Luis Emilio Gonzalez (born September 3, 1967), nicknamed "Gonzo", is an American former

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

who played 19 seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for seven teams. Gonzalez spent his best years with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

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 The 2001 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2001 Major League Baseball season, 2001 season. The 97th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (ba ...

against

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

closer

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian Americans, Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and " ...

clinched the Diamondbacks' first and only

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

championship to date. Gonzalez was a five-time

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

and won a

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best Batting (baseball), offensive player at each Baseball positions, position in both the American League (AL) and the National League (baseball), National League (NL), as determ ...

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 life

Gonzalez grew up in the

West Tampa West Tampa is one of the oldest neighborhoods within the city limits of Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States. It was an independently incorporation (municipal government), incorporated city from 1895 until 1925, when it was annexed by Ta ...

neighborhood of

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

in a

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States aft ...

household. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1985 along with childhood friend Tino Martinez.

College career

After high school, he attended the University of South Alabama, where he earned

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

's ''All-Freshman Second Team'' honors. He was drafted by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

in the fourth round of the 1988 amateur draft. Gonzalez played

American Legion Baseball American Legion Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played by 13-to-19-year-olds in fifty states in the U.S. and Canada. More than 3,500 teams participate each year. The American Legion Department of South Dakota established the program in 1 ...

for Post 248. Other Post 248 alumni include

Lou Piniella Louis Victor Piniella ( usually ; born August 28, 1943) is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals a ...

Tony La Russa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager (baseball), manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis C ...

, 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. After signing, he was assigned to the short-season Class A Auburn Astros of the New York–Penn League, where

Kenny Lofton Kenneth Lofton (born May 31, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Lofton was a six-time All-Star (1994–1999), four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1993–1996), and at retirement, was ranked 15th among ...

, the Astros' 17th-round pick in 1988, was also making his pro debut. Gonzalez hit .312 with 5 home runs and 10 doubles in 39 games for Auburn before being promoted to the

Asheville Tourists The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. It is located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in different ...

to finish the season. 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 The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

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

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

Tropicana Field Tropicana Field (nicknamed "The Trop") is a domed multipurpose stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. "The Trop" was the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season, 1998 to ...

(the home stadium of the expansion

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...

) on Opening Day.

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 National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

's western division. Arizona would fall to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

in the divisional playoff series. Gonzalez was selected to his first

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

Mike Schmidt Michael Jack Schmidt (born September 27, 1949) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who spent his entire 18-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1972 to 1989. Schmidt was a 12-time Al ...

in 1976). The total is the third-most in

history for a left-handed batter (behind

Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...

's record 73, which also came in 2001, and Ryan Howard, who hit 58 in 2006). Gonzalez was selected to his second All-Star Team and won the

Home Run Derby The Home Run Derby is an annual home run hitting competition in Major League Baseball (MLB) customarily held the day before the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, MLB All-Star Game, which places the contest on a Monday in July. In the context ...

at the mid-season classic. He ranked second in the

in hits with 198, while batting .325 and posting career highs in runs (128), RBI (142) and walks (100). He finished third in the 2001 NL Most Valuable Player voting. The Diamondbacks reached the

that year and faced off against the

, who featured Gonzalez's childhood friend Tino Martinez starting at first base. In a climactic moment, Gonzalez came to the plate in the bottom of the 9th inning of game 7, with the score even at 2–2, the bases loaded and one out. The

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Their various meanings depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, the Northeastern United Stat ...

pitcher was

, widely regarded as one of the best closers of all time (Rivera had never blown a save chance in a World Series before, or since). Gonzalez swung at Rivera's 0–1 pitch and hit the game-winning bloop single into left field that sealed the first franchise

title for Arizona. 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. The buyer was Curt Mueller, owner of Mueller Sports Medicine Inc., manufacturer of the gum, Quench. 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

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

, though his season ended early when he had

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

in August. In 2005, he was selected to his fifth All-Star Team. On April 18, 2006, he got his 500th career double, becoming the 20th player in Major League history to hit 500 doubles and 300 home runs. On May 13, 2006, he passed

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

for 38th place all-time for the most doubles hit in league history. On June 15, 2006, ''

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. History Early years The newspap ...

