Luis Gonzalez (outfielder, born 1967)
Luis Gonzalez | |
---|---|
Left fielder | |
Born: Tampa, Florida, U.S. | September 3, 1967|
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
September 4, 1990, for the Houston Astros | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 28, 2008, for the Florida Marlins | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .283 |
Hits | 2,591 |
Home runs | 354 |
Runs batted in | 1,439 |
Teams | |
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Luis Emilio Gonzalez (born September 3, 1967), nicknamed "Gonzo",[1] is an American former baseball outfielder who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven teams. Gonzalez spent his best years with the Arizona Diamondbacks and was one of the most popular players in the organization's history. His game-winning hit in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series against New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera clinched the Diamondbacks' first and only World Series championship to date. Gonzalez was a five-time All-Star and won a Silver Slugger Award in 2001. In addition to good power (354 career home runs), Gonzalez was known as an exceptional gap hitter. His 596 career doubles currently rank 19th on the all-time MLB list.
After retiring from baseball in 2008, Gonzalez joined the Diamondbacks' front office in 2009 as a special assistant to the president. The following year, the team retired his uniform number #20, making him the first player so honored by the Diamondbacks.
Early years
Gonzalez grew up in the
College career
After high school, he attended the University of South Alabama, where he earned Baseball America's All-Freshman Second Team honors. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the fourth round of the 1988 amateur draft. Gonzalez played American Legion Baseball for Post 248. Other Post 248 alumni include Lou Piniella, Tony La Russa, Tino Martinez, and Gary Sheffield.
Professional career
Houston Astros (1988–1995)
Gonzalez was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 4th round of the 1988 June draft.
Gonzalez made his major league debut on September 4, 1990. He finished the rest of the 1990 season with four hits (two doubles). The year of 1991 became the first full season of Gonzalez's career. During 1991, he batted .254 with 13 home runs and 69 RBI. In 1992, he batted .243 with 10 home runs and 55 RBI. In 1993, he batted .300 with 15 home runs, 72 RBI, and an NL leading 10 sacrifice flies. In 1994, he batted .273 with eight homers and 67 RBI. His 1995 season began with a .258 batting average, six homers and 35 RBI.
Chicago Cubs (1995–1996)
Gonzalez along with Scott Servais were traded to the Chicago Cubs for Rick Wilkins. Gonzalez finished the 1995 season with the Cubs by batting .290 with seven homers and 34 RBI. Overall in 1995, Gonzalez had a .276 average, 13 homers and 69 RBI combined while he played with the Astros and Cubs. In 1996, Gonzalez batted .271 with 15 homers and 79 RBI.
Second stint with the Houston Astros (1997)
Gonzalez signed a one-year deal to return to the Astros in 1997. During 1997, he batted .258 with 10 homers and 68 RBI.
Detroit Tigers (1998)
Gonzalez signed a one-year deal for the Tigers in 1998. In 1998, he batted .267 with 23 homers and 71 RBI. He hit the first
Arizona Diamondbacks (1999–2006)
In 1999, Gonzalez was traded to the Diamondbacks for Karim García. He had a strong debut season for Arizona on his way to becoming a star during his tenure with the team, leading the NL in hits with 206 and posting a .336 batting average to help them win the National League's western division. Arizona would fall to the New York Mets in the divisional playoff series. Gonzalez was selected to his first All-Star Team in 1999. In 2000, the Diamondbacks fell to third place in their division, but Gonzalez had a fine season, blasting 31 home runs among his 192 hits, while hitting .311 and driving in 114 runs.
In 2001, Gonzalez astonished many when he hit 57 home runs, his personal best for one season and almost twice as many as he hit in any other season. This included a record nine home runs in his first 10 games (shared with
The Diamondbacks reached the
He was also selected to All-Star Teams in 2002 and 2003. During the 2002 season, Gonzalez received publicity as a piece of gum chewed by Gonzalez during a spring training game was sold for $10,000 on April 15, 2002.[4] The buyer was Curt Mueller, owner of Mueller Sports Medicine Inc., manufacturer of the gum, Quench.[5] In 2003, Gonzalez topped .300 (.304) for the fourth time in his first five seasons in Arizona, and eclipsed 100 RBI (104) for the fifth consecutive season.
