Juan González (baseball)

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This article is about the Puerto Rican baseball player. For other uses, see: Juan González.
Juan González

St. Louis Cardinals — No. 22
Right fielder
Born: October 20, 1969 (1969-10-20) (age 38)
Arecibo, Puerto Rico
Bats: Right Throws: Right 
Major League Baseball debut
September 1, 1989 for the Texas Rangers
Selected MLB statistics
(through 2007)
Batting average     .295
Home runs     434
Runs batted in     1404
Teams

Juan Alberto González Vázquez (born October 20, 1969 in Arecibo, Puerto Rico), better known as Juan González, and nicknamed "Juan Gone" or "Igor" is a professional baseball right fielder. González bats and throws right-handed. He was one of the premier run producers during the 1990s, averaging 117 runs batted in per season between 1991 and 1999. He is currently with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Contents

[edit] Personal life

González has been married four times. He was married to Puerto Rican volleyball player Elaine López, sister of fellow major leaguer Javy López, during the early 1990s. This marriage broke down when a local newspaper released a cover photo of singer Olga Tañón kissing González during a concert in San Juan. A scandal followed, with González divorcing Elaine López and marrying Tañón, who said she had no idea González was married to Lopez when she kissed him. González and Tañon had a daughter together, Gabriela González Tañón, in 1998. González and Tañon divorced less than two years later. Juan's daughter later became one of only fifty people in the world (and the first Puerto Rican) ever to have been diagnosed with Sebastian syndrome, a mild blood clotting disorder.

González has a friendship with George W. Bush, this friendship began when González debuted in the Texas Rangers who at the time were owned by Bush.[1] Igor stated that "a friendship that goes beyond baseball was created between them" and during his time in office Bush invited González to the White House twice.[2] The first one of these reunions took place on April 16, 2001 and the second one happened on December 3, 2007, in this reunion he was accompanied by historiator Luis Rodriguez Mayoral.[3] The meeting extended to thirty-five minutes and González noted that the group discussed about his future in the Major Leagues and other baseball related topics as well as taking time to become familiar with the events that had happened throughout their respective careers.[2] During this visit to Washington D.C. Gonzalez was also involved in a meeting with Rudolph Giuliani and a visit to Walter Reed military hospital in order to visit Puerto Rican soldiers that were injured in the Iraq War.[4]

[edit] Biography

Juan González was signed by the Texas Rangers as an amateur free agent in Puerto Rico on May 30, 1986, at the age of 16 (after signing Sammy Sosa and before signing Iván Rodríguez two years later). He earned his nickname "Igor" due to his strength and his liking of a character of Puerto Rican comedian Sunshine Logroño.

In the Puerto Rico youth league, Gonzalez batted cleanup behind future Yankee centerfielder Bernie Williams, where both competed against Gonzalez' future teammate Iván Rodríguez.

[edit] Career in the Major Leagues

[edit] 1986-1990: Minor leagues

González debuted with the 1986 GCL Rangers and finished with .240 batting average, .303 on-base percentage, and a .266 slugging percentage in 60 games. He only had 5 extra-base hits (none of them home runs) in 233 AB and struck out 57 times. He tied Harvey Pulliam by grounding into a Gulf Coast League-leading 9 double plays.

In 1987, Juan showed some improvement with the Gastonia Rangers, though Mark Whiten and Junior Felix clearly were deemed better outfield prospects in the South Atlantic League. In ratings by Baseball America, Gonzalez tied Ryan Bowen for 10th place on the prospect listing. He finished with .265 AVG, .306 OBP, and .401 slugging percentage with 14 home runs and 74 RBI.

Gonzalez spent 1988 with the Charlotte Rangers and batted .256/~.327/.415 with 8 home runs in 277 AB. Curiously, one of his outfield teammates that year was Sammy Sosa. The next year, he showed more improvement with the Tulsa Drillers hitting .293/~.322/.506 with 21 home runs and led the Texas League with 254 total bases. He outhomered Sosa by 14 and was third in the League in home runs, behind teammate Dean Palmer (25) and Chris Cron (22). Gonzalez was rated the league's #4 prospect by Baseball America, behind Ray Lankford, Andy Benes and Jose Offerman. Lankford and Warren Newson joined him in the TL All-Star outfield. He was called up by the Major League Rangers on September of that year, but only hit .150/.227/.250.

