KC Royals: Alex Gordon Not Among Gold Glove Winners

The Kansas City Royals left fielder had won four-straight Gold Gloves before this season.

In news that will go under-reported and under-appreciated, KC Royals left fielder Alex Gordon did not win his fifth-straight Gold Glove award this year. The 2015 Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners were announced on ESPN2 last night.

Detroit Tigers and New York Mets left fielder Yoenis Cespedes took home the award for left field in the American League.

Now we won’t get anywhere trying to split hairs. Kansas City Royals fans think Alex Gordon is the best left fielder in the MLB. Detroit and New York would argue Cespedes deserves the crown. Pittsburgh likes Starling Marte, and Yankees fans think Brett Gardner is tough to beat out there.

But…

More from KC Kingdom

• Win $650 GUARANTEED Plus $100 Off NFL Sunday Ticket With Caesars, FanDuel and DraftKings Kansas Promos!
• This Plus-Money Bobby Witt Jr. Prop Bet is on Fire (Hit in 15/21 Games)!
• How to Bet on the Chiefs vs. Cardinals in NFL Preseason Week 2
• The Royals Need to Extend Bobby Witt Jr. Immediately
• The 3 Most Intriguing Games on the Chiefs’ Schedule

Alex Gordon didn’t commit an error this season in his 101 regular season games. If you were keeping score at home, his Fielding Percentage, according to Baseball Reference, was 1.000.

He’s the four-time defending Gold Glove winner. He might be the best pure defender on the Royals (relax, Salvy, I don’t mean that), and he just finished up another All Star defensive campaign.

You can have Cespedes and Gardner. Kansas City will take Gordon.

Even teammate Jeremy Guthrie thinks something is wrong here:

"Alex Gordon has been robbing guys for yrs in LF, guess it came back around"

Here’s the problem: if you factor in advanced statistics and Ultimate Zone Ratings and number of assists, then sure, I could see landing on Cespedes. Cespedes is a fantastic defender in his own right. He can run, catch, throw; that’s fine, and he’s good at what he does. Cespedes owned the best UZR of any left fielder in baseball, according to FanGraphs.com, and the best arm rating as well.

But if you just sit back and ask yourself who the best left fielder in the American League is, I challenge anyone to not put Alex Gordon at the top of that list.

He’s the most prepared, most instinctive, most consistent left fielder in the American League. He’s the defending champion. And he deserved a fifth-straight Gold Glove.

Gordon did miss time this season due to injury. His assists have dropped (the number of base runners taking a chance on him has probably dropped, too), and he is 31 years old. But I don’t see any way he’s not the Gold Glove winner in the AL.

Congratulations to Cespedes on a great defensive season, but it’s unfortunate that Gordon won’t have the honor of a fifth consecutive Gold Glove.

Next: Royals: Luke Hochevar Bounced Back In 2015

Royals fans have no reason to complain – Gordon is a World Series champion and a $100 million man in the making – but just for the record, before this season is gone forever, Gordon deserved to be the AL Gold Glove winner.