On May 22, 2004, Gonzalez got his 2,000th career hit in a game against the
On June 15, 2006,
Los Angeles Dodgers (2007)
On September 14, 2006, the
Gonzalez hit his first home run as a Dodger on Sunday, April 8, 2007, versus Barry Zito of the San Francisco Giants. He hit two home runs in that game. In his only season with the Dodgers, he was productive offensively, but struggled defensively. Many times throughout the season, he was benched for a defensive replacement. Towards the end of the season, he was benched in favor of Matt Kemp, a top Dodger prospect at the time. He was upset about it and publicly said he was not interested in returning to the Dodgers before the season was even over. He hit .278 with 15 home runs and 68 RBI in 2007.
Gonzalez was the first player to hit a home run off of the touch tank on June 24, in Tropicana Field.
Florida Marlins (2008)
On February 7, 2008, he signed with the
Retirement
Gonzalez announced his retirement on August 29, 2009, and joined the Diamondbacks front office as a special assistant to the president.[13] In 2010, Gonzalez's number 20 jersey was retired on August 7, making him the first player to have his number retired by the team.[14]
Career statistics
In 2,591 games over 19 seasons, Gonzalez posted a .283
Other activities
With businessman and entrepreneur Anthony Conti, Gonzalez founded IsTalking, LLC, a Phoenix-based company that develops new social networking Web sites exclusively for college students. The company launched a new social network with Arizona State University called ASUIsTalking.com.[15] He has also formed a partnership with the ASU Alumni Association to be the exclusive online social-network for its 250,000 members.
Gonzalez has served as a
Gonzalez formerly owned and operated a restaurant called Gonzo's, located in oldtown/downtown
Gonzalez serves as a member of the board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro league players through financial and medical hardships.
The Diamondbacks built a
Gonzalez was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame on July 9, 2011, at the MLB All-Star Fan Fest in Phoenix.
Personal life
Gonzalez and his family (wife Christine and triplets Megan, Jacob, and Alyssa) are residents of
See also
- Houston Astros award winners and league leaders
- List of Arizona Diamondbacks team records
- List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball doubles records
- List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
- List of people from Tampa, Florida
References
- ^ "Luis Gonzalez Baseball Stats". Baseball Almanac. Archived from the original on October 8, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
- ^ a b "Their paths diverged, now cross again". USA Today. October 30, 2001. Archived from the original on February 11, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Luis Gonzalez". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ "Gonzo's gum going, going, gone for 10 grand". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 8, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
- ^ "Entrepreneur pays a wad for the wads". The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. April 17, 2002. Retrieved February 5, 2016 – via Google News.
- ^ Author unknown. "NL notebook: Gonzalez will have Tommy John surgery" Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. The Seattle Times. July 20, 2004.
- ^ "Luis Gonzalez 2006 Career Highlights". MLB.com. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
- ^ Montini, E.J. (June 15, 2006). "Suspicions sank some D-Backs". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
- ^ "Luis Gonzalez angry over steroid rumors". ESPN.com. June 15, 2006. Archived from the original on August 7, 2007. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
- ^ "'Difficult day' for D-Backs: Gonzalez not in '07 plans". ESPN.com. September 15, 2006. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
- ^ "Dodgers bring in outfielder Gonzalez". MLB.com. December 7, 2006. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
- ^ Frisaro, Joe (February 7, 2008). "Outfielder Gonzalez officially a Marlin". MLB.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
- ^ "Gonzalez to join D-Backs front office – dbacks.com: News". September 1, 2009. Archived from the original on September 1, 2009.
- ^ Williams, Cory (June 23, 2010). "Diamondbacks To Honor Luis Gonzalez, Retire No. 20". SBNation Arizona. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
- ^ Obele, Linda (June 22, 2008). "Conti 'Is Talking' about new media business". Phoenix Business Journal. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ^ "Gonzo goes to bat for Team GOP, Senator Jon Kyl!". Archived from the original on October 4, 2006. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
- ^ "D-Backs Great Luis Gonzales Endorses John McCain for Re-election". johnmccain.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010.
- ^ "Gonzo enjoys cornfield maze likeness". azcentral.com.
- ^ "Report: Second-rounder Jacob Gonzalez expects to sign with Giants". csnbayarea.com. June 13, 2017. Archived from the original on June 16, 2017.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- MLB All-Star Luis Gonzalez Launches Social Networking Sites for College Students – Reuters March 25, 2008
- Gonzo signs deal with Dodgers – The Arizona Republic December 6, 2006
- Pura Pelota – Venezuelan Winter League