JAWS and the 2024 Corridor of Fame Poll: Adrián González

The next article is a part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing take a look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2024 Corridor of Fame poll. For an in depth introduction to this 12 months’s poll, and different candidates within the sequence, use the software above; an introduction to JAWS will be discovered right here. For a tentative schedule, see right here. All WAR figures confer with the Baseball-Reference model except in any other case indicated.

Joe Mauer isn’t the one primary decide on this 12 months’s poll. In 2000, one 12 months earlier than the Twins took Mauer with the primary decide, the Marlins used the highest decide to pick out Adrián González out of Eastlake Excessive College in Chula Vista, California. He would grow to be one of many extra profitable primary picks, making 5 All-Star groups, successful 4 Gold Gloves, and receiving MVP votes in eight completely different seasons in his 15-year main league profession spent with the Rangers, Padres, Purple Sox, Dodgers, and Mets. He by no means performed a serious league recreation for the Marlins, nonetheless, and was traded 5 instances, together with twice on the heart of his period’s largest blockbusters. Alongside along with his two older brothers, he additionally continued the legacy of his father, David González Sr., by representing Mexico in worldwide competitors.

Adrián Sabin González was born on Could 8, 1982 in San Diego, California, the youngest of three sons of David and Alba González. His father had been a star first baseman in his personal proper for the Mexican Nationwide Workforce, and when the household lived in San Diego, he commuted every day throughout the border to Tijuana, Mexico, the place he owned a profitable air-con enterprise. All three of the couple’s sons had been born in the USA and all three would play baseball. The oldest, David Jr., was a shortstop who made it so far as school baseball however injured his arm and by no means performed professionally. The center son, Edgar (b. 1978), had a 15-year skilled profession himself (2000-15), together with two seasons as Adrián’s teammate in San Diego.

The household went backwards and forwards between the 2 nations. In 1983, they moved to Tijuana, the place they spent the subsequent seven years earlier than shifting to Bonita, California to set the boys up each educationally and competitively. From a 2009 Sports activities Illustrated function by Lee Jenkins:

As a boy in Tijuana, he and his older brothers, Edgar and David Jr., would hit bottle caps with broomsticks within the streets. As youngsters in San Diego they might hit 90-mph cutters off the state-of-the-art pitching machine of their yard. “They’d the perfect of each worlds,” says their father… [who] understood that the last word trendy ballplayer would mix American and Latino baseball cultures.

Adrian logged as many as 120 video games a 12 months, taking part in on manicured fields in San Diego’s South Bay in the course of the week, then crossing the Otay border and taking part in on potholed fields close to the Tijuana airport over the weekend. By 15 he was an everyday in Tijuana’s famed “Sunday video games,” hitting in opposition to former professional pitchers who nonetheless touched 90.

The household rooted for the Padres, and Adrián — a pure right-hander for all the things besides hitting and throwing — patterned his stage line-drive swing after that of hometown hero Tony Gwynn. He wore Gwynn’s no. 19 in highschool, and thrilled on the Padres’ 1998 World Sequence run alongside along with his brothers.

Mexican skilled groups signal prospects as youngsters and are below no obligation to allow them to go if a Main League baseball crew turns into . They will take an enormous proportion of a participant’s signing bonus — 75% from gamers whose fathers weren’t professionals, in accordance to Luis Cruz. Thus the González boys went to Eastlake Excessive College and labored with private trainers to extend their power. On the heels of a robust senior season, Adrián was considered as “a Mark Grace clone with just a little extra energy… [perhaps] the perfect pure hitter within the draft” to cite Baseball America. He was positioned for a excessive draft spot. The Marlins, who had spent $7 million on prime draft decide Josh Beckett the 12 months earlier than and who owned the primary decide, selected him over one other San Diego excessive schooler, catcher Scott Heard, as a result of González was prepared to just accept their $3 million bonus provide earlier than the draft. In the meantime Heard, drafted with the twenty fifth decide by the Rangers, by no means performed above Excessive-A. After going undrafted out of highschool however taking part in at San Diego State, Edgar was picked within the thirtieth spherical in 2000 by the Rays.

