Alex Gordon to retire after 14 seasons with the Royals

Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Gordon is hanging up the cleats after the season.

The 36-year old announced his decision to retire on Thursday, admitting the coronavirus pandemic made him realize he needs to spend more time with his family.

“I feel like at the end of the day, I’m missing my kids and their activities more than I’m going to miss this,” said Gordon.

“It’s kind of bittersweet because this is hard for me to do. This is what I’ve done my whole life. but at the same time I’m excited to be around my family, be around my kids and just catch up on things I’ve missed my whole life.”

Gordon was a three-time MLB All-Star, a seven-time Gold Glove Award winner, a recipient of the 2014 Platinum Glove Award, and won a World Series in 2017.

He posted a combined .257 batting average, .749 OPS, 190 homers and 749 RBI over a span of 1750 games, all with the Royals organization.