In 1990, González - playing with the Oklahoma City 89ers - led the American Association in home runs (29), RBI (101) and total bases (252). He made the AA All-Star outfield alongside Lankford and Bernard Gilkey and was named the league MVP. Baseball America named him the top prospect in the league in a poll of managers. He finished with .258/~.343/.508 for the 89ers. In the AAA All-Star Game, González hit 4th for the AL prospects and played as a designated hitter. He went 2 for 5 with a double, one of the game's two homers (described as "colossal" by Baseball America)[citation needed], two runs and two RBI in the AL's 8-5 loss. González was again called by the Rangers and did far better this time, batting .289/.316/.522.

[edit] 1991-1999: Glory days in Texas

In 1991, González became a regular starter for the Rangers at age 21, hitting .264 with 27 HR and 102 RBI, almost duplicating his prior year in Oklahoma City. González came up as a center fielder, as did teammate Sammy Sosa; but the Rangers opted to keep González and trade Sosa. Gonzalez eventually settled into right field, where he had a decent arm and adequate speed, but never looked entirely comfortable fielding fly balls and extra-base hits.

In 1992, he was the American League home-run champion with 43, one more than Mark McGwire. He also finished with a .260 batting average and a .529 slugging percentage winning the first of six Silver Slugger awards. The next year, he finished first again in home runs with 46, edging Ken Griffey, Jr. by one. He also improved his batting average and slugging percentage to .310 and .632 respectively.

That year, he was selected for the first time to the All-Star team. During the 1993 All-Star Weekend, he won the Home Run Derby preceding the All-Star Game with 7. He also finished fourth in voting for the 1993 AL MVP. He led the 1993 AL in slugging percentage winning his second Silver Slugger award.

In 1994, the Rangers moved from Arlington Stadium to The Ballpark at Arlington. The new park was designed to benefit left-handed hitters, whereas González was right-handed. This could've been one of the reasons why he struggled in the 1994 and 1995 seasons with his average and home run totals declining. He batted only 19 and 27 home runs respectively. Also, González struggled with injuries that limited his playing time. Also, during the 1995 season, González mostly settled in the designated hitter position because of injuries.

By the next year, González seemed to have figured how to play at the new Rangers ballpark and ended up averaging more than one RBI per game for a three-year span (1996-98). He won two MVP awards in this stretch (1996 and 1998). The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract listed him as the player who had the highest ratio of slugging percentage to on-base percentage in baseball history at that time, ahead of Dave Kingman and Tony Armas and 4th in RBI per game by an outfielder (behind Sam Thompson, Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth). James also ranked González as the 52nd-best right fielder in baseball history as of mid-2000.

In 1996, González had one of his best seasons hitting .314 with a .643 slugging percentage. He edged Alex Rodríguez by one first-place vote (11-10) and 3 award points (290-287) in a very close voting to win the American League MVP. He won his third Silver Slugger as an OF and was second in the AL in slugging (87 points behind McGwire). That year, the Texas Rangers made the playoffs, and in the 1996 American League Division Series, González homered five times in four games and batted .438/.526/1.375 with 9 RBI. However, Texas was still defeated by the New York Yankees. González tied Jeffrey Leonard's 1987 NLCS record by homering in four straight post-season games and joined Reggie Jackson and Ken Griffey, Jr. as the only players to hit five home runs in a single post-season series. Juan's cumulative 1996 stats (playoffs included) are pretty hefty: In 138 total games, he had 557 AB, 94 R, 177 H, 33 2B, 2 3B, 52 HR, 153 RBI, and 48 BB with a 10.7 AB/HR ratio.

In 1997, Juan batted .296/.335/.589 as a DH-RF for the Rangers. Gonzalez won his fourth Silver Slugger. In 133 games he was 4th in slugging, 6th in total bases (314), third in homers (42) and RBI (131), 10th in extra-base hits (69) and tied for 6th with 10 sacrifice flies.

