A look at “Kansas City Royals name new minor league award after Alex Gordon” Former Kansas City Royal great Alex Gordon has been honored by the franchise he spent his entire 14-year career with earlier this month. The Royals in honor of the former three-time all-star selection named the organization’s newest award after him. Bet on the Kansas City Royals and more by using BetMGM bonus codes when yous sign up!
That award will be known as the Heart and Hustle Alex Gordon Award, created to represent “everything you should want to be when it comes to playing baseball,” as Royals general manager J.J Picollo said during the Royals minor league award ceremony according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com.
During his career in Kansas City, Gordon was well known for the tenacity and passion he played baseball with which made him a fan favorite in Kansas City but also a well-liked player across the league by his peers and fans alike. A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, Gordon also grew up a Royals fan, another factor that made him a very popular Royal during his 14-year career. He was an old-fashioned ball player in a modern game, which also allowed him to be a fan favorite not for the younger generation but also for older generations of fans.
During his career, Gordon was a .257/.388/.410 hitters with 1,643 hits, 190 home runs, and 749 RBI. He was a pivotal part of the Royals’ success during a three-year stretch from 2013 through 2015 which included two World Series appearances and one World Series title in 2015.
On top of being a three-time all-star, Gordon was also an MVP vote-getter twice in his career, finishing as high as 12th while also winning eight gold gloves in a 10-year from 2010 through 2020.
Prior to his time with the Royals, Gordon was considered one of the best amateur baseball prospects in all of the country both through his high school career as well as his career at the University of Nebraska. As an amateur, Gordon won both the Golden Spikes Award annually given to the country’s best amateur baseball player as well as the Dick Howser award which is given out to the country’s best collegiate baseball player.
After his time with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Gordon would go on to be drafted second overall in the 2005 MLB Draft only behind Justin Upton who was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Gordon would quickly ascend up the Royals farm system before making their debut on April 2 of 2007. Thanks to his high draft pick status, Gordon was immediately seen as a potential hero of the organization and the rest is history.
Now with an award named after him, the next step for Gordon and the Royals is likely his being inducted into the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame. While the organization hasn’t announced any plans yet to induct him into the team’s own hall of fame, it would only seem proper for it to be in the near future. After all, Gordon has the fifth-highest WAR (wins above replacement) in franchise history at 34.5, only behind George Brett, Amos Otis, Willie Wilson, and Frank White. All four players are currently enshrined in the Royals Hall of Fame.
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By Dylan Callaghan-Croley
