Photo by Jon SooHoo

It was March 10, 2010 and an unusually cool morning for Phoenix at this time of year. My good friend Gary Smith and I had wandered away from the hustle and bustle of the Major League spring training practice fields at the one-year-old Camelback Ranch facility in Glendale, Arizona and we headed towards the Minor League backfields. Although this was my second year at the Dodgers’ (and White Sox) beautiful new state-of-the-art spring training facility, I had yet to check out the “Quad” as the four backfields are called. As we approached, I was in absolute awe of this yet unseen (by Gary and I) area of Camelback Ranch; it was absolutely beautiful. When we arrived at the Quad, Gary spotted Juan Bustabad, the veteran manager of the then Great Lake Loons and now Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, the Midwest and Cal League Low Single-A and High Single-A Dodger affiliates respectively. Gary had met “Busty” at Dodger Fantasy Camp two years earlier and he introduced me to him. I could immediately tell that Busty was a great guy and an outstanding manager by the way that he treated and worked with the kids.

After a brief and enjoyable conversation with Busty, Gary and I began watching the various groups of Dodger prospects working out on the four Minor League fields. On one of the fields the prospects were working on home to second and second to home base running drills. The idea, of course, was to round first base enroute to second base in the fastest time possible. It was here that I noticed one kid in particular who was exceptionally good at this, not to mention exceptionally fast. And then on the second to home drill, I noticed that this same kid was the only one who crossed home plate without letting up at all.

“…this same kid was the only one who crossed home plate without letting up at all.”

Thinking that this unusually small kid was merely trying to impress the coaching staff, I continued watching him very closely as he repeated these drills eight or ten more times. What struck me most about this kid is that he wasn’t slowing down with each successive drill; he was actually running faster each time through the drills.

Now I certainly mean no disrespect to the other kids who were all working very hard, but this one kid clearly had a much better work ethic than anyone else out there. My curiosity finally got the best of me and I walked back over to Busty and asked him “Who is that short kid out there running the bases? He is really giving it his all and is very fast.” Busty smiled and said “You have a good eye, Ron, that’s Dee Gordon, Tom Gordon’s son.” It all hit me like a ton of bricks – of course… Dee Gordon. I knew that Devaris “Dee” Strange Gordon had been drafted by the Dodgers in the fourth round in 2008. I also knew that he was the Dodgers 2009 Minor League Player of the Year having played with the Loons, and that he was the 2009 Midwest League MVP, but this was the first time that I had actually seen him in person; and let me tell you, I really liked what I saw.

Over the next couple of days, Gary and I spent quite a bit of time at the Quad watching Dee run, hit, and take infield practice (including an extra half hour of taking grounders while all of the other Minor Leaguers had gone in for lunch). I knew right then and there that this kid was special.

Even though Dee put in extra time taking grounders during spring training, he still took the time to stop and sign autographs for fans.

During our time at the backfields, Gary and I had a couple of occasions to speak with Dee (and get an autograph, of course) and he was extremely polite and respectful. Not once was he cocky nor did he ever show any signs of having a sense of entitlement; quite the contrary, he was extremely humble and was obviously very well liked by his teammates, and he always seemed to go out of his way to sign autographs and talk with fans.

Following spring training, Dee began the 2010 season at Double-A Chattanooga where he had another outstanding year earning spots on both the 2010 Southern League All-Star team and the 2010 All-Star Futures team. However, even though Dee stole a very impressive 53 bases during the 2010 season, he also committed 37 errors at shortstop. Because of this and in true Dee Gordon style, he elected to spend the off-season playing winter ball in Puerto Rico to work on his defensive skills.

Dee’s exceptional work ethic and hard work paid off yet again in January 2011 when he was one of only 15 Dodger prospects invited to the annual Dodgers Winter Minicamp held each year at Dodger Stadium. As luck would have it, my daughter Christina was in town that same week and she accompanied me to the luncheon held in conjunction with the minicamp. As you might imagine, we were both quite excited when Dee sat at our table for lunch, where I again had a very nice chat with him. Just as he was before, Dee was extremely polite and humble, and generously took the time to sign autographs and pose for photos with everyone who asked, even as his Dodger Dog was getting cold.

Dee poses for a photo with my daughter Christina while his Dodger Dog awaits him

Dee began the 2011 season at Triple-A Albuquerque and was now only one step away from the Majors. That step came on June 6, 2011 when he made his Major League debut as a pinch runner in the top of the ninth against the Phillies and eventually scored. He made his first MLB start the next night and had hits in his first three at bats and stole a base. It was very clear that Dee Gordon was an impact player, something that the struggling Dodgers so desperately needed. Just how much of an impact player is he? Well, during an interleague game on July 1, 2011 against the cross-town rival Angels, Dee did something that no Dodger player had done since 1928 – he stole second, third, and home in the same inning. And though Gordon spent some time on the DL during his short rookie season in the Bigs, he managed to compile a very respectable .304 batting average and stole 24 bases, which tied the rookie record for stolen bases in a season and did so in only 56 games. One can only imagine what he would have done in a full season. Dee’s incredible rookie accomplishments earned him a spot on the 2011 Topps All-Star Rookie team and garnered him the September 2011 MLB Rookie of the Month award.

Dee receives his September 2011 MLB Rookie of the Month award from his mentor and good friend Maury Wills. (Photo by Jon SooHoo)

Although Dee has struggled a bit offensively thus far in the first two weeks of the 2012 season, his defense has been electric with several unbelievable defensive plays, including an over-the-head catch on the dead run during a recent home game against the San Diego Padres.

Dee made this impossible over-the-head catch on the dead run. (Photo by Jon SooHoo)

In that same game, Gordon was the centerpiece of a rare 2-5-6-3 triple play and also collected his first-ever game-winning walk off hit in the bottom of the ninth to secure a 5-4 victory.

Dee collects his first-ever walk off hit to beat the Padres at Dodger Stadium on April 15, 2012 - Jackie Robinson Day. (Photo by Jon SooHoo)

Make no mistake about it, Dee Gordon is still a work in progress and is still quite a bit away from being a Gold Glove caliber shortstop, but having an up close and personal knowledge of Dee’s tremendous work ethic and his total dedication to the game, there is no doubt in my mind that he will have several Gold Glove trophies on his mantle before his playing days are over – and you can take that to the bank.