In 1998, he reached the 100 RBI mark before the All-Star break (101), being the first player (and still most recent) to do so since Hank Greenberg 63 years earlier. He hit cleanup for the AL in the 1998 All-Star Game and decisively won the AL MVP award, a stark contrast to 1996. Juan was 10th in the 1998 AL in batting average, second to Belle in slugging, fourth in OPS, 6th in hits (193), 4th in total bases (382), first in doubles (50), tied for fourth with Manny Ramírez in home runs (45), first in RBI (157) in 154 games, tied with Griffey for 8th in OPS+ (149), second to Belle in extra-base hits (97), tied for third in sac flies (11), tied for sixth in intentional walks (9) and tied for third in double plays ground into (20). In April, he drove in 35 runs, a major league record for the month that still stands today. He also won his fifth Silver Slugger. The Rangers reached the playoffs, only to be swept by the Yankees. González ended up batting only 1 for 12 in the Division Series.

In 1999, he was 9th in the AL in average, 4th in slugging, 6th in OPS, 10th in runs (114), 6th in total bases (338), 6th in home runs (39), 5th in RBI (128), 7th in extra-base hits (76) and 2nd in sacrifice flies (12), one behind Roberto Alomar. However, he ended up struggling again in the Division Series, hitting only .182/.250/.455 with one homer as Texas was swept by New York for the second straight season. The only run the Rangers scored in the series was the homer by González.

González's four-year peak, not coincidentally, aligned with the first (and to date, only) three postseason appearances in the Rangers' history. He also contributed greatly to the Indians' 2001 division championship.

[edit] Statistics

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Batting Average .264 .260 .310 .275 .295 .314 .296 .318 .326
Home Runs 27 43 46 19 27 47 42 45 39
Runs Batted In 102 109 118 85 82 144 131 157 128
Hits 144 152 166 116 104 170 158 193 183
Runs Scored 78 77 105 57 57 89 87 110 114
On Base Percentage .321 .304 .368 .330 .324 .368 .335 .366 .378
Slugging Percentage .479 .529 .632 .472 .594 .643 .589 .630 .601
* Bold number indicates he led the league in that category.

[edit] 2000-2001: Detroit and Cleveland

In November 2, 1999, he was traded by the Rangers with Danny Patterson and Gregg Zaun to the Detroit Tigers in exchange of Frank Catalanotto, Francisco Cordero, Bill Haselman, Gabe Kapler, Justin Thompson, and Minor League prospect Alan Webb.

González struggled with Comerica Park and with new injuries on his back and leg. He hit .289/.337/.505 and did not rank among the league leaders in anything. He spurned a 8 year, $140 Million deal from the Tigers because of a desire to go to a friendlier ballpark for right-handed hitters.

On January 9, 2001, he signed with the Cleveland Indians with whom he had a strong season; however, it proved to be his last good full season, hitting .325/.370/.590 and an 147 OPS+ close to his MVP seasons. He won his sixth and last Silver Slugger and made his third and final All-Star team; he hit fifth for the AL in the 2001 All-Star Game. He finished fifth in MVP voting. He was sixth in the 2001 AL in batting average, 5th in slugging, 6th in OPS, 9th in home runs (35), second in RBI (140, (in 140 games) one behind leader Bret Boone),8th in OPS+, tied for third in double plays grounded into (18) and led the league with 16 sacrifice flies. He hit .348/.348/.739 for Cleveland in the Division Series with 3 doubles, 2 homers and 5 RBI in 5 games but they still fell in defeat.

[edit] 2002-2003: Return to Texas

On January 8, 2002, González returned to Arlington for the 2002 and 2003 season. He hit .282/.324/.451 (94 OPS+) the first year in 70 games. On June 18, he participated in the first MLB game ever with four players with 400+ home runs to that point. Rafael Palmeiro and Fred McGriff joined Sosa and Gonzalez in the game, which Texas lost 4-3. In about half a season the next year (82 games), he batted .294/.329/.572 (123 OPS+) with 24 HR and 70 RBI before a calf injury ended his season. GM John Hart tried to trade away González, but he used his no-trade clause to block those deals. However, on October 26, 2003, he was granted free agency.

[edit] 2004 to present: Comeback attempts

On January 6, 2004, González was signed by the Kansas City Royals. However, his bad back worsened during in the middle of May and his season came to an end. He ended up hitting .276/.326/.441 in 33 games. His $4.5 million deal was one of the largest on the club so in October 28 of the same year, they let him go.

