Alexander Jonathan Gordon (born February 10, 1984) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Prior to playing professionally, Gordon attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he played college baseball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
At Nebraska, Gordon won the Brooks Wallace Award, Dick Howser Trophy, and Golden Spikes Award in 2005. That year, the Royals selected Gordon with the second overall pick in the 2005 MLB draft. Gordon made his major league debut in 2007 as a third baseman, but had an inconsistent beginning to his career. In 2010, the Royals demoted Gordon to the minor leagues for a substantial period of time, and moved Gordon from third base to the outfield. He returned to the Royals later that season as a full-time outfielder, and his play improved substantially. A member of the Royals' 2015 World Series championship team, Gordon signed a four-year free agent contract that offseason to remain with the team. Gordon won eight Gold Glove Awards, two Platinum Glove Awards, four Fielding Bible Awards, and a Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award, all after the move to the outfield.
In 2024, Gordon was elected as the 31st member of the Royals Hall of Fame.
Gordon was born on February 10, 1984, to a family heavily involved in baseball. His father played baseball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and his brother played college baseball for the Omaha Mavericks. As a child, Gordon's family would sometimes drive from Omaha to attend Kansas City Royals games. Gordon had a successful high school baseball career at Lincoln Southeast High School, where he was named the Gatorade Nebraska Player of the Year in 2002. He was also listed as one of the top high school prospects by Baseball America his senior year and also received All-State honors in football that same year.
During his teen years, Gordon played American Legion Baseball. He won the organization's Graduate of the Year award in 2015.
Gordon attended the University of Nebraska, majoring in criminal justice and playing third base for the university's baseball team. In his junior year in 2005, he swept the collegiate baseball awards for college player of the year, winning the Dick Howser Trophy, Golden Spikes Award, the Brooks Wallace Award, and the American Baseball Coaches Association Rawlings Player of the Year Award. 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 (RBIs) 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.
While in college, Gordon was a member of the 2004 United States national collegiate team, which included players from 15 different colleges. He helped lead the U.S. to an 18–7 record, seeing the majority of his playing time at first base. He hit .388 with four home runs, 12 RBI and 18 runs scored in 24 contests and was named the top offensive player at the World University Baseball Championship in Tainan, Taiwan, after leading all players with a .524 average (11-for-21) with two home runs, five RBI, and eight runs scored in eight games.
Gordon was drafted in 2005 by the Kansas City Royals with the second pick overall, becoming the highest draft pick out of Nebraska since Darin Erstad was selected with the first pick of the 1995 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. Gordon hit 29 home runs and stole 22 bases with an on-base plus slugging over 1.000 in his first full season in minor league baseball with the Double-A Wichita Wranglers. 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.
Gordon's baseball card gained notoriety shortly after Gordon was drafted in 2006. Topps issued Gordon's rookie card prematurely, as only players on 25-man rosters or who have played in at least one major league game are eligible. As a result, Topps stopped producing the card and cut holes in some of the existing cards. Examples that found their way into retail stores have garnered bids in the thousands of dollars on eBay.
The Royals moved Gordon through the minor league system quickly, and he made his major league debut in 2007. In his first major league at-bat, Gordon struck out with the bases loaded against Curt Schilling but eventually got his first major league hit on April 5, 2007, against the Boston Red Sox. The hit came against Daisuke Matsuzaka. On April 10, he hit his first major league home run off pitcher Josh Towers of the Toronto Blue Jays. Despite Gordon hitting .185 with three home runs and eight RBI through his first two months as an everyday starter, the Royals remained patient with him.
On September 2, Gordon had the first multi-home run game of his career, connecting off Boof Bonser of the Minnesota Twins in the second inning and in the third inning off Julio DePaula. On September 12, Gordon hit his 34th double of the year against the Minnesota Twins, setting a Royals rookie record. Gordon performed better for the rest of the season, but broke his nose in the last game of the season. Gordon's late-season resurgence brought his batting average up to .247. He also hit 15 home runs and stole 14 bases.
Before the 2008 season, Gordon switched his uniform number from #7, the number he had as a rookie, to #4, his college number. On Opening Day, March 31, 2008, Gordon hit a two-run home run off Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander. The Royals placed Gordon on the 15-day disabled list on August 23 because of a torn muscle in his right quadriceps. He would not return to Kansas City until September 12, although he did hit .311 in September. 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 (16) and had the lowest fielding percentage (.955) of all American League (AL) third basemen in 2008.
Gordon struggled at the beginning of the 2009 season, hitting just 2-for-21 (.095) with one home run and three RBIs in seven games before being injured while sliding. He underwent surgery on April 17 to repair a tear in the labral cartilage of the right hip and was on the disabled list for 12 weeks. After playing a few games in the minors, Gordon came off the disabled list and rejoined the Royals on July 17, going 1 for 4 against the Tampa Bay Rays. Gordon stole home for the first time in his career on August 2 against the Rays, becoming the first Royal to do that since Mendy López in 2003. The Royals optioned Gordon to the Triple-A Omaha Royals on August 18 to free up a roster space for Kyle Farnsworth. Gordon had a batting average of .198 at his demotion, and had made five errors while appearing in only 29 games. After Omaha finished up its season, Gordon returned to the Royals in September. Gordon got a hit in 15 of the final 20 games he played in and hit home runs in back-to-back games against the Minnesota Twins.
Following a broken thumb suffered in spring training, Gordon began the 2010 season on a minor league rehab assignment with Class-A Advanced Wilmington. Gordon was activated from the disabled list on April 17. 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. Rusty Kuntz, a coach in the Royals' organization stated that "If he can catch a fly ball in this mess, he’s going to be OK." While playing for Omaha, Gordon was named to the Pacific Coast League's All-Star team.