KANSAS CITY -- No. 4 just picked up No. 7. Free-agent outfielder Alex Gordon was named the American League Gold Glove winner in left field by Rawlings for his work with the Royals last season. It's Gordon’s third straight honor and seventh overall. He previously won the award from 2011-14 and from 2017-18.
Will Gordon be able to find room in his house for yet another Gold Glove Award?
“I’m sure I can always find room,” Gordon said in a conference call Sunday night. “They always do a great job with the award and how it looks. It’ll go down in my basement in a trophy room. But when you walk in, those Gold Gloves always stand out.”
Gordon obviously was pleased with winning his Gold Glove, but said he was even happier for former teammate Lorenzo Cain, who won his first for his work in 2019 with the Brewers.
“I think that meant more to me than mine,” Gordon said.
Gordon’s seven Gold Gloves are the second most in Royals history, trailing former second baseman Frank White’s eight.
Winning No. 7 wasn’t necessarily validation for Gordon that he can continue to play the game at a high level. Gordon said he hasn’t decided whether to return in '20.
“I’m not playing the way I used to play,” Gordon said. “There’s been a decline. This award is more for myself personally, and just knowing how I felt competing against the best in the game -- that made me feel good.
“I don’t think about winning Gold Gloves. It’s a day by day thing. I know it’s cliché, but I just try to be the best I can each day. These things happen because of preparation.”
Since '11, Kansas City has won a Major League-best 17 Gold Glove Awards and is the only AL team with at least one winner in each of the past nine seasons, trailing only Colorado’s streak of 10 straight years.
As one of the AL's nine Gold Glove winners, Gordon is now eligible for the Platinum Glove Award, which is given to the best defensive player from each league. Voting for the award, which was established in 2011, is open at Rawlings.com and will continue until 10:59 p.m. CT on Thursday. The two league winners will be announced on Friday.
Gordon was the AL's 2014 Rawlings Platinum Glove Award winner, given to the league's top overall defender.
Gordon, 35, became a free agent on Friday when, as expected, the Royals declined his 2020 mutual option for $23 million and instead will buy out the option at $3.5 million. The original buyout had been $4 million, but the Royals wanted to make that payment in the next fiscal year. To accommodate Gordon, the Royals paid him $500,000 earlier.
Gordon said he will take some time off this offseason to decide but sounded encouraged by the hiring of manager Mike Matheny, especially after watching the energy Matheny presented at Thursday’s introductory press conference.
“I really didn’t talk to anyone during the playoffs because you couldn’t do that,” Gordon said. “I've just been paying attention to the manager search. It’s exciting to see Matheny get it. Just seeing his press conference, how he handled that, it gives you the itch again.”
Gordon said he has no timeline to make his decision.