensive seasons was in 2017, when he hit .208/.293/.315 with 9 homers in 148 video games, to not point out the doubtful distinction of rating final amongst all batting title qualifiers in each slugging share and OPS+ (63, tied with Rougned Odor and José Peraza). Even with a decent 10 DRS, he completed with -0.1 WAR, although he did win a Gold Glove and kick off his second streak of 4 straight. He did make some late-season changes to his method, notably utilizing the alternative subject extra usually, which helped him rebound considerably in 2018 (.245/.324/.370, 90 OPS+) and put up a decent 2.0 WAR. Although he improved to a 95 OPS+ in 2019, his DRS dropped from 11 to -1 (and his FRV from 4 to -7); that yr’s Gold Glove was received on repute, not metrics. On the finish of the season, the Royals declined their finish of a $23 million mutual possibility, as an alternative paying him a $4 million buyout. In January, he re-signed with the workforce on a one-year, $4 million deal, however he hit for only a 65 OPS+ with 4 homers and 0.3 WAR through the quick season. His eighth Gold Glove tied him for the franchise lead with Frank White, one other Royals icon who had starred alongside Brett after which managed Gordon at Wichita in 2006.

Gordon didn’t put up Corridor of Fame numbers in Kansas Metropolis, not to mention dwell as much as the legend of George Brett. Even so, by means of his perseverance and his important function on the 2014–15 groups, he carved his personal area of interest within the franchise’s historical past. That’s spectacular sufficient.