He was signed later again by the Cleveland Indians. Despite a thorough work-out regimen González suffered a major injury to his hamstring and was out for the rest of the season after just one at-bat in May.

On March 20, 2006, González's agent Alan Nero got a verbal agreement for a minor-league contract with the Boston Red Sox. No contract was actually signed, and after some negative comments coming from manager Terry Francona directed toward González, González decided to go elsewhere.

After that, Gonzalez signed on with the independent Atlantic League in 2006, playing for the Long Island Ducks. He hit .323/.377/.515 in 36 games, with 6 HR and 23 RBI. His time was again limited by injuries.

The St. Louis Cardinals invited Gonzalez to spring training prior to the 2008 season.[5] He was one of 26 non-roster invites, participating in full roster workouts that began on February 19, 2008.[6]

[edit] Career in Puerto Rico

In the 1989-1990 Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, González hit .269/~.345/.500 for the Criollos de Caguas and hit 9 home runs, one less than the former League leader Greg Vaughn.

During the 1992-1993 season, he batted .333/?/.773 for the Santurce Crabbers and he won the league MVP award despite not playing until after the All-Star break. He hit 7 home runs and led the league despite playing in only 66 games; his average and slugging would have led the loop but he did not get enough plate appearances. González did not accompany Santurce to the 1993 Caribbean Series, though. The next season, he ended up hitting .268/?/.491 with 7 homers, 3 behind Phil Hiatt.

In 1995, González joined the San Juan Senators for the 1995 Caribbean Series and hit .375/?/.667 with 6 RBI as the Puerto Rican "Dream Team" won the title. González hit 5th, between Carlos Delgado and Rubén Sierra on a team that also boasted Roberto Alomar, Bernie Williams, Carlos Baerga and Edgar Martínez. San Juan outscored their opponents 49-15.

According to MLB.com, during the 2006-2007 Puerto Rican League, in 33 games playing for the champions Carolina Giants, González hit .281 with 18 RBIs and 4 homers. In 12 playoff games, he batted .369 with 3 home runs and 5 RBIs. González claims he is healthy and no longer feels pain in his legs. He was 10 for 26 (.385) in the 2007 Caribbean Series and made the Series All-Star team at DH.