Adrián started his profession by hitting a mixed .297/.404/.365 and not using a homer in 53 video games with the Marlins’ Gulf Coast League affiliate and eight extra at Low-A Utica. He did hit 17 homers in every of the subsequent two seasons, at A-Stage Kane County and Double-A Portland, climbing to thirty first on Baseball America‘s Prime 100 Prospects listing, however the mixture of his all-fields method and a torn tendon in his proper wrist — which he performed via in ache in 2002 — led to issues about his energy. After a sluggish begin at Triple-A Albuquerque earned him a demotion to Double-A Carolina in 2003, he was traded to the Rangers in a four-player deal on July 11, with Ugueth Urbina the headliner in trade. The Rangers’ coaches inspired González to drag the ball to unlock his energy, however he managed simply 5 homers in 120 video games that 12 months, hitting a skinny .270/.327/.365 and dropping to 52nd on BA’s listing.

That very same 12 months, Mark Teixeira, the fifth decide of the 2001 draft, took over the Rangers’ first base job after briefly experimenting at third base and within the outfield corners. When he strained an indirect early in 2004, González obtained the decision; he went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in opposition to the Mariners’ Joel Pineiro in his main league debut on April 18, however collected his first hit off the Angels’ Ramon Ortiz two days later. Although he clubbed a homer and two doubles off Seattle’s Ryan Franklin and Kevin Jarvis on April 25, he was demoted when Teixeira returned two days later. He went 2-for-13 in a September cup of espresso.

With Teixiera rising as a star, González was caught in up-and-down mode. He hit .227/.272/.407 with six homers in 162 plate appearances unfold over three stints with the Rangers in 2005, primarily as a delegated hitter. On January 6, 2006, he obtained the break he wanted by being dealt to the Padres as a part of a six-player deal, alongside pitcher Chris Younger and outfielder Terrmel Sledge in trade for pitchers Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka and one different prospect. Two months later, he represented Mexico within the World Baseball Traditional for the primary time, serving to the crew get so far as the second spherical.

Whereas González wasn’t fairly an prompt success in San Diego, Padres coaches inspired his opposite-field method, significantly with Petco Park’s 411-foot distance to right-center. He doubled and singled off the Giants’ Jason Schmidt on Opening Day, and after a sluggish begin completed at .304/.362/.500 (127 OPS+) with 24 homers and three.0 WAR. The Padres received the NL West however misplaced to the Cardinals within the Division Sequence; González went 5-for-14 with out an extra-base hit or RBI.

Conscious of the star potential of a Mexican American participant of their market, the Padres signed González to a four-year, $9.5 million extension within the spring of 2007, his age-25 season. After a dialog with the Phillies’ Ryan Howard, he traded his 34-inch, 31-ounce bat for a 35-inch, 33-ounce bat each to provide extra energy and forestall overswinging. The transfer paid off with a really strong marketing campaign (.282/.347/.502, 126 OPS+, 30 HR, 100 RBI, 2.5 WAR), however the crew slipped to 3rd place.

González saved bettering, bopping 36 homers with a 140 OPS+ (each seventh within the NL) and three.5 WAR in 2008. He made his first All-Star crew and received his first Gold Glove, then repeated each honors whereas bettering to 40 homers, a 162 OPS+ (.277/.407/.551) and 6.9 WAR in 2009. His residence run complete and WAR each ranked fifth within the NL, his OPS+ third, and his 119 walks first; he trimmed his strikeout price from 20.3% to 16%, the place it might stay slightly regular for many of his profession. Brother Edgar, who had handed via the palms of the Rays, Rangers, Nationals, Marlins, and Cardinals by this level, joined him on the Padres, hitting a mixed .255/.312/.381 in 193 video games in a utility position in 2008–09. The pair additionally performed for Mexico within the 2009 WBC, throughout which Mexico obtained so far as the second spherical earlier than shedding to South Korea and Cuba.

