Royals announce World Series champion as newest inductee to KC Hall of Fame

The Kansas City Royals have announced that one of their most beloved players in recent memory is set to join the team's Hall of Fame on June 13. Alex Gordon — a member of the 2015 World Series-winning team — will officially be added to the exclusive club ahead of the Royals' contest against the division rival Detroit Tigers in June.

This is a well-deserved and long-awaited honor for Gordon, who was a career-long Royal after joining the organization as a highly-touted first-round pick all the way back in 2005. Of course, he went on to make three All-Star Games while earning a whopping eight Gold Gloves and a pair of Platinum Gloves as well.

Throughout his 14-year tenure, Gordon was widely known as one of the best defensive left fielders in all of baseball. What makes that just as impressive as all eight of those Gold Gloves is the fact that he came up as a third baseman and immediately found high-end success upon switching positions in 2010.

Alex Gordon to be inducted to the KC Royals Hall of Fame

Gordon, now 41, retired in 2016 and left a long track record of success behind. He hung up his cleats with 190 home runs, 749 RBI, a career .748 OPS and a 102 OPS+ across over 1700 games played. He made a ton of memories on the Royals, but perhaps none are more noteworthy than the massive home run he hit in Game 1 of the World Series that Kansas City ultimately ended up winning back in 2015.

Gordon signed a four-year extension ahead of the 2016 campaign that ultimately ended up aging quite poorly. The Royals wound up picking up the option for a fifth year, but he posted a combined 3.4 bWAR with a measly .686 OPS and 84 OPS+ across over 500 games from 2016-2020. Even still, he remained a popular figure in the clubhouse and managed to end his career as one of the most successful players in Royals history.

In the Royals' all-time record books, Gordon's regularly featured near the top of the leaderboards in most major offensive categories.

He finds himself trailing the likes of George Brett, Mike Sweeney, Bo Jackson, Amos Otis, and Salvador Perez, all of whom are either in the Royals Hall of Fame or will almost certainly be there one day.

Once he is added, Gordon will be the 31st inductee and the 12th since 2000. The Royals have a slew of colorful characters in their Hall, and not just the best players in their franchise's history. There's also multiple coaches, managers, scouts, groundskeepers and radio announcers that have made their way into the elusive club.