I added Nick Gordon, Minnesota Twins utility infielder, to my inaugural list of Major League Baseball Guys I Like when I found out he made music. I learned that Gordon was a musician because his teammate Miguel Sanó has been using one of Gordon's songs, "Goat," as his walk-up song.
This alone was enough to put him on my list of guys, which is not a list that requires any particular baseball skill to make. Major League Baseball is an exhausting, consuming career, and there aren't many people who manage to have a life outside of it. During the offseason, Gordon returns to Orlando, Fla. and makes music with his best friends Julio, Giovanni, and Travis. Adorable!
This is only his second year in the majors. He's been in the minors since 2014, bouncing around. He was called up last season and made his MLB debut on May 6. But on August 5, he was optioned back down.
But yesterday, to my absolute delight, Nick Gordon had a great day in the field.
The Twins played a game and a half against Houston. The first game was the resumption of a suspended game. In the top of the ninth, down 11-3, the Twins put Nick Gordon, who I must remind you is a utility infielder, in to pitch. He pitched a scoreless inning! Gordon told MLB.com that he'd "been kind of asking [manager Rocco Baldelli] to pitch since last year,” and that “I feel like I kind of resemble [Shohei] Ohtani a little bit."
I'm gonna ignore that last statement.
Gordon must have been feeling good, because when umpire Chris Segal went to check his hands after the inning, Gordon went in for the fist bump first.
Then in the second game, he made an absolutely gorgeous catch in the outfield. I must note that according to MLB.com, when Gordon started playing outfield a little last year, it was the first time he had done so since little league. The Astros had runners at the corners and one out. Gordon, playing center field, was standing a few steps toward left field when Altuve just absolutely crushed a ball into the gap.
The ball went hurtling toward the back wall, dropping fast. Gordon began running from so far away. He sprinted toward the wall, his eyes, shielded by a hat and sunglasses, pointed straight toward the afternoon sun. He dove and stretched, his glove hand extending out over the warning track and his other hand extending down to catch himself. He caught it!
What a game for Gordon. The Twins lost both games, the first 11-3 and the second 5-0, but what does it matter, really, if you had those two innings as a player? It can't.
