Royals send Alex Gordon into retirement with victory over Detroit Tigers at The K
Rain delays and positioning in the final AL Central standings weren’t even tangentially the focal point of Sunday’s season finale for the Kansas City Royals. The day’s purpose was to provide a final moment, a formal sendoff, for franchise cornerstone and regional folk hero.
A 14-year major-league career that began with an ovation from the home crowd before his first plate appearance ended in front of no fans — other than members of Gordon’s family, who watched from a Kauffman Stadium suite — and a lot of heartfelt hugs from teammates and coaches Sunday afternoon.
The day included the playing of a video tribute with messages from former and current teammates as well as Royals Hall of Famers. George Brett, Mike Sweeney, Ned Yost, Salvador Perez, Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, Danny Duffy, Greg Holland and Whit Merrifield among others, paid tribute to Gordon and his stellar career and thanked him for the example he set.
Adalberto Mondesi and Ryan McBroom hit solo home runs in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively, and Mondesi added an RBI double in the eighth as the Royals closed their season with a 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers.
The Royals finished the pandemic-shortened season with a record of 26-34. For teams that qualified, the next stop is the playoffs.
“The video tribute got me a little bit (emotional),” Gordon said. “Hearing Sal, hearing Hosmer, Moose, Whit, Ned, all those guys saying nice things about me — you try to get ready for a game but at the same time when that comes on it’s pretty hard to stay locked in for the game. You just think about everything that has happened over your career and what all these people have meant to you.”
The Royals announced on Saturday they’d moved the first pitch up from 2:05 p.m. to just after noon (12:05) to avoid the rain. But that forecast rainstorm still delayed the start of Sunday’s game by 95 minutes; the first pitch was eventually thrown at 1:40 p.m.
Gordon batted leadoff and started in left field, where he has won seven Gold Glove Awards and his jersey No. 4 was cut into the outfield grass over the weekend.
The club also emblazoned the silhouette of Gordon rounding first base with his finger in the air after his World Series Game 1 homer from 2015 and his number above his locker in the clubhouse as a permanent reminder of his presence.
While Gordon admitted his decision to walk away didn’t really sink in until Sunday, he said he was at peace.
“This past year has been kind of a little different just as far as my body has felt, just recovering and performing on the field,” Gordon said. “I felt pretty good last year even though my body still hurt. That was definitely a factor, maybe not performing up to the way I wanted to and the way my body felt. At the end of the day, the big thing was just being done with baseball and hanging out with the family.”
Gordon became the third position player to spend a career of 14 years or more entirely with the Royals, joining George Brett (21 seasons) and Frank White (18) with that distinction. Gordon’s 1,752 career games, the fourth-most for one team among all active MLB players, ranks behind only Yadier Molina (Cardinals, 2,024), Joey Votto (Reds, 1,770) and Ryan Braun (Brewers, 1,765).
On Sunday, Gordon had one at-bat (a strikeout) and played one inning in the field before exiting. After the Royals took the field in the second inning and before the first at-bat of the inning, KC manager Mike Matheny popped out of the dugout and made a lineup change.
Franchy Cordero entered the game in right field and Gordon’s friend and closest neighbor in the clubhouse, Merrifield, moved from right field to left and took Gordon’s place as Gordon came out of the game.
Merrifield, who made the All-Star team for the first time last season, was one of the players Gordon mentioned during his Thursday news conference when he was asked who might take up his mantle of leadership alongside star catcher Salvador Perez.
Gordon and Merrifield shared an embrace. Gordon then went around and hugged several teammates and acknowledged each player on his way off the field. As Gordon exited the game, Aloe Blacc’s song “The Man” boomed over the stadium’s public-address system.
Current players, former teammates, manager Mike Matheny and general manager Dayton Moore were a few of those who’ve touted Gordon as the standard for work ethic and leadership for the organization.
“It’s overwhelming to hear things like that because I just tried to play the game,” Gordon said. “I think having the position change and almost in a way thinking this might be taken away from you, I had that attitude before that but it got taken to another level. When I came back from the position change it was just I’m going to lay everything out on the line every day, prepare the best way I can every day and not have any regrets ever.
“I was trying to be a leader, but at the same time I wasn’t. I was just trying to be myself and at the same time help this team win. I think that kind of rubbed off in a leadership way.”
Gordon stopped and hugged the Tigers’ batter, former Royal Jorge Bonifacio, and tipped his cap to the opposing dugout and patted his chest with his glove as a gesture of appreciation before stepping toward the home dugout. Players and staff lined up to individually congratulate and embrace him before he left the field.
One of the moments that got an emotional reaction from Gordon was when he entered the dugout and saw strength coach Ryan Stoneberg crying.
“This is a special Alex day,” Matheny said. “It has been really well done around here from the organization’s perspective for sure. In the clubhouse how these guys have honored Alex, it has been a special day that none of us will forget and a special season.”
Royals rookie right-hander Brady Singer (4-5) held the Tigers to one run on three hits in seven innings. He struck out five and didn’t walk a batter to earn the win in his 12th and final start of his rookie season.
Singer gave up a run in the first on a Brandon Dixon RBI double, but he retired the next 13 in a row. Scott Barlow and Jesse Hahn each tossed a scoreless inning without allowing a hit. Hahn recorded his third save.
This story was originally published September 27, 2020 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Royals send Alex Gordon into retirement with victory over Detroit Tigers at The K."
