Before the Kansas City Royals’ 2020 season ended, before Alex Gordon even announced he would be retiring, he trotted out to left field at Kauffman Stadium.

One of the season’s final games wouldn’t begin for a few hours, but this was his routine, all the way to the very end. As Gordon arrived at his familiar patch of grass, the one he patrolled from 2011-20, George Brett and Dayton Moore looked on.

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They were sitting in the suite, observing a player who exudes the greatest qualities of the game they love. They watched as Gordon crouched into a defensive position then darted after baseballs that were being hit by his Royals teammates in batting practice.

Brett scanned the stadium that afternoon. Seats gleamed beneath the sun, no fans to distort the sunlight. Chatter filled the air, but almost at a whisper. Brett’s eyes then returned to the man in left field, who was contorting his body to put himself in a position to gun out a runner that did not exist.

“He was playing it like it was the seventh game of the World Series,” Brett said.

NEW — Fans weren’t able to observe Alex Gordon’s last day in a Royals uniform, so I decided to track the finale from start to finish.

For @TheAthleticKC:https://t.co/3rXtPuHuhb

— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) September 28, 2020

Winning eight Gold Glove awards does not happen by coincidence. Instincts, arm strength and athleticism may put a person in the position to hoist that many karats of gold, but it also takes an inconceivable amount of attentiveness to the craft.

Gordon not only harbored the level of attentiveness necessary, but he also — and maybe more importantly — maintained it. No feat better signifies so than Tuesday night’s announcement: Gordon won his eighth Gold Glove Award in left field and became the first position player to win one in his final season since Roberto Clemente did in 1972.

There are other indications of how rare a feat this is. Only 13 other outfielders have won eight Gold Glove Awards; Gordon joined Jim Edmonds, Andre Dawson, Barry Bonds and Paul Blair, all with eight. He also became the second-ever Royals player to win eight Gold Glove Awards, matching Frank White, whose respect for Gordon cannot be understated.

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“Nobody had the arm strength (that he did), the accuracy, quick release and way he was able to get to the ball on a line and reroute it to second base,” White said recently. “It was uncanny.”

Poetically, White actually managed Gordon during Gordon’s first professional season. In 2006, Gordon arrived in Wichita, Kan., fresh off his No. 2 selection in the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft. Gordon was a third baseman who had starred at Nebraska, and White watched him walk into a clubhouse full of big-time talent.

Billy Butler played for that team. Zack Greinke, too. White watched them all interact and thought the connection among them all would play out well. Gordon’s teammates watched him pump weights in the gym and field grounders for seemingly hours, and White felt it would elevate the entire roster. The reason? He believed it was elevating him.

Gordon hit 29 home runs that season and drove in 101 runs. His rise was written in the cards from there. He would climb the ladder, debut in the majors and become a power-hitting third baseman. This, though, is life, for where for every peak, there may be a valley and then, hopefully, another peak. Gordon’s valley found him in the form of an eventual demotion to Triple-A Omaha.

It was May 2010. Gordon’s batting average was .194. A conversation with Moore had shaped Gordon’s path: A prospect named Mike Moustakas was rising the ranks, ready to play third base, so Gordon would need to learn how to play the outfield. Gordon didn’t complain. Rather, he showed up to Rosenblatt Stadium alongside Royals staffer Rusty Kuntz and the fit proved to be almost supernatural. Moore wasn’t sure whether Gordon would succeed in learning the position, much less return to Kansas City and put together nine more big-league seasons, becoming a franchise cornerstone. But he did succeed in learning the position and he did return to Kansas City that same year.

Nine years ago, Alex Gordon stood on a baseball field and didn’t want the ball hit his way. On the memory that fuels him, his six Gold Glove Awards, and why he might actually be one of the best “old” defensive outfielders ever: https://t.co/7j21mxAgyP

— Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) February 27, 2019

That offseason, at a Nebraska football tailgate, Gordon, who usually monitors the burgers on the grill, was talking with former college teammate Brian Duensing.

“I wish we could get you over to Minnesota to play third base for us,” Duensing said.

Gordon, Duensing said, laughed and then responded defiantly.

“No,” he said. “I hate third base. Always have.”

Duensing wasn’t sure whether Gordon was joking or not, so he asked him.

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“No,” Gordon said. “I love the outfield.”

Duensing’s thought was, “Well, good luck.”

Truth is, Gordon didn’t need the well wishes. He ironed out a routine during batting practice, crouching in a defensive position and contorting his body the way Brett would see days before Gordon’s career would end.

The routine paid off immediately. Gordon won his first Glove Glove Award in 2011 and repeated from 2012-14. A couple of years off from winning it featured a World Series win and a famous home run. Then it was back to defense. Gordon won the award again from 2017-19, propelling him to another season, maybe the craziest yet.

At 36, Gordon made plays such as this …

And this …

And this …

Among MLB left fielders in 2020, Gordon ranked No. 4 in defensive runs saved (1), per FanGraphs. He did not commit an error. He racked up four outfield assists. Debating an award amid a season of this sample size would be understandable, but the entirety of Gordon’s body of work is not up for debate.

His 7.2 defensive WAR (wins above replacement), per Baseball-Reference, ranks seventh in Royals history. From 2011-20, only three players — Andrelton Simmons, Jason Heyward and Nolan Arenado — posted higher DRS totals than Gordon. And maybe most impressive, per FanGraphs’ “outfielders arm runs” statistic, one that gives outfielders credit depending on what the runners do on a hit or a fly ball out (whether they stay put, advance or get thrown out), Gordon posted a 47.4 — more than double any other player.

“I think that his feel for keeping the double play in order,” White said, “only throwing out guys he could throw out and not just throw for the heck of it, he was a game manager. And that was what stood out from the jump.”

Gordon’s attentiveness would stand out until the end. From the first days in Wichita to the final days at Kauffman Stadium. The ones in which Gordon would do what made him so great. The first seven Gold Glove Awards told the story of Alex Gordon’s ability. The final one serves as the cherry on top of an all-time defensive career.

(Photo: Ed Zurga / Getty Images)

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