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2003 season Adrian Gonzalez happy to be
healthy and have his career back on track Number one draft choices generally don't expect to be traded before they make their big league debuts.
But that's exactly what happened to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who was selected by the Florida Marlins out of his San Diego area high school as the first overall choice in the 200 free agent draft. Looking to bolster the bullpen for their successful pennant drive, the Marlins swapped Gonzalez and two other prospects last July to the Texas Rangers for closer Ugueth Urbina. "It wasn't a shock," stated Gonzalez, currently playing for the Arizona Fall League's Peoria Saguaros, when asked about the deal that sent him to the Texas organization. "The people who drafted me the first overall aren't there (in Florida) now. It wasn't like they had anything invested in me. To them, I was good trade bait, and they went ahead and did what they had to do to get Urbina." Gonzalez isn't feeling sorry for himself; in fact, he's very happy with the change of scenery. "I thought of it as a new beginning for me," said the 21-year-old Gonzalez. "I was feeling a little uncomfortable with the Marlins; I didn't have the same connection as with the guys that drafted me." He likes what he sees with the Texas Rangers so far. "It's a top-notch organization," said Gonzalez. "(They) made me feel comfortable right from the moment I got there. I'm very excited about being with the Rangers." The 6'2", 190 pound left-handed hitter is also pleased to be injury-free this fall for the first time in over a year. Gonzalez underwent wrist surgery last December; the injury limited his bat speed, and he homered only five times this past season. "I'm 100 percent healthy," commented Gonzalez. "I could still get a little more strength back. But I'm getting that back. It was a tough year for me, but I'm 100 percent now. I've been able to get around on some inside pitches where I couldn't during the year." Gonzalez is proving with his performance in the first half of the Arizona Fall League season that he's finally healthy and back on track. He's hitting .400/.511/.800, with three long balls, in 35 at bats. The most impressive statistic, however, is his Walk to Strikeout ratio; Gonzalez has walked nine times while fanning only twice. "So far I've been doing pretty well," said Gonzalez, in an obvious understatement. "I just see myself back on track when I feel good and I can perform and help the team win." Former major league slugger Rob Deer, the hitting coach for the Saguaros, likes what he sees in Gonzalez. "The thing that impresses me most," remarked Deer, who coaches in the San Diego system during the regular season, "is that he's able to hit the ball hard to left center. He's a line drive type of hitter. I think he has the potential to be a 30 homerun guy some day. What I've seen most about him is he's a real student of the game. He sits there during the game and he has an idea of what's going on ... what the pitcher's doing. As a young player, that's real important. When you study the game and you see what he's trying to do, it gives you that much more of an advantage."
Deer's projection of Gonzalez eventually being a big homerun hitter differs from the approach that the young first baseman has taken so far. The most long balls he's hit in any minor league season to date is 17. "Homeruns are the result of just getting good pitches to hit and putting a good swing on them," said Gonzalez, when asked about his developing power. "I really don't look for homeruns. I think that homeruns at times can be overrated. Run production is the main thing ... I really look at the RBIs rather than the homeruns. How many runs am I producing and how many runs am I scoring? That's where the game is won." Gonzalez has often been compared to Texas slugger Rafael Palmeiro, who didn't start putting up big power numbers until his sixth big league season, but surpassed the 500 homerun mark this past year. Deer agreed with the comparison, stating, "In the short time I've seen him, he reminds me of Rafael Palmeiro. He's like a carbon copy, actually." Gonzalez is flattered to be compared to the man that he may eventually replace in the Texas lineup. "Little by little he transformed himself into a homerun hitter," Gonzalez remarked about Palmeiro. "I was able to watch him play a couple of games; it was really enjoyable to watch. I hope that the path is the same ... I'm eventually going to try and turn myself into a homerun hitter. Right now, I just want to get my swing together ... and get some doubles and score some runs." Gonzalez attributes much of his development as a hitter to the years he spent as a teenager playing baseball in Mexico. His family lived in both Tijuana and across the border in San Diego during Gonzalez's childhood, and his father and brothers played in semi-pro leagues in the northern part of Mexico. "The main thing that helped me when I was a young kid was that I was able to play pretty much year round," Gonzalez said. "I would play in Mexico during the winter. The leagues in Mexico are from September through May, and in the United States the season would start in June ... I never took more than two weeks off." Gonzalez learned a lot