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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.
He had thrown 9 2/3 shutout innings this postseason entering Game 1, tallying five saves. Gordon's home run off Toronto reliever Ryan Tepera broke a mark set in 2000 at the height of the Steroids Era. The drive, which drove in the last run in the Royals' 5-2 loss, was his eighth this season and the 159th of his 11-year big league career.
Alex Gordon hits MLB's record-setting 5,694th HR of season
The home run average dropped in 2014 to its lowest level since 1992, then started rising during the second half of the 2015 season. "I don't know what to make of it," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Guys are bigger and guys are stronger. but so are the pitchers. There sure are a lot of home runs being hit." On February 9, 2012, Gordon signed a one-year, $4.775 million deal with the Royals to avoid arbitration. In the process, Gordon filed for $5.45, while the Royals countered with $4.15. Under the Royals' agreement, he could have earned an additional $25K if he had reached 700 plate appearances, putting him at the original midpoint.
The Royals remain undefeated this postseason after toppling the Orioles 8-6 in 10 innings in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. The game marked the fourth time in five games that Kansas City has played into extra innings, with three of them coming on the road, including Game 1 in Baltimore. Five days before Gordon’s ninth-greatest hit, Gordon smacked his fifth-greatest hit.
MLB Home Runs Hit by Alex Gordon | Baseball Almanac
During his time at the University of Nebraska, Gordon was a member of the 2004 United States national baseball team, which included players from 15 different colleges. He helped lead Team USA to an 18–7 overall record, seeing the majority of his playing time at first base. 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 the month of September.
It was also the first game-tying or go-ahead homer in the ninth inning or later of Game 1 of the World Series since Kirk Gibson's iconic shot off Dennis Eckersley in 1988. April 3, 2010 Kansas City Royals placed 3B Alex Gordon on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 26, 2010. September 1, 2015 Kansas City Royals activated LF Alex Gordon from the 15-day disabled list.
Gordon Hits MLB Season's Record 5,694th Home Run
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 3rd inning off Julio DePaula. On September 12, Gordon hit his 34th double of the year against the Minnesota Twins, establishing 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. The Royals got that run back in the top of the fifth, but the tenor of the game changed in the bottom of the fifth, when the Orioles rallied against Kansas City starter James Shields. The O's pushed across three in the inning to climb within one run at 5-4, with the key hit being a two-out double by Ryan Flaherty that plated the third and fourth Baltimore runs.
When the previous record of 5,693 was set in 2000, Sammy Sosa led the major leagues with 50 home runs and Barry Bonds hit 49. In the 10th, facing fellow lefty Brian Matusz with one out and Salvador Perez on base via a walk, Mike Moustakas added two insurance runs with his third home run of this postseason. Mitch Maier led off the bottom of the ninth with a strikeout.
After Omaha finished up its season, Gordon returned to the Royals in September. Between the return to Kansas City and the end of the season, 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. In the 2014 season, Gordon scored 87 runs, had 150 hits, 34 doubles, one triple, 19 home runs, 74 RBI, 12 stolen bases, and a .266 BA.
Ross Gload struck out to lead off the top of the tenth inning. Emil Brown, who had pinch-ran for Butler earlier in the game, then singled. After a Mark Teahen strikeout, Gordon stepped to the plate with two outs. Twins’ reliever Juan Rincon tossed a 1-1 pitch to Gordon, who hammered it to right-center field for a go-ahead bomb. He is one of Major League Baseball’s greatest left fielders, ever, having won seven Gold Gloves at the position. He is a three-time All-Star who received MVP votes in two separate seasons.
While it’s a decision that no doubt makes sense personally for Gordon, as well as being mutually beneficial for the Kansas City Royals as they ramp up another young squad to win the franchise’s next World Series, it is no less painful. "I was the happiest guy in the stadium to have another opportunity to do something positive for your team," Hosmer said. "Obviously, you don't want the game to end like that. That's why Gordon means so much to this team. He put the team on his back, got us back in the game." The Mets closer's sinker carries an average velocity of 97.2 mph and an average spin rate of 2,195 rpm, and he delivers it, on average, with a six-foot extension. Those metrics showed nearly exactly (97 mph, perceived velocity of 96.9 mph, 2,186 rpm, 6.04-foot extension) in the pitch Familia used to induce Perez's groundout.
Against a pitcher larger than life, in a moment larger than life. For a moment, it brought back the magic, even against the wizard who calmed it. History has been kind to Gordon and third base coach Mike Jirschele, as Kansas City’s 2015 World Series win has alleviated the “what if” factor of this play. History has also made watching this play more tolerable, letting us focus on just how bonkers it was rather than dwell on the pain of the next plate appearance. WPA is a measure of the difference in win probability before and after an event. If the team’s win probability before a hit is 40% and the win probability after a hit is 50%, for instance, the hit’s WPA is .10, because it added 10% to the overall win probability.
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