[edit] Accomplishments

  • 3-time All-Star (1993, 1998, 2001)
  • American League MVP (1996, 1998)
  • 3-time Top 10 MVP (9th, 1997; 4th, 1993; 5th, 2001)
  • His 434 career home runs ranks 31st on the all-time list
  • 6 Silver Slugger Awards (1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001)
  • 2-time American League Home Run Champion (1992, 1993)
  • 5 40+ HR Seasons (1992, 43; 1993, 46; 1996, 47; 1997, 42; 1998, 45)
  • Finished Top 5 in RBI 5 times. (1993, 4th, 118; 1996, 2nd, 144; 1997, 3rd, 131; 1998, 1st, 157; 1999, 5th, 128; 2001, 2nd, 140)
  • Finished Top 5 in Slugging Percentage 5 times. (1992, 5th, .561%; 1993, 1st, .632%; 1996, 2nd, .643%; 1997, 4th, .589%; 1998, 2nd, .630%; 1999, 4th, .601%; 2001, 5th, .590)
  • Became just the 2nd player in major league history in 1998 to have at least 100 RBI before the All-Star Break. (101, second to Hank Greenberg who had 103)
  • Ranks 5th on the All-Time HR/Plate Appearance List with 16.49
  • Ranks 7th on the All-Time RBI/G List with .831. The only other modern day player on the list is Manny Ramírez who ranks 6th with .833
  • Ranks 15th on the All-Time AB per HR list with 15.1 AB/HR.
  • Ranks 21st on the All-Time Slugging Percentage List with .561%
  • Tied for 1st in Postseason History in Home Runs in a single Division Series with Ken Griffey, Jr. (Gonzalez - 5 HR in 4 games 1996, Griffey - 5 HR in 5 games in 1995)
  • Ranks 2nd in Postseason History in Slugging Percentage in a single Division Series (1.375% in 1996)
  • Ranks 2nd in Postseason History in OPS in a single Division Series (1.901 in 1996)
  • Tied for 2nd with 10 other players in Extra Base Hits in a single Division Series (5 in 1996 & 2001)
  • Ranks 3rd in Postseason History in Total Bases in a single Division Series (22 in 1996)
  • Ranks 7th in Postseason History in RBI in a single Division Series (9 in 1996)
  • Tied for 2nd in Postseason History in career HR in Division Series (8 HR, has 123 less Plate Appearances than Chipper Jones (1st) who has 9 HR and 144 PA less than Derek Jeter who also has 9 HR and is tied with Jones for 1st.)
  • Ranks 4th in Postseason History in career Slugging Percentage in the Division Series (.742)
  • Ranks 7th in Postseason History in career Extra Base Hits in Division Series (12)
  • Ranks 8th in Postseason History in career OPS in the Division Series (1.075)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Omar Marrero (2007-12-05). 'Amistad más allá del béisbol' (in Spanish). Puerto Rico: El Nuevo Dia. “La amistad de Bush con González y Rodríguez Mayoral se remonta a finales de la década de 1980 cuando Bush era uno de los dueños de los Rangers de Texas, equipo en el que debutó y se hizo estrella el jugador boricua.” 
  2. ^ a b Omar Marrero (2007-12-05). 'Amistad más allá del béisbol' (in Spanish). Puerto Rico: El Nuevo Dia. “La reunión a puertas cerradas entre Bush, González y el historiador Luis Rodríguez Mayoral, se extendió durante unos 35 minutos por invitación del presidente. “Fue una experiencia que muy pocos pueden tener. La amistad que hemos creado va más allá del béisbol”, manifestó González a The Associated Press, en una entrevista telefónica desde Washington, Distrito de Columbia. “Hablamos mucho de béisbol, de mi futuro en las Grandes Ligas y de Puerto Rico”, reveló el pelotero.” 
  3. ^ Omar Marrero (2007-12-05). 'Amistad más allá del béisbol' (in Spanish). Puerto Rico: El Nuevo Dia. “De acuerdo con Rodríguez Mayoral, es la segunda vez que él y González se reúnen con Bush en la Casa Blanca. La primera ocasión, recordó, fue el día 16 de abril del 2001.” 
  4. ^ Omar Marrero (2007-12-05). 'Amistad más allá del béisbol' (in Spanish). Puerto Rico: El Nuevo Dia. “El itinerario del toletero puertorriqueño en la capital estadounidense incluye una reunión el martes con el precandidato republicano a la presidencia, Rudolph Giuliani, y una visita el jueves al hospital militar Walter Reed, donde compartirá con soldados puertorriqueños que han sido heridos en combate.” 
  5. ^ The Associated Press (2008-02-04). Juan Not Gone: Former star Juan Gonzalez to attempt comeback with Cardinals. Slam! Sports. Retrieved on 2008-02-04.
  6. ^ The Associated Press. Gonzalez attempting comeback: Former AL MVP invited to Cardiansl camp. Sports Illustrated date=2008-02-04. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
José Canseco & Cecil Fielder		 American League Home Run Champion
1992–1993		 Succeeded by
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Preceded by
Mark McGwire		 Home Run Derby Champion
1993		 Succeeded by
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Preceded by
Mark McGwire
Bernie Williams		 American League Player of the Month
July 1996
September 1997		 Succeeded by
Alex Rodriguez
Manny Ramírez
Preceded by
Mo Vaughn
Ken Griffey, Jr.		 American League Most Valuable Player
1996
1998		 Succeeded by
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Iván Rodríguez
Preceded by
Ken Griffey, Jr.		 American League RBI Champion
1998		 Succeeded by
Manny Ramírez
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v • d • e
Home Run Derby champions
1985: Parker | 1986: Strawberry & Joyner | 1987: Dawson | 1988: Canceled | 1989: Davis | 1990: Sandberg | 1991: Ripken Jr. | 1992: McGwire | 1993: J. González | 1994: Griffey, Jr. | 1995: Thomas | 1996: Bonds | 1997: Martinez | 1998: Griffey, Jr. | 1999: Griffey, Jr. | 2000: Sosa | 2001: L. Gonzalez | 2002: Giambi | 2003: Anderson | 2004: Tejada | 2005: Abreu | 2006: Howard | 2007: Guerrero
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