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Following a broken thumb suffered in Spring Training, Gordon began the 2010 season on a minor league rehab assignment with Class-A Advanced Wilmington. He was demoted to the minor leagues in May, where he played left field. Gordon had been hitting .194 before his demotion, and many considered this demotion to indicate that Gordon was running out of chances with the Royals.
While it’s a decision that no doubt makes sense personally for Gordon, as well as being mutually beneficial for the Kansas City Royals as they ramp up another young squad to win the franchise’s next World Series, it is no less painful. "I was the happiest guy in the stadium to have another opportunity to do something positive for your team," Hosmer said. "Obviously, you don't want the game to end like that. That's why Gordon means so much to this team. He put the team on his back, got us back in the game." The Mets closer's sinker carries an average velocity of 97.2 mph and an average spin rate of 2,195 rpm, and he delivers it, on average, with a six-foot extension. Those metrics showed nearly exactly (97 mph, perceived velocity of 96.9 mph, 2,186 rpm, 6.04-foot extension) in the pitch Familia used to induce Perez's groundout.
2014 World Series Game 7: single with shenanigans in the top of the ninth against San Francisco
Those eagle-eyed Royals Review veterans may remember the previous version of this article that I wrote a little over five years ago. I used the same methodology for that article, and much of it is the same. While the Royals lost this game, Gordon’s three-run homer came with two outs and yanked the Royals from two runs behind to one run ahead in a single swing. TORONTO -- Kansas City's Alex Gordon broke Major League Baseball's season home run record with 12 days to spare, hitting the 5,694th long ball of 2017 on Tuesday night. TORONTO - Kansas City's Alex Gordon broke Major League Baseball's season home run record with 12 days to spare, hitting the 5,694th long ball of 2017 on Tuesday night. Gordon's baseball card gained notoriety shortly after Gordon was drafted in 2006.
Against a pitcher larger than life, in a moment larger than life. For a moment, it brought back the magic, even against the wizard who calmed it. History has been kind to Gordon and third base coach Mike Jirschele, as Kansas City’s 2015 World Series win has alleviated the “what if” factor of this play. History has also made watching this play more tolerable, letting us focus on just how bonkers it was rather than dwell on the pain of the next plate appearance. WPA is a measure of the difference in win probability before and after an event. If the team’s win probability before a hit is 40% and the win probability after a hit is 50%, for instance, the hit’s WPA is .10, because it added 10% to the overall win probability.
Must C: Gordon's clutch home run
Gordon finished the season with a .260 batting average and 16 home runs and led the Royals with 66 walks. However, he made the most errors and had the lowest fielding percentage (.955) of all American League third basemen in 2008. Gordon attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, majoring in criminal justice and playing third base for the university's baseball team. He was also an ESPY Award Finalist for the Best Male College Athlete. Over the course of his collegiate career, he posted a .355 career batting average, with 44 home runs and 189 runs batted in and finished in the top ten in eight different offensive statistical categories at Nebraska. Additionally, Gordon was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005 and was named to the First Team All-Big 12 Team in 2004 and 2005.
After a rare Chris Getz walk, Escobar traded places with him on a fielder’s choice. Backed against a wall with two outs and an 0-1 count, Gordon ripped a double into the right-center gap that scored Escobar from first, handing ex-Royal Kyle Farnsworth a blown save. Butler, immediately lifted for pinch-runner Mike Aviles after a leadoff single, quickly scored from an Eric Hosmer double in the bottom of the tenth. It was the 17th home run of the night in the major leagues and came just after Detroit's Alex Presley tied the record when he connected at home against Oakland's Daniel Gossett. Gordon was also awarded for his on-the-field performance, receiving the Gold Glove, Fielding Bible, and Platinum Glove awards for his defensive performance.
Alex Gordon Bio
In 2012, Gordon won a Fielding Bible Award as the best fielding left fielder in MLB. Gordon's fielding percentage was higher than that of any other player who had played in at least 125 games as a left fielder. He started the 2013 season strongly by hitting .329 during the first two months of the season. Gordon recorded multiple hits in a game 52 times during the season, and also hit two grand slams–one in April against the Detroit Tigers and one in July against the Cleveland Indians.
June 25, 2016 Kansas City Royals activated LF Alex Gordon from the 15-day disabled list. April 10, 2018 Kansas City Royals placed LF Alex Gordon on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to April 9, 2018. Besides Judge and Bellinger, Giancarlo Stanton has dominated the home run highlights, with 55.
Awards
Without it, Royals fans wouldn't have hung around for more than five hours of baseball, and left Kauffman Stadium both exhilarated and exhausted. "I didn't know he had a quick pitch until he did it to Salvy," said Gordon. To ground out leading off the inning, Gordon picked up on Familia's tendency to use a quick pitch. "You're not going to make a whole lot of money hitting the ball on the ground in this league because the defenders are so quick and athletic. You've got to get the ball in the air, I think, if you're going to be successful." Holding the ball he hit over the right-field wall, Gordon said he didn't plan to keep the historic memento or anything else from the game. Gordon said he heard talk of the record on a clubhouse television after Toronto's Darwin Barney homered in the sixth.
However, on March 30, he signed a four-year, $37.5 million extension with the Royals with a player option for 2016. Gordon earned $6 million in 2012, $9 million in 2013, $10 million in 2014 and $12.5 million in 2015, but declined to exercise his player option of $12.5 million for 2016. Before the 2008 season, Gordon switched his uniform number from #7, the number he had as a rookie, to #4, his college number.
The home run average dropped in 2014 to its lowest level since 1992, then started rising during the second half of the 2015 season. "I don't know what to make of it," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Guys are bigger and guys are stronger. but so are the pitchers. There sure are a lot of home runs being hit." On February 9, 2012, Gordon signed a one-year, $4.775 million deal with the Royals to avoid arbitration. In the process, Gordon filed for $5.45, while the Royals countered with $4.15. Under the Royals' agreement, he could have earned an additional $25K if he had reached 700 plate appearances, putting him at the original midpoint.
By midseason, Gordon was receiving accolades for being one of the best hitting prospects in baseball. He participated in the Texas League All-Star game and was selected for the 2006 All-Star Futures Game. Declining to play for Team USA in 2006, Gordon led the Wichita Wranglers to the Texas League playoffs. He performed well in his first full minor league season, and won the Texas League Player of the Year Award and Baseball America's and Topps Minor League Player of the Year Award after the season ended. He also was named the MLB.com Double-A Offensive Player of the Year.
Down 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, Rick Ankiel and Willie Bloomquist at the corners, and a 1-0 count, Gordon came through. Orioles pitcher Alfredo Simon tossed a mistake pitch up in the zone. He sent it into the home bullpen, ending the game 7-5 in favor of the Boys in Blue. The uptick in home runs began in the second half of 2015 and led to much speculation as to what has caused the barrage of home runs.
On July 6, he was named to the 2014 All-Star Team for the second consecutive year. On August 6, he recorded his 1,000th career hit when he singled off Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Wade Miley. On August 26, he tied Wade Boggs for the most home runs hit by a Nebraskan in the Major Leagues.
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