GO ROYALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Unknown JimmyD]

a little surprised that we were able to hold onto him, but quite pleased about it.

[shinatoo]

Im on the fence. Love Gordon and all he has done, but i do not know that giving big contracts to players in there 30s is agood plan for this team. Of course the big money in his contract does not hit until after they renew their TV contract in 2019.

[phuqueue]

I'm not on the fence at all, I think it's great. Compared to what he was said to be seeking and expected to get, the money isn't really that big, even though it's the largest contract the Royals have ever given out by a fair margin. Obviously as you get into your 30s, performance begins to decline, but Gordon notoriously keeps himself in excellent shape and this is only a four year contract that will carry him through his age-35 season, so the risk is relatively contained, as far as giving contracts to 30-somethings goes. I'd be more worried about him missing time to injury than about general decline, although obviously both are potential dangers. He's the top defensive player in the league at his position, but it's a position that is not defensively crucial, so even if he loses a step the damage to the team will be somewhat mitigated.

And perhaps most significantly, his contract doesn't really bump up until 2018, when this team will be completely ravaged by free agency anyway. Among position players, Hosmer, Moustakas, Perez, Cain, Dyson, and Infante -- not that anybody will miss Infante -- are all free agents after 2017. Escobar and Morales are free agents after this coming season. Among pitchers, add Chris Young (2017), Volquez (2016), Medlen (2016), Hochevar (2016), and Davis (2016) as guys who will be gone after this or next season. The escalating obligation to Gordon will possibly tie the organization's hands, but it's not like they were going to be able to keep that group together anyway, with or without Gordon. Realistically our best hope for the near future is to try to repeat in 2016 (threepeat in 2017?) and then, most likely, the Dark Times will return, at least temporarily as we reload. The farm system at the moment is relatively barren (Bleacher Report has them ranked 22nd in MLB as of September), but there are a handful of promising names in there right now and two years left to restock it.

For whatever it's worth, David Schoenfield over at ESPN projects that keeping Gordon gives the Royals three or four extra wins vs. going with Dyson/Orlando as the corner outfielders. This team is built to win now and is currently very poorly positioned to compete in 2018 or beyond, so even an eventual albatross contract that will help them repeat now isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm not super worried that Gordon's contract will be an albatross anyway, but if the Royals are bad in 2018 I don't think it's going to be because Gordon is making $20 million. By the time this contract expires, he and Ventura will probably be the only World Series veterans left on the roster anyway.

[mean]

Yeah. Even if Gordon's skills decline more rapidly than I'm assuming they will, having a veteran champion around the huge crop of newbs we're likely to see in 2016 and beyond is probably not the worst thing in the world.

[aknowledgeableperson]

Given the comments above I cannot disagree too much. I wish it was three years instead of four but it is the reality in the baseball world now. Anyway of all the outfield free agents available now Gordon is probably the best fit option for the Royals.
Besides by year four his salary may be in line for outfielders of his abilities.

[aknowledgeableperson]

Floating around the internet. Royals listed as #1 team with fan growth over the last 10 years.

"1. Kansas City Royals
> Sport: Baseball
> 10 year attendance increase: 92.7%
> Avg. home game attendance: 33,438
> Avg. capacity filled: 88.2%

A team’s fortunes can be hard to predict, and it is likely that anyone polled on August 19, 2005, would hardly have believed the team would soon find success. On that date, the Royals had just lost their 19th straight game and were on their way to recording the worst record in baseball — winning less than 35% of that year’s games. That season, the team had an average attendance of just 17,356 per game, which was the second lowest total in baseball, and amounted to just 42.5% of stadium capacity. 2005 marked the 20th season the Royals missed the postseason, a streak that would become 29 seasons before the team’s fortunes would turn. It was much later, in 2014, when the team secured a wild-card berth and then won eight straight games to secure a spot in the World Series — which it lost in seven games to the San Francisco Giants. The following year, the Royals had the best record in the American League — and this time won it all. In 2015, the Royals filled 88.2% of seats, which was the fifth best average fill rate in baseball and also an incredible 92.7% increase from 2005."


