Tanner Robert Gordon (born October 26, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

of Major League Baseball (MLB). Gordon played two years at

2019 MLB draft The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...

Early life and amateur career

High school career

Gordon played baseball at Champaign Central High School. Nicknamed "Big Oak" in high school, Gordon was named the

News-Gazette ''The News-Gazette'' may refer to: * ''The News-Gazette'' (Champaign–Urbana), a daily newspaper serving the Champaign–Urbana Metropolitan Area and Danville, Illinois * ''The News-Gazette'' (Winchester, Indiana), a daily newspaper based in Wi ...

"All-Area performer" in 2016, his senior year.

College career

After high school, Gordon played his first two seasons of college baseball at

John A. Logan College John A. Logan College is a public community college in Carterville, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System. As of 2016, it had a total enrollment of 4,424 students: 1,990 full- and 2,434 part-time.junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

Carterville, Illinois Carterville is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, United States. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 5,848. The city is part of the Carbondale-Marion combined statistical area and has grown considerably as a residential community o ...

. Gordon had a

win-loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

of 6–0 in 14

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

and 8 games started in his freshman season; he finished with an

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

of 3.44 and recorded 52

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s and 11 walks in 49²⁄₃

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

while giving up only 2 home runs. In his sophomore season at John A. Logan, Gordon went 9-2 and started all 12 of the games he appeared in, finishing with an ERA of 2.06 while recording 104 strikeouts and giving up 20 walks and 3 home runs in 70 innings pitched. Across both of his seasons at John A. Logan, Gordon went 15–2 in 26 games played and 20 games started, finishing with an ERA of 2.63. He struck out 156 batters in 119²⁄₃ innings for a K/9 rate of 11.73, allowed 31 walks for a

BB/9 In baseball statistics, bases on balls per nine innings pitched (BB/9IP or BB/9) or walks per nine innings (denoted by W/9) is the average number of bases on balls, (or walks) given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by m ...

rate of 2.63, and gave up only 5 home runs for a HR/9 rate of 0.38. After his sophomore season, Gordon transferred to and played for the Indiana Hoosiers for his junior season in 2019, going 6–6 with a 3.81 ERA with 90 strikeouts and 19 walks in innings pitched.

Professional career

On July 7, 2024, Gordon was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. Gordon made his debut later that day against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

at Coors Field. Gordon pitched a perfect first inning, which included striking out the first two batters he faced,

Adam Frazier Adam Timothy Frazier (born December 14, 1991) is an American professional baseball second baseman and outfielder who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres and Seattle Ma ...

and

Bobby Witt Jr. Robert Andrew Witt Jr. (born June 14, 2000) is an American professional baseball shortstop and third baseman for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was selected second overall by the Royals in the 2019 MLB draft and made ...

However, Gordon gave up three straight hits to begin the second inning, the third being an RBI-

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

Freddy Fermín Freddy Antonio Fermín (born May 16, 1995) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Career Fermín signed with the Kansas City Royals organization as an international free agent on J ...

. Two

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s later, Maikel García hit a three-run home run, giving the Royals a 4–0 advantage, with all four runs being scored in the second inning. Gordon gave up a solo home run to

MJ Melendez Mervyl S. Melendez (born November 29, 1998) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022. Amateur career Melendez attended St. James School in Montgomer ...

in the 7th inning and was ultimately pulled after pitching innings; he allowed 5 earned runs and 8

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

while striking out 4 batters and allowing no walks. The Rockies lost the game 10–1, with Gordon taking the loss.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Tanner 1997 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players Arizona Complex League Rockies players Augusta GreenJackets players Baseball players from Champaign, Illinois Colorado Rockies players Danville Braves players Gwinnett Stripers players Hartford Yard Goats players Indiana Hoosiers baseball players John A. Logan Volunteers baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Mississippi Braves players Rome Braves players