'' printed an interview by columnist E. J. Montini with Diamondback managing general partner Ken Kendrick. In the interview, Kendrick mentioned whispers of alleged steroid use by Gonzalez; in the interview Kendrick never directly accused Gonzalez of using performance-enhancing drugs. The interview came eight days after Diamondback relief pitcher

Jason Grimsley Jason Alan Grimsley (born August 7, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for seven teams during a 15-year career. He was a member of both the 1999 and 2000 World Series champion New York Yankees. Major Leag ...

was released by the team after the team learned that federal agents had searched his home looking for evidence that he was a distributor of

human growth hormone Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin, also known as human growth hormone (hGH or HGH) in its human form, is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It is thus important in ...

and other performance-enhancing drugs. On June 16, 2006, an angry Gonzalez called a press conference to deny that he had ever used steroids.

Los Angeles Dodgers (2007)

On September 14, 2006, the Diamondbacks announced that they would not pick up the team option of $10 million to re-sign Gonzalez after the 2006 season. On December 7, Gonzalez signed a one-year contract with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

for $7 million for the 2007 season. Gonzalez hit his first home run as a Dodger on Sunday, April 8, 2007, versus

Barry Zito Barry William Zito (born May 13, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants. His pitching repertoire consisted of a curveball ...

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

Florida Marlins (2008)

On February 7, 2008, he signed with the

. The deal was reportedly worth $2 million for one season. Gonzalez played in 136 games for the Marlins in 2008, batting .261.

Retirement

Gonzalez announced his retirement on August 29, 2009, and joined the Diamondbacks front office as a special assistant to the president. 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.

Career statistics

In 2,591 games over 19 seasons, Gonzalez posted a .283

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(2,591-for-9,157) with 1,412 runs, 596 doubles, 68 triples, 354

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

, 1,439 RBI, 1,155 bases on balls, 128 stolen bases, .367

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

and .479

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

. He finished his career with a .986

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

primarily as a left fielder. In 24 postseason games, he hit .253 (22-for-87) with 12 runs, 3 doubles, 4 home runs, 12 RBI and 11 walks.

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. 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

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...

's broadcasts of

National League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...

games in recent years, and also worked on

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

' television broadcast of the 2006 National League Championship Series. Gonzalez formerly owned and operated a restaurant called Gonzo's, located in oldtown/downtown

Gilbert, Arizona Gilbert is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Located southeast of Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, Gilbert is home to 288,128 residents. It is the fifth-most populous municipality in Arizona and is considered a suburb of Phoenix. I ...

. After several name changes, it closed in 2009. In 2012, Postino opened its 3rd Arizona location in its place. Gonzalez is a prominent member of the Republican Party. As a resident of Arizona, he wrote a letter of endorsement for Arizona's Junior Senator,

Jon Kyl Jon Llewellyn Kyl ( ; born April 25, 1942) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator for Arizona from 1995 to 2013. Following the death of John McCain in 2018, Kyl briefly returned to the Senate; his resignatio ...

, who won his bid for re-election in 2006. He endorsed Arizona's other Senator, 2008 GOP Presidential Nominee

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

, over former congressman J.D. Hayworth in 2010. In 2022 he endorsed Kari Lake for the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election. Gonzalez was the Celebrity face for a cornfield maze in Queen Creek, Arizona for the Schnepf Farms' annual Celebrity Maze. Gonzalez is the first local celebrity featured; Oprah Winfrey, Larry King, and Jay Leno were previously featured. 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 Little League ballfield in his honor at Tempe Beach Park in

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

. 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

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

was selected by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

in the 2017 MLB draft.

References

External links

*
MLB All-Star Luis Gonzalez Launches Social Networking Sites for College Students
' –

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

March 25, 2008 *
Gonzo signs deal with Dodgers
' –

December 6, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Luis 1967 births Living people American sportspeople of Cuban descent Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona Republicans Auburn Astros players Baseball outfielders Baseball players from Tampa, Florida Chicago Cubs players Detroit Tigers players Florida Marlins players Houston Astros players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball players with retired numbers National League All-Stars Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Potros de Tijuana players Silver Slugger Award winners South Alabama Jaguars baseball players Thomas Jefferson High School (Tampa, Florida) alumni