Amateur career Though his father was a baseball player, Strange-Gordon initially focused on basketball and did not play baseball until he was in high school. He received a scholarship offer to play
college basketball for the
Louisville Cardinals. Gordon played baseball at
Avon Park High School (like his father),
Seminole Community College, and
Southeastern University, all in central Florida. was named the league's
Most Valuable Player, selected to its mid-season and post-season All-Star teams, and chosen for the
Prospect of the Year Award. The Dodgers also selected him as their "Minor League Player of the Year". In 2010, he was with the
Chattanooga Lookouts in the
Double-A Southern League and was selected to represent the Lookouts in the All-Star game but was unable to play because he was also selected to the
All-Star Futures Game. He hit .277 in 133 games in 2010, while stealing 53 bases and committing 37 errors. He played for
Gigantes de Carolina in the
Puerto Rico Baseball League after the season. He was assigned to the
Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes to start 2011. At that time, Gordon was the Dodgers' best prospect according to
Baseball America.
Los Angeles Dodgers After an injury to shortstop
Rafael Furcal, the Dodgers purchased Gordon's contract on June 6, 2011, and he made his major league debut in the top of the ninth as a
pinch runner against the
Philadelphia Phillies that night and scored a run. His father was in attendance. The next day, in his first start, he had hits in his first three major league at bats and stole one base. In a game against the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on July 1, Gordon stole second, third, and, home in the same inning. He became the first Dodger player since
Harvey Hendrick in
1928 and the first Major Leaguer since
Jayson Werth on May 12,
2009 to accomplish that feat. Gordon appeared in 56 games for the Dodgers, hitting .304 with 24 stolen bases. He also stole 30 bases for the Isotopes, giving him a total of 54 between the majors and the minors in 2011. In just 56 games for the Dodgers, Gordon's 24 stolen bases tied for the most by a rookie during the 2011 season. He was selected to the
Topps All-Star Rookie team. Gordon hit his first career home run on May 1, 2012, leading off the game against
Jhoulys Chacín of the
Colorado Rockies. On June 1, 2012, Gordon was part of a Dodgers lineup that featured the sons of five former Major Leaguers (along with
Tony Gwynn Jr.,
Iván DeJesús Jr.,
Jerry Hairston Jr. and
Scott Van Slyke). This was the first time in Major League history that this had occurred. It was also the first time a starting infield of four major league sons had ever occurred:
first baseman Van Slyke, second baseman Hairston,
third baseman DeJesús, and shortstop Gordon. Gordon was leading the league in stolen bases when he tore the
UCL in his right thumb on a successful steal of third base on July 4 against the
Cincinnati Reds. He did not rejoin the club until September 11, by which time the club had acquired
Hanley Ramírez to play shortstop. With his starting spot gone, Gordon was relegated to a pinch running role the remainder of the season. Overall, in 2012, he played in 87 games and hit .228 with 32 steals. After the season, he played for the
Tigres del Licey in the
Dominican Winter League. He began 2013 back in Triple-A with the Isotopes and was called up to the Dodgers on May 4 after an injury to Ramírez. He played in 19 games, during which he hit a poor .175, and was optioned back to Triple-A. He rejoined the Dodgers late in the season and was used primarily as a pinch runner. He stole 10 bases in 12 attempts for the Dodgers in 2013 while hitting .231 in 38 games. Later in the season, the Isotopes started playing Gordon at
second base and he played
center field in the
Dominican Winter League in an attempt to improve his versatility. Gordon beat out
Alex Guerrero to become the Dodgers starting second baseman for the 2014 season. He hit .301 in the first half of the season, while leading the league in triples (9) and steals (42), and he was selected to the National League squad at the
2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. At the All-Star game at
Target Field, when Gordon was in the on-deck circle,
Derek Jeter told
Fox TV commentators how amazing it was to see Dee there, also playing as an All-Star, having first met him at age 15 when his father Tom was then pitching for the Yankees. Gordon had entered the game as a pinch-runner in the fourth inning, scoring the game-tying run. Overall, he went 0–1, but made a strong fielding play at second base, sliding to his right to grab a ground ball to end the sixth inning. Gordon finished the 2014 season with 64 stolen bases, the most in
Major League Baseball. It was the first time a Dodgers player had led the Major League in stolen bases since
Davey Lopes stole 77 bases in 1975. He hit .289 in over 600 at-bats and also led the majors with 12 triples.