Read more: Sports Teams Gaining the Most Fans - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/special-report/201 ... z3yMSgLk3h
Follow us: @247wallst on Twitter | 247wallst on Facebook

[FangKC]

The 4 Best Stadiums in All of Baseball

​No park in baseball combines a beautiful field to catch a game and wonderful amenities that provide a wonderful all-around entertainment experience the way "The K" does. Originally constructed in 1973 as Royal Stadium, Kauffman Stadium recently underwent renovations that were completed in 2009. One of the improvements was the addition of Crown Vision, the massive HD scoreboard in center field that is topped off with a 40 foot high crown. One of the most iconic images of Kansas City's home ball park is the expansive fountain display and waterfalls, the largest privately funded fountain in the world. Kauffman hosted the 2012 All-Star Game to rave reviews of the stadium and the Royals brought their home back into the eyes of the public by winning the 2015 World Series.

http://www.circasports.com/posts/289871 ... _aid=36534

[Highlander]

The 4 Best Stadiums in All of Baseball

​No park in baseball combines a beautiful field to catch a game and wonderful amenities that provide a wonderful all-around entertainment experience the way "The K" does. Originally constructed in 1973 as Royal Stadium, Kauffman Stadium recently underwent renovations that were completed in 2009. One of the improvements was the addition of Crown Vision, the massive HD scoreboard in center field that is topped off with a 40 foot high crown. One of the most iconic images of Kansas City's home ball park is the expansive fountain display and waterfalls, the largest privately funded fountain in the world. Kauffman hosted the 2012 All-Star Game to rave reviews of the stadium and the Royals brought their home back into the eyes of the public by winning the 2015 World Series.

http://www.circasports.com/posts/289871 ... _aid=36534

I love the K. It's one of my favorite venues to watch any sporting event in the nation. It's just in an unfortunate location.

[warwickland]

I had a conversation with a HUGE royals fan in central missouri at a bbq place last week. he was insistant that it was "impossible" that st. louis (generally) was rooting for kansas city last year, and that i was completely full of it. "no way, no how!" am i witnessing the rise of the "militant" royals fan? he shouted "go royals!" on the way out of the establishment above the din of customers. i was just like...."wah?" i guess i havent been around kc much in a while, so that's sort of a new thing for me...i felt like i was in suburban chicago.

[bobbyhawks]

Maybe all of the bandwagon fans are jumping aboard and trying to make up for their lack of historical support by being really intense now. Royals fans have been known as really good fans, but mostly because only people who really appreciate baseball (and self-flagellation) could continue to watch such a team. Inevitably, that population will be diluted by folks who try to out-STL STL. I doubt most of the militant fans would know who Ken Harvey or Carlos Febles are.

[chingon]

I had a conversation with a HUGE royals fan in central missouri at a bbq place last week. he was insistant that it was "impossible" that st. louis (generally) was rooting for kansas city last year, and that i was completely full of it. "no way, no how!" am i witnessing the rise of the "militant" royals fan? he shouted "go royals!" on the way out of the establishment above the din of customers. i was just like...."wah?" i guess i havent been around kc much in a while, so that's sort of a new thing for me...i felt like i was in suburban chicago.

Wait til you guys finally get a soccer team and we lord our MLS history and tradition over you.

[mean]

BEST FANS IN MLS!!!!

[warwickland]

I know that you guys will claim that the New York Post that came up with Sporting KC as having the "Best Fans in MLS" back in the early 2000s, but we all know that's what you guys call yourselves. It just makes me sick, what with the holier-than-thou attitude. Keep that stank over on your cloudy, busted rustbelt ass western side of the state and let us just enjoy soccer for what it is, even if we only have a USL team right now. True, our "stadium" floods twice a year but at least we aren't drinking 10 dollar beers and pretending like we are better fans than everyone else in soccer.

[warwickland]

i've *almost* got it down.

[beautyfromashes]

warwickland- Where'd you go to high school?

[mean]

I know that you guys will claim that the New York Post that came up with Sporting KC as having the "Best Fans in MLS" back in the early 2000s, but we all know that's what you guys call yourselves. It just makes me sick, what with the holier-than-thou attitude. Keep that stank over on your cloudy, busted rustbelt ass western side of the state and let us just enjoy soccer for what it is, even if we only have a USL team right now. True, our "stadium" floods twice a year but at least we aren't drinking 10 dollar beers and pretending like we are better fans than everyone else in soccer.

Bravo.

[warwickland]

warwickland- Where'd you go to high school?

Provel Highschool in South Chesterfield. It's where Hon Jamm and Raymond Tusk went.

[warwickland]

i'm sorry about that delusional "official baseball team of missouri" shit, in advance.

[StL_Dan]

i'm sorry about that delusional "official baseball team of missouri" shit, in advance.

Ditto.

The Cards probably are, but to actually create legislation to that affect is ridiculous.

[WSPanic]

i'm sorry about that delusional "official baseball team of missouri" shit, in advance.

Ditto.

The Cards probably are, but to actually create legislation to that affect is ridiculous.

Well... if you can't be the best team in Missouri.