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KC Royals: Re-Signing Alex Gordon Was the Right Move at the Time

By Leigh Oleszczak

Oct 27, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals left fielder Alex Gordon (4) reacts after hitting a solo home run against the New York Mets in the 9th inning in game one of the 2015 World Series at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 27, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals left fielder Alex Gordon (4) reacts after hitting a solo home run against the New York Mets in the 9th inning in game one of the 2015 World Series at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports /
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While a lot of KC Royals fans are probably furious with the team right now for re-signing Alex Gordon after the 2015 season, it was the right move for the team at the time.

Rewind back to the 2005 MLB Draft. That was the year in which the Kansas City Royals selected Alex Gordon with the second overall pick. Gordon was drafted only behind Justin Upton, who has spent the last ten years with four different teams.

It took Alex Gordon some time to develop in the Royals system. He was first called up to the big leagues in 2007 and struck out in his first ever at bat (the bases were loaded too). Gordon did okay in his first two seasons, but began to struggle in 2009 and continued to struggle in 2010.

Dayton Moore made the decision to send Gordon down to the minor leagues to learn a new position. For those fans who are new to the Royals fandom, first of all welcome, and second, yes, Alex Gordon didn’t always play left field. He was actually drafted as a third baseman out of the University of Nebraska.

Royals fans might be pissy about re-signing Alex Gordon now, but think about how you felt when it actually happened. You were probably thrilled.

After Gordon made the transition to outfielder, the spark in his offensive play began to really show. He batted .303 in 2011, the highest batting average of his career, and hit 23 home runs, also a career high.

Gordon continued to be a heavy contributor to the Royals offense and was also amazing defensively as well, totaling four Gold Gloves and one Platinum Glove in his career.

When the Kansas City Royals started to turn things around, Alex Gordon was right in the thick of it. In 2013, he made his first All-Star Game, and experienced his first ever winning season in the major leagues. The next year, his team made it all the way to Game 7 of the World Series, where Gordon was ultimately the guy stranded on third base to end the season.

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In 2015, the Kansas City Royals won 95 games and had home field advantage throughout the American League playoffs. They made it back to the World Series and Gordon had arguably the biggest home run in Royals history, crushing a Jeurys Familia pitch into the fountains to tie things up in the ninth inning of Game 1.

That moment right there is why the Kansas City Royals re-signed Alex Gordon. We all knew that he probably wouldn’t be that incredible player that he was from 2011-2015, as the former Cornhusker had been dealing with several injuries over the past few seasons and was getting older.

Royals fans might be pissy about re-signing Alex Gordon now, but think about how you felt when it actually happened. You were probably thrilled. I know I was thrilled and I know a lot of Royals Nation was thrilled.

No, Gordon is not having a great season so far. He’s currently slashing .178/.259/.219 in 19 games this season and has yet to hit a home run. Gordon has struggled over the last calendar year and the team might regret giving him the biggest contract in franchise history.

If you look at the big picture, however, re-signing Alex Gordon made sense, even if it seems like a mistake now. He earned that contract for all of the hard work he endured during his time in Kansas City and fans know that. Time to move on from bashing both sides for the deal. It was the right move.

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