In Could 2010, González injured his proper (non-throwing) shoulder whereas diving for a groundball. The harm pressured him to regulate his bat choice and his swing, however he performed 160 video games nonetheless, making his third straight All-Star crew on the power of a .298/.393/.511 (152 OPS+) season with 31 homers and 4.4 WAR (his DRS took a plunge). The Padres missed the postseason by an eyelash, shedding to the Giants on the ultimate day of the season when a victory would have tied the 2 groups atop the NL West at 91-71 and set them even with the Braves for the Wild Card spot; alas, Workforce Entropy wouldn’t be born till the subsequent 12 months.

Because it seems, González would get an up-close view of the chaotic — and in his case, disappointing — finish of the 2011 season as properly. He underwent surgical procedure to wash up his labrum on the finish of the 2010 season, and the Padres picked up his $6.2 million choice for ’11, however along with his free company looming, the crew believed it couldn’t afford even a hometown star. Common supervisor Jed Hoyer labored out a blockbuster with the Purple Sox (his former employer) that allowed them to barter a seven-year, $154 million extension with González. First baseman Anthony Rizzo, righty Casey Kelly, outfielder Rey Fuentes, and a participant to be named later (Eric Patterson) had been despatched to San Diego in trade.

Swapping Petco Park for Fenway Park — a commerce most hitters would make any day — González hit a scorching .338/.410/.548 whereas taking part in each recreation regardless of continued soreness in his proper shoulder. He made his fourth straight All-Star crew, received his third Gold Glove, and led the AL in hits (213) whereas rating second in batting common, third in on-base proportion and OPS+ (155), seventh in slugging proportion, and ninth in WAR (6.9). He even hit .318/.455/.523 in September, however the Purple Sox went 7-19, coughing up a 1.5-game lead within the AL East and fumbling the Wild Card with a loss on the season’s remaining night time.

The collapse value Purple Sox supervisor Terry Francona his job. The crew turned to Bobby Valentine, which rapidly grew to become a catastrophe. En path to a 93-loss season and anxious in regards to the extent to which huge contracts hampered their flexibility — an ongoing drawback throughout John Henry’s possession of the crew — GM Ben Cherington engineered a mega-deal with the Dodgers. González, Beckett, outfielder Carl Crawford, infielder Nick Punto and about $11 million in money had been despatched to Los Angeles in trade for an totally forgettable batch of gamers (first baseman James Loney, infielder Ivan De Jesus, outfielder Jerry Sands, and pitchers Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster). The Dodgers, who had not too long ago been bought by miserly proprietor Frank McCourt to the a lot wealthier Guggenheim Companions group, took on $258 million in contract obligations in an effort to beef up their roster. The 30-year-old González’s manufacturing within the months each earlier than and after the commerce was subpar relative to his latest work (.299/.344/.463, 18 HR, 117 OPS+), although he did homer in his first plate look as a Dodger, a three-run shot off the Marlins’ Josh Johnson.

González rebounded to some extent whereas serving to the new-look crew start its future of NL West dominance. From 2013–15 he hit a mixed .281/.342/.475 (129 OPS+) whereas averaging 26 homers, 102 RBI, and 4.2 WAR; his 12.7 WAR for the interval ranked seventh amongst all first basemen, whereas from 2010–12, his 15.0 WAR ranked a sturdy fourth. He led the NL with 116 RBI in 2014, received his remaining Gold Glove that 12 months, and made his remaining All-Star crew in ’15.

In 2013, González captained Workforce Mexico within the World Baseball Traditional, with Edgar additionally taking part in and David Jr. teaching. The crew received simply certainly one of its three video games, however it was a giant one, with Adrián hitting a two-run homer off Workforce USA starter R.A. Dickey to steer Mexico to a 5-2 victory.

