Alex Gordon was hit by a pitch for the 78th time in his career on Friday night

Alex Gordon is one errant pitch away from being able to take claim as the toughest player in Royals history.

Well, sort of.

Gordon was hit by a pitch for the 78th time in his career on Friday night, tying catcher Mike Macfarlane for the franchise record. The record-tying pitch came from the left arm of Rangers starter Cole Hamels. Gordon later scored on a double from Lorenzo Cain as the Royals took a 1-0 lead.

Macfarlane, a catcher, played 980 career games for the Royals across 11 seasons. He was also hit 19 times as a member of the Boston Red Sox and Oakland A’s.

Gordons’ 78th hit by pitch came in his 1,280th career game for the Royals.

This story was originally published April 21, 2017 at 7:39 PM with the headline "Alex Gordon was hit by a pitch for the 78th time in his career on Friday night."