Royals tip their caps to Alex Gordon for this outstanding catch

If anyone was wondering why the Kansas City Royals re-signed outfielder Alex Gordon to a 4-year, $72 million contract in January, this video should settle the matter.

The Royals were facing the Detroit Tigers on Thursday night, and in the top of the fourth inning, Tigers left fielder Justin Upton skied an Edinson Volquez pitch to the gap in left-center field. Gordon starts to run in from left field, his head aimed toward the rapidly falling baseball. He keeps running. And running. As the ball comes down, Gordon (who is still running at top speed) puts his glove out and makes the catch as he falls foward and skids to a stop on his stomach.

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If it looks like Gordon covered a lot of ground while making that catch, it’s because he did.

Alex Gordon covered 122.6 feet to make that catch tonight, second longest by a LF this season, according to Statcast. #Royals

— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) April 22, 2016

The hometown crowd at Kauffman Stadium loved it, of course, and gave Gordon standing ovation and a loud cheer. But his teammates showed their appreciation in a different way.