1/10/2024 0 Comments Alex gordon game play now![]() Through 2015, the Royals paid Gordon about $41.3 million for 31 WAR. It is also very important to point out that Gordon was woefully underpaid for his best years, as is quite common for players on their rookie contracts, and he had a team-friendly extension included in that too. First of all, it is not like he was causing any financial hardships for David Glass and current owner John Sherman. I understand how someone could be very critical of how Gordon’s contract turned out, but I look at it differently. The Royals re-signed him to a one-year, $4 million contract for 2020, because why not? In total, he was worth just 4.1 WAR over the entirety of the four-year contract. 258/.333/.348 the rest of the way and finished with a slightly below average 96 wRC+. After his hot start to the 2019 season, he hit just. Thankfully, Gordon’s offense bounced back over the following two seasons, but not to the levels one would want from a starting corner outfielder, even when factoring in his defense. His value was below replacement level and totaled just half a win over the first two seasons of his contract. He had a walk rate of at least 10 percent in each of the previous three years, but it had fallen to 8.3 percent, which is roughly an average rate. His 62 wRC+ was the fourth-worst among qualified hitters, and his slugging average was the worst. Gordon’s offense cratered in 2017, hitting a lowly. He did suffer a wrist injury on May 22nd of that year, but he was still only hitting. In 2016, the first year of his new deal, his wOBA dropped by almost 50 points. 351 wOBA and 122 wRC+, which is not especially great for a corner outfielder, but still pretty good. I wish I could remember what I thought of the deal in January 2016, but though I never wrote about it, I imagine that my thoughts were at least slightly critical for the reasons I mentioned above.Īs I am sure you are well aware of, the contract was somewhat of a disaster. Small sample size caveats apply, but his defensive metrics in 2015 were already way down compared to his previous four seasons.ĭespite all this, the Royals re-signed Gordon to a four-year, $72 million deal. Furthermore, a lot of his value came from his elite defense, which could drop off at any time for a player of his age. It was a questionable decision at the time, seeing as he was about to turn 32 and was coming off an unremarkable regular season where he played only 104 games. ![]() (The funny thing is that Mike Trout tops that list even though he was only worth half a win in 40 games in 2011!)Įnjoying a windfall of cash after winning the 2015 World Series - not that then-owner David Glass needed it - the Royals decided to bring back Gordon in free agency. According to the Play Index, that ranked as the sixth-best total in that time frame. His offense never again came close to his 2011 levels, but overall from 2011-2014, he hit. His 7.3 WAR ranked in the top ten in the AL.Ģ020 BtBS Team Previews: Kansas City Royals Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports Another season where the Royals simply have no intention of contending. Somehow he also became an 80-grade defender in left field, and would continue to be so for at least the next three years. 303/.376/.502, and his 140 wRC+ was the 19th-best among qualified hitters. Gordon had the best season of his career. Regardless, the Royals decided to make him the starting left fielder in 2011. He already was not hitting enough for third, so moving him down the defensive spectrum would make his offensive struggles even worse compared to others at the position. Adding fuel to the fire was his subpar defense at third base. Gordon raked in the minors but struggled at the plate over his first four years in the majors. The Royals drafted him as a third baseman whom they expected to have an “impact bat.” Obviously, things didn’t quite pan out that way. He was right.Īfter a prestigious college career, Gordon was selected second overall in the 2005 draft behind Justin Upton, and ahead of Ryan Braun, Andrew McCutchen, and Troy Tulowitzki, two of whom went on to win MVP awards. Rany Jazayerli, perhaps the game’s most famous Royals fan, made a remark on Twitter at the time on how strange Gordon’s career had been. 382 wOBA was 77 points higher than his below average offense the year before, and a whopping 113 points higher than his disastrous 2017 season. Through May 10, 2019, Alex Gordon was hitting.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |