Alex Gordon Announces MLB Retirement After 14 Seasons with Royals

The Alex Gordon era has ended in Kansas City.

Gordon, who played for the Royals since 2007 after the team drafted him with the second overall pick out of the University of Nebraska in 2005, retired Thursday, the club announced.

Gordon's career with the Royals started unceremoniously, with the Nebraska native debuting in 2007 as a third baseman but bouncing between the majors and minors until 2010.

The Royals moved him to the outfield in 2010 during a minor league stint, and his career took off in 2011. Gordon transformed into a seven-time Gold Glove winner and three-time American League All-Star. He earned his first Gold Glove in 2011, when he added 20 outfield assists, and he is the only outfielder to claim seven Gold Gloves from 2011 to 2019.

Gordon started every postseason game for the Royals en route to their World Series victory against the Mets in 2015, and he tied Game 1 on a ninth-inning homer to set up a 14-inning Royals win. 

He signed a four-year extension the following offseason and inked a one-year, $4 million deal to stay with the team in January. His 1,749 appearances are the fourth-most among active players who have played with one team, behind Yadier Molina (2,021), Joey Votto (1,768) and Ryan Braun (1,761). 

The Royals host the Detroit Tigers for a four-game series to end the regular season, and Gordon's last game will be the season finale Sunday afternoon. He has career average of .257 with 190 home runs and is the franchise leader with 14 leadoff home runs. He's also has been hit by a pitch a franchise-record 121 times.