Alex Gonzalez (infielder)

Infobox MLB retired
name=Alex Gonzalez


width=150
position=Shortstop
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1973|4|8
Miami, Florida
debutdate=April 4
debutyear=by|1994
debutteam=Toronto Blue Jays
finaldate=May 20
finalyear=by|2006
finalteam=Philadelphia Phillies
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.243
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=137
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=536
teams=
* Toronto Blue Jays (by|1994–by|2001)
* Chicago Cubs (by|2002–by|2004)
* Montréal Expos (by|2004)
* San Diego Padres (by|2004)
* Tampa Bay Devil Rays (by|2005)
* Philadelphia Phillies (by|2006)

Alexander Scott Gonzalez (born April 8, 1973 in Miami, Florida) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman who spent the majority of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays. Gonzalez established a career-high with 20 home runs for the Chicago Cubs in mlby|2003 and hit 20 or more doubles eight times, although his batting average (career .243 hitter) and on-base percentage (.302) were always low. At Killian High School in Miami, Florida, Gonzalez was an All-State pick in baseball as a senior. He was drafted straight out of high school in the 14th round of the 1991 Major League Baseball Draft by the Blue Jays.

Professional career

Gonzalez began his pro baseball career in the minor leagues in by|1991 with the Gulf Coast Blue Jays. The following season, he moved up to Single-A, playing for the Myrtle Beach Hurricanes in the Carolina League. In by|1993, he moved up in the minors once again, this time to Double-A, spending the season with the Southern League's Knoxville Smokies. After making the major league team to begin mlby|1994, Gonzalez batted only .151 in 15 games and was sent down to Triple-A Syracuse at the end of April. With Syracuse, Gonzalez batted .284 as he spent the rest of the season in the minors.

Gonzalez was the Blue Jays starting shortstop from mlby|1995 to mlby|2001 with the exception of mlby|1999 when Toronto traded for Tony Batista. Throughout his career, Gonzalez was plagued by a lack of offense, with decent power for a middle infielder, but was unable to hit for average. After spending eight years with the Toronto Blue Jays, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs on December 21 2001, for Felix Heredia and minor leaguer James Deschaine. Gonzalez had two of his best seasons as the Cubs starting shortstop from mlby|2002-2003. In 2003, he hit a career-high 20 home runs and advanced to the postseason with the Cubs. Gonzalez had a reputation for strong defensive play; however, in the 8th inning of Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, he dropped a routine double play ball that would have ended the inning with the score 3-1 in favor of the Cubs. Gonzalez's error led to seven Florida Marlins runs which led to the Cubs losing the game, and ultimately the series. This was shortly after an incident in which a fan touched a foul ball that left fielder Moisés Alou might have caught. Alou reacted with visible frustration and anger after being unable to catch the ball, although there was no illegal interference on the play. The batter eventually drew a walk, and it was Gonzalez's error that opened the floodgates. Curiously, Gonzalez's strong point in the postseason was his offense; he batted .275 and hit 4 home runs in 12 postseason games.

On July 31, mlby|2004, the day of the trading deadline, Gonzalez was dealt in a four-team trade to the Montreal Expos with the Cubs acquiring Boston's Nomar Garciaparra to play shortstop.

After a brief stint with the Expos, he was sent as part of a conditional deal to the San Diego Padres on September 16. He became a free agent after the season and signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for mlby|2005 as a third baseman, making the switch from shortstop. After a brief, disappointing mlby|2006 run with the Philadelphia Phillies, Gonzalez retired from baseball. However, he came out of retirement on January 12, by|2007, signing a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals. But despite a strong showing in spring training during which he batted over .400, Gonzalez failed to make the Royals' 25-man roster prior to the 2007 season, and exercised his right to become a free agent. Shortly thereafter, he signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals and played 5 games for Triple-A Columbus before his release.

Post-playing career

Gonzalez is currently going back to school at the University of Phoenix by taking online classes to get a degree in sports management. While he is currently coaching little leach and high school baseball, Gonzalez would like to someday be a baseball executive or possibly a coach. He currently resides in Miami, Florida, with his wife and children. [cite web |url=http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080916&content_id=3486347&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor |title=Gonzalez has front office aspirations |accessdate=2008-10-10 |author=David Singh |authorlink=MLB.com |date=2008-9-16 |work=MLB.com]

ee also

* Top 500 home run hitters of all time

References

External links