MLB Player Profile: Adrian Gonzalez
2011 has been the best season for Adrian Gonzalez and it has come in his first season with the Boston Red Sox. Gonzalez plays at first base and is one of the most elegant players when it comes to performances from the plate. He has proved his abilities time
and again since his Major League Baseball debut with the Texas Rangers on April 18, 2004. Gonzalez has had seven illustrious years at MLB and his eighth year at the big stage; he has officially stamped his authority on the circuit.
The left-handed player, nicknamed “Gonzo”, was picked as the first draft overall in the 2000 amateur draft by the Florida Marlins who ended up giving $3-million signing bonus for the talented infielder. He lived to his reputation and impressed in the Minor
Leagues before he was traded to the Texas Rangers for relief pitcher Ugueth Urbina. Gonzalez was suffering from a wrist injury and the Marlins felt that his inability to swing freely might hamper their chances for a possible berth in the World Series.
Gonzalez was not given an extended run in the Rangers’ starting line-up as his first season saw him featuring in only 16 games followed by 43 games in 2005, his second year at MLB. The gifted player produced decent results in the limited chances that he
was provided with and gave hints of the elegance that he possessed. The Rangers, however, felt otherwise and traded Gonzalez to the San Diego Padres after the 2005 season.
The Padres did not waste time juggling with the first baseman and allowed Gonzalez to become an everyday player for San Diego. A-Gon, thirsty for an extended-run, made the full of this opportunity and portrayed his heroics from the plate with 83 runs coming
from 173 hits in his first complete-season. 24 of the 83 runs came as homers for left-handed batter and he managed to cross the .300 batting average for the first time in his still-grooming career.
Gonzalez proved to be a useful player with his 82 RBIs and his brilliancy in all departments saw him being named the Most Valuable Player for the Padres in his first season with the team. This marked the beginning of his domination in MLB.
This magnificence earned him a $9.5 million four-year deal with the Padres and gave Gonzalez the confidence to lead the Padres from the front. He replicated his form in the 2007 season where he crossed the 100-run barrier for the first time in his career
and led the team in home-runs, smashing 30 out of a total of 101 runs. This season also became the first when Gonzalez registered 100 RBIs in a single season.
Gonzalez did not let either his form or fitness deteriorate and continued to feature in all season games. He topped himself in the 2008 season where he improved his record from the previous season to add two more runs to his tally of 101 runs from the 2007
season. He registered 36 home-runs in that season and was voted the MVP for the Padres for the second time. His performances earned him his first All-Star call-up in 2008 along with his first of the two consecutive Gold Glove Awards for brilliance at first
base. He won the second Gold Glove Award in 2009.
The Mexican American continued to impress for the Padres and went to be voted as the MVP for the next two seasons as well before being transferred to the Red Sox one-year before the end of his contract. Gonzalez has been a regular feature of the All-Star
Game since his first selection in 2008. The 2011 All-Star Game marked his fourth consecutive appearance in the star-laden game.
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