As for the foremost league postseason, González was productive because the Dodgers received three straight division titles from 2013–15, hitting a mixed .288/.342/.534 with 5 homers. He homered a minimum of as soon as in each sequence through which the Dodgers performed, with a giant two-run blast off the Braves’ Kris Medlen within the 2013 Division Sequence opener, a two-homer efficiency in Sport 5 of that 12 months’s NLCS in opposition to the Cardinals, and a 6-for-19, 5-RBI exhibiting within the ’15 Division Sequence in opposition to the Mets, however the Dodgers received solely certainly one of their 4 sequence in these years.

Age caught as much as the 34-year-old González in 2016. Although he performed 156 video games — his eleventh season in a row with a minimum of that many — he slipped to .285/.349/.435 (111 OPS+) with 18 homers and 1.9 WAR. He did produce a few huge moments within the postseason, with a two-run homer off the Nationals’ Joe Ross in a Division Sequence Sport 4 win, and a solo homer off the Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks in Sport 2 of the NLCS, producing the sport’s solely run. He went simply 1-for-14 thereafter, nonetheless, because the Dodgers had been eradicated.

González opened the 2017 season because the Dodgers’ common first baseman, however he went homerless earlier than touchdown on the injured listing with tennis elbow on Could 5. Shortly earlier than he was sidelined, the crew recalled prime prospect Cody Bellinger, who performed some first base in his absence after which moved to left discipline when González returned. He lastly hit his first homer of the season on Could 26 in opposition to the Cubs’ Jake Arrieta, however on June 12 went again on the IL with a herniated lumbar disc. He missed over two months, and began simply twice after September 5 whereas Bellinger clubbed 39 homers en path to NL Rookie of the 12 months honors. On September 26, González went 2-for-4 with a seventh-inning homer off the Padres’ Miguel Diaz in what turned out to be his remaining plate look for the crew — a becoming bookend along with his 2012 debut blast. The following day, the Dodgers introduced that González had could be shut down as a consequence of additional again issues. He was left off the roster and vacationed in Europe (with the crew’s blessing) throughout their postseason run, although he returned in time to cheer his teammates on in the course of the World Sequence, which they misplaced to the Astros.

González nonetheless had one 12 months and $21.5 million remaining on his contract, however the handwriting was on the wall in Los Angeles. On December 16, 2017, he waived his no-trade clause and was dealt to the Braves together with pitchers Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy, infielder Charlie Culberson, and money in trade for Matt Kemp, a deal that was primarily about shifting round financial obligations. Per his settlement, the Braves instantly designated González for project and launched him two days later. He signed with the Mets in mid-January, and opened the season as their first baseman, going 2-for-3 with a double off the Cardinals’ Carlos Martinez on Opening Day. He held his personal for a bit, however a 3-for-25 hunch that coincided with an eight-game shedding streak in late Could and early June spelled the top. Hitting simply .237/.299/.373, he was launched on June 11.

González did make a quick, triumphant comeback within the Mexican League in 2021. At age 39, he joined Mariachis de Guadalajara and hit .340/.412/.531 with six homers in 43 video games. He formally retired from MLB in February 2022 and joined the Dodgers’ SportsnetLA broadcast crew.

González doesn’t have Corridor of Fame numbers, although so far as JAWS goes, he’s tied with Don Mattingly for thirty ninth amongst first basemen, 0.4 factors forward of Gil Hodges, and 1.1 factors forward of Grace, to whom he was in contrast as a draft prospect; he’s additionally forward of Rizzo (35.9) and one other standard Dodgers first baseman, Steve Garvey (33.4). As primary picks go, he’s among the many most profitable. He ranks sixth in profession WAR among the many 58 prime picks, although a pair of energetic gamers are poised to move him in 2024.