CHICAGO _ Eighteen days ago, Alex Gordon finished 0 for 4 in a blowout loss in Detroit. His batting average sank to .196, matching its low point since July 19. His slugging percentage was a dreadful .282. He owned just five home runs in more than five months.
To have a starting left fielder performing at such an offensive level represented a significant dilemma for the 2017 Royals. To have the highest-paid player in club history producing like one of the worst hitters in the league signaled an organizational crisis.
Gordon is guaranteed to make at least $44 million in 2018 and 2019, the final two seasons of a four-year, $72 million contract signed in 2016. As he flailed through another season of diminished offensive numbers, there appeared to be little hope for the final years of the deal.
Fast forward seventeen days, to a Saturday night in Chicago, with Gordon finishing 1 for 3 with an RBI in an 8-2 victory over the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. He homered against Chicago starter Dylan Covey in the fifth inning, lofting an 0-1 change-up into the left-field bullpen. He drew a one-out walk in the seventh, moments before Whit Merrifield unloaded the bases with a three-run double.
For one another night this September, Gordon offered morsels of hope _ maybe, just maybe, he is not a lost cause after all.
Well, that was one takeaway.
As Danny Duffy allowed two runs in six innings, and the Royals (76-78) throttled the White Sox, remaining 4 { games out of a playoff spot with eight games to go, Gordon resembled a previous version. He is collecting hits the other way. He is driving the baseball. In his last 17 games, he is batting .327 with four homers and five doubles.
To put the numbers in perspective, Gordon entered the month of September with just 22 extra-base hits in 119 games. His power had disappeared. He appeared confounded by breaking balls. He was locked into a pull-heavy approach. The formula was not working, and the result was ugly, and Gordon searched for answers, working with hitting coach Dale Sveum to be more upright in his stance. Solutions did not come easily.
But here, perhaps, is evidence that something is taking hold. From April to September, Gordon produced just 15 hits to left field. Since Sept. 6, he has collected nine hits the other way, including two homers and two doubles. That, more than anything, could spur optimism moving forward.
"No doubt," Royals manager Ned Yost said.
In the big picture, the Royals moved closer to elimination from the playoff race on Saturday when the Twins notched another victory against the Detroit Tigers. At 81-74, Minnesota has built a comfortable lead with seven games to play. Barring a historic collapse, they will face the New York Yankees in the American League wild-card game just one season after losing more than 100 games.
The Royals have offered no public concession, of course. They will not until they are mathematically done. Yet in some ways, the focus is already pushing forward, to 2018 and beyond.
And at the very least, Alex Gordon is not hitting like one of the worst hitters in baseball.
