Royals Hall of Fame ballot loaded with tough voting choices for KC fans

The Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame, an elite collection of players, managers, club executives, and others whose unforgettable contributions and connections to the franchise warranted their selection, will soon expand. The club recently revealed a nine-player candidate field so rich with top players that choosing next season's inductees could be the most challenging Hall of Fame process in franchise history.

Alex Gordon, Carlos Beltrán, Billy Butler, Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera, Yordano Ventura, Johnny Damon, Joakim Soria, and Jarrod Dyson are all on the ballot, and solid arguments can be made for electing them all. But not all will make it — only those who garner at least 75% of the votes cast by fans, all living members of the Hall and its Executive Board, certain members of the front office staff and the Royals Associates, and some members of Kansas City's Baseball Writers of America chapter and other area media outlets, will get in.

Fans can vote here until 11:59 p.m. CT on December 23, 2024.

So, who should make the Hall and earn the right to win its signature blue jacket, who shouldn't, and whose chances are simply too close to call?

Alex Gordon should top the list of KC Royals Hall inductees

If only one Royal on the ballot could get in, it would be Gordon. A Royal from 2007 through 2020, the player who set the standard for KC left fielders won eight Gold Gloves, a pair of Platinum Gloves, three Wilson Defensive Player of the Year awards, and the club's Les Milgram Player of the Year award once. He could also handle the bat, reaching double-digits in home runs 10 times in 14 seasons, posting a decent .338 career OBP, and finishing six seasons with a 100-plus fWAR.

Because fans weren't allowed in ballparks during the 2020 pandemic-shortened regular season, Gordon didn't get the tribute and sendoff he so richly deserved when he played the final game of his career that year, but induction into the Royals Hall of Fame will help ease the sting.