Without question the nicest and politest Dodger player that I have ever had the pleasure of interviewing is Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon. Oh sure there are a number of other Dodger players who are great guys and give a great interview, most of them in fact, but none come even remotely close to Dee Gordon.

It is so very obvious that Dee’s father, former major leaguer Tom “Flash” Gordon, raised Dee and his younger brother Nicholas right. With Dee it’s always “yes sir, no sir, please and thank you,” and he rarely, if ever, declines an interview. But what made Dee Gordon a true All-Star for me was something that occurred late one Friday night last season.

If there is a journalist, beat writer, television or radio talk show host who doesn’t enjoy interviewing Dee Gordon, I have yet to met them.
(Photo credit – Mark J. Rebilas)

As most Dodger fans know, the Dodgers have a great fireworks show after most Friday night games. It’s no secret (at least among members of the media) that the Dodger players try desperately to beat the post-game fireworks crowd and traffic out of Dodger Stadium – and let me tell you, it is a bear. On one such night a group of Dodger beat reporters and I were making our way into the Dodgers clubhouse to interview that night’s winning pitcher just as a group of Dodgers players were exiting the clubhouse which, of course, created a bit of a logjam at the clubhouse door. As a matter of courtesy and respect, us media-types yielded to the players, who were obviously trying to get out of Dodger Stadium before the fireworks ‘grand finale.’

Lo and behold, once the doorway congestion cleared, there was Dee Gordon holding the door not only for the exiting players, but also for the 15 or 20 reporters entering the clubhouse. While this may have gone completely unnoticed or meant nothing to some or most of those entering, it meant a great deal to me. It proved to me that everything that I had seen and heard about Dee Gordon was absolutely true – he is a polite, humble and respectful young man and a pure class act; and if ever there were a true All-Star both on and off the field, it is Dee Gordon.

When Dodgers manager Don Mattingly informed Dee that he had been voted onto the 2014 National League All-Star team, Dee was overwhelmed with emotion.

“I almost cried when Donnie told me,” said Gordon after Sunday’s game.

Although Gordon finished third in fan voting to Phillies second baseman Chase Utley and Pirates second baseman Neil Walker, he was voted in through the Player Balloting, which makes his first All-Star selection all the more special. Unlike the fan voting where fans can stuff the ballot box as many as 35 times per email address, the Player Balloting is a one vote per player thing.

While this may be Dee’s first time to an All-Star Game, he has always been an All-Star in my books.

Let me get that door for you, Dee.