Dee Gordon

Lore & Background

Strange-Gordon was born in Windermere, Florida, the son of former MLB pitcher Tom Gordon and Devona Denise Strange. When he was seven years old, his mother was shot to death by a subsequent boyfriend. Tom Gordon sued for custody and raised him with the help of his own mother. Strange-Gordon initially focused on basketball and did not play baseball until high school. He played baseball at Avon Park High School, Seminole Community College, and Southeastern University. The Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him in the fourth round of the 2008 MLB draft. He debuted in MLB with the Dodgers in 2011. In 2015, his first season with the Marlins, he hit .333 with 205 hits and stole 58 bases, leading the NL in all three categories and becoming the first player to lead the National League in both batting average and stolen bases since Jackie Robinson in 1949. Through the 2010s, he stole 330 bases, the most of any MLB player of the decade.

In Their Own Story

The sun is low over the water, casting long amber light across the outfield grass at Marlins Park. It's the bottom of the sixth, the Marlins up by one, and Gordon is in the box. The pitcher winds up. The bat cracks, a line drive to center. Gordon doesn't look at the fielder. He's already running. You can hear the crowd before you see the play—a rising roar, then a sudden hush as the center fielder tracks the ball, turns, and throws. The throw is good. It's a good throw. And Gordon is still running. He rounds third with a head of steam, slides in with his chest, and the tag comes up a half-second late. He stands, brushes the dirt off his knees, and jogs back to the dugout with that half-smile, like he's not entirely sure why everyone is screaming. The dugout erupts. The bullpen door bangs open. For nine seconds, the whole ballpark belongs to one fast kid in a blue jersey.

Reader's Guide

Strange-Gordon was primarily a shortstop and second baseman. With the Marlins, he was primarily a second baseman. He began his tenure with the Mariners by playing center field in 2018, and started playing left field in 2020. He won his first Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 2015.

Did You Know?

• He was suspended for 80 games in 2016 due to performance-enhancing drugs use.
• He hit an inside-the-park home run at Marlins Park on June 30, 2015.
• After teammate José Fernández died in a boating accident in 2016, Gordon hit a home run in his first at-bat, imitating Fernández's batting stance as a right-handed batter.