Miami Marlins On December 10, 2014, Gordon was traded to the
Miami Marlins, along with
Dan Haren and
Miguel Rojas, in exchange for
Andrew Heaney,
Chris Hatcher,
Austin Barnes, and
Enrique Hernández. Gordon recorded his 50th hit of the season in the Marlins' 28th game on May 7, 2015, tying
Rogers Hornsby's 1924 Major League record for fewest team games required to reach 50 hits. After 28 games, Gordon led the major leagues with a .437 batting average. On May 22, Gordon stole four bases in a game against the
Baltimore Orioles. In a June 30 home game against the
San Francisco Giants, Gordon hit his first
inside-the-park home run. The home run against pitcher
Ryan Vogelsong scored three runs. It was also the first inside-the-park homer at
Marlins Park. Gordon batted .333 for the season, winning the National League
batting title and leading the majors in
infield hits (36) and
bunt hits (16) and winning his first
Rawlings Gold Glove Award. On January 18, 2016, Gordon signed a five-year contract extension with the Marlins worth $50 million. On April 29,
Major League Baseball suspended Gordon for 80 games due to
performance-enhancing drugs use. He tested positive for exogenous
testosterone and
clostebol. On September 26, the day after teammate and friend
José Fernández died in a boating accident, Gordon led off the game versus the Mets. A left handed hitter, he took the first pitch of his at bat as a right-handed batter, imitating Fernández's batting stance, with Fernández's batting helmet in honor of his late friend; pitcher
Bartolo Colón, out of respect, threw the pitch for a ball. Gordon then switched to bat left handed as he does naturally and, following a second ball, Colón threw a fastball down the middle of the strike zone, which Gordon hit for his first home run of the year. He rounded the bases fighting off tears and hugged teammates upon his arrival back to the dugout. He said after the game that he had never hit a ball that far, even in batting practice, adding, "If y'all don't believe in God, y'all might as well start. For that to happen today, we had some help." Gordon's tribute home run to Fernández has been described as a "transcendent MLB moment." In 2016 he batted .268/.305/.335 with one home run. For the season, he had the highest
ground ball percentage (57.6%) and the lowest
fly ball percentage (19.6%) of all major league hitters. In 2017, he batted .308/.341/.375 with two home runs, and led the majors in
bunt hits, with 18.
Seattle Mariners On December 7, 2017, the Marlins traded Gordon and international slot money to the
Seattle Mariners for
Nick Neidert, Christopher Torres, and
Robert Dugger. It was also reported that Gordon would be an
outfielder for the Mariners. Gordon played outfield for the Mariners until
Robinson Canó was suspended for 80 games, at which point Gordon returned to second base. In September 2018, a day after Gordon nonchalantly dropped a fly ball in the outfield, he was criticized by and fought teammate
Jean Segura in the team's locker room after asking media to leave the room. For the 2018 season, Gordon batted .268/.288/.349 with four home runs in 556 at-bats. Opposing fielders did not consider him a power threat: center fielders set up on average only 302 feet from home plate when he came to bat and left fielders 267 feet from home plate, closer than for any other major league hitter. While he stole 30 bases (fifth in the league), he led the American League with 12 times caught stealing. On defense, his 10 errors at second base were third among all AL second basemen, and his .963 fielding percentage in center field was the lowest among center fielders with at least 400 innings played. Gordon walked in 1.5% of his plate appearances, the lowest percentage in the major leagues, and had the lowest
walk-to-strikeout ratio in the majors at 0.11. In 2019, Gordon batted .275/.304/.359 and stole 22 bases in 117 games. In 2020, he batted .200/.268/.213 and stole three bases in 33 games. As a
utility player, he split time equally between second base and left field (13 games each), with three appearances at shortstop, and served as a
pinch runner in seven games. He had the fastest average time from home plate to first base of all major league second basemen, at 4.18 seconds. On October 27, 2020, it was reported that the Mariners would not pick up Strange-Gordon's $14 million contract option for the season, instead paying him a $1 million
buyout. The following day, the Mariners officially declined his option, making him a free agent.
Milwaukee Brewers On February 7, 2021, Strange-Gordon signed a minor league contract with the
Cincinnati Reds organization. On March 26, the Reds released Strange-Gordon. On April 8, 2021, Strange-Gordon signed a minor league contract with the
Milwaukee Brewers organization. He hit .333 with 1 home run in 10 games for the Triple-A
Nashville Sounds before being released by Milwaukee on May 22.
Chicago Cubs On May 26, 2021, Strange-Gordon signed a minor league contract with the
Chicago Cubs organization and was assigned to the Triple-A
Iowa Cubs. In 27 games with Iowa, he batted .223/.270/.310 with 1 home run and 9 RBI. On July 6, Strange-Gordon opted out of his minor league deal and elected free agency.
Pittsburgh Pirates On July 7, 2021, Strange-Gordon signed a minor league contract with the
Pittsburgh Pirates organization. On August 1, Strange-Gordon opted out of his contract.
Washington Nationals On December 11, 2021, Strange-Gordon signed a minor league contract with the
Washington Nationals organization. On April 7, 2022, the Nationals selected Strange-Gordon's contract, adding him to their opening day roster as a result of his strong play during spring training. On April 12, Strange-Gordon made his first career MLB appearance as a pitcher in the 8th inning of a 16-4 loss to the
Atlanta Braves. He allowed three runs in his one inning of work, giving up a home run, issuing three walks, and hitting one batter. The Nationals designated Strange-Gordon for assignment on June 14. He was released on June 19; at the time he was batting .305 with a .661 OPS. On July 16, the Nationals re-signed Strange–Gordon to a minor league contract. He was released on August 5. According to Strange-Gordon’s father
Tom, he has retired from professional baseball and now owns a farm in central
Florida. He last played in an exhibition game against the
Savannah Bananas. ==Personal life==