While the Kansas City Royals look to right some wrongs from the mediocre stretch they've been on, they'll take the time to honor the contributions of a franchise legend ahead of Friday's game against the Athletics.
Former outfield staple Alex Gordon will take his rightful place in the Royals Hall of Fame on Friday after his induction was announced back in March.
And the Royals have found a way apart from a pre-game ceremony to celebrate Gordon, and it might be the perfect personal touch.
KC Royals add perfect personal touch to celebrate Alex Gordon
Apart from his subtle pop and scintillating defense prowess in the outfield, Gordon was also known for a unique uniform quirk, a pine tar streak on the back of his jersey.
So, instead of wearing their usual City Connect jerseys as they normally would on a Friday evening at Kauffman Stadium, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reported that the Royals will opt for their traditional home white uniforms with each position player's jersey featuring Gordon's patented pine tar streak.
A perfect way to make a significant night in franchise history all the more special.
It’s Alex Gordon’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony tonight.
— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) June 13, 2025
The #Royals won’t be wearing their city connects. Instead, home whites. And all the position players will have the pine tar streak on their backs.
📸 @JasonHannaphoto pic.twitter.com/zWGzky7Zea
Gordon was drafted second overall by the Royals back in 2005, originally as a third baseman. At the time he was the highest selection the franchise had ever made and is still just one of five players drafted by Kansas City as a Top 3 pick - with Luke Hochevar (1st in 2006), Mike Moustakas (2nd in 2007), Eric Hosmer (3rd in 2008) and Bobby Witt Jr. (2nd in 2019) being the only other names to accomplish such a feat.
Gordon would make his debut not too long after, playing 151 games in 2007 and hitting to a respectable .247 AVG and .725 OPS with 15 home runs and 60 RBI as a rookie.
Gordon would capture his first piece of hardware after making the full-time shift to the outfield, nabbing his first of eight career Gold Gloves. He'd also add a pair of Platinum Gloves in 2014 and 2020.
Then, come 2013, Gordon really started to put it all together, reaching his first of three consecutive All-Star games from 2013 to 2015.
And who can forget the pivotal role he played in those seasons when the Royals captured back-to-back American League Pennants in '14 and '15, and of course going all the way in 2015 capturing the franchise's second World Series title.
That 2015 World Series Game 1 game-tying blast in the bottom of the ninth, when Kansas City had their backs all but against the wall, will live in the memories of Royals fans forever.
While he was never quite the same player after that - going from a perennial 2.5 fWAR player or better to never surpassing 1.4 in the final five years of his career - Gordon still put together a solid 14-year career in Kansas City. In 1753 career games, he slashed .257/.338/.410 with 190 HR and 749 RBI.
He ranks in the Royals all-time Top 10 in numerous categories including bWAR (4th), games played (6th), runs scored (6th), hits (6th), doubles (5th), home runs (5th), RBI (7th) and walks (3rd).