Gordon (and team) in a groove

As the Royals continue rolling through interleague play, Alex Gordon keeps making strides as well. Gordon and the Royals as a whole have mirrored each other all year....and it's fitting, considering Gordon is the "next big thing" or "savior of the Royals".

Many people had high hopes coming into the season some of the young talent in the organization on the verge of breaking through with the big league club. Alex Gordon was the key figure in all of this - the natural hitter, the next George Brett. Alex was the College Player of the Year two years ago at Nebraska, then jumped straight into AA where he promptly won the Minor League Player of the Year....the first time anyone has won those honors in back-to-back seasons. All the while, he looked about like Roy Hobbs.....the game was easy for this kid - he was the real life "Natural".

Gordon wrapped up spring training by earning his spot as the opening day third baseman for KC. He had arrived. The town was buzzing with hope....we didn't expect the Royals to completely turn this ship around, but the first of our promising youngsters was here, and he's "The One"....the cornerstone of the franchise. His first at bat came against Curt Schilling and the Red Sox. If that wasn't enough...the bases were loaded...talk about pressure! The place was rocking. The chant "Let's Go Gordon!" filled the stadium. And then.....he....struck out.

As Gordon has struggled, so have the Royals (as usual). However, there was still something about this kid. He showed no emotion - no frustration or anger as he struck out time and time again. He was batting .160, .170 - but his on-base percentage was over .300 due to some walks and hit-by-pitches. At least he was getting on base and contributing a bit. And all the while, he kept his cool. You just had a feeling it was coming, any day now, it's coming. But it never came. And the Royals followed right along, never really getting on track either.

All that seems to have changed recently, though. Gordon's found his groove. He just kept plugging along and doing what he always does, not letting the pressure of failure change his approach to the game. It finally looks to be paying off. He's raised his average from around the .175 mark to up around .209. A jump of over 30 points. He's not pressing anymore, worrying about things like batting average or his other personal stats. In an interview I heard the other day on the radio, Gordon says he gave up on worrying about his average for this season "a long time ago". And as Gordon has started to produce, so has the Royals lineup as a whole. They keep plugging along, just like Gordon, and it's starting to click.

It looks like Gordon has also gotten over the initial pressure of being the sole savior of an entire franchise. That's got to be a heavy burden for a 23-year old kid to carry around on his shoulders. An entire city, beaten down for years now by a failure of a franchise, all looking to one rookie. An entire fan base, collectively thinking "Alex is here, a new day is dawning". Imagine what you were doing when you were 23. Probably getting your first job out of college. Now, just think....what if you felt like the company's entire fate rested on your shoulders? Now, take that pressure and multiply it...because you didn't have an entire city watching; you didn't have the national media anointing you as the "next great thing"; you didn't have fans in other cities yelling at you, telling you how bad you "suck" or how "overrated" you are.

It's been fun recently. Not just watching Gordon start to taste success at this level, but watching the whole team. Like I said, their ups and downs seem to go hand-in-hand this year. Gordon's killing the ball right now - he hit mammoth homers in two straight games against the Cardinals. The Royals are winning - they've won two straight interleague series against the Phillies and Cardinals.

Baseball is back in KC - even if only briefly - we've got something to root for. I'm sure this season will have plenty more ups and downs (probably more downs than ups), but we're getting a glimpse of what could be. And I think a couple of years from now, that glimpse will turn into an entire season of good baseball. We've been waiting a long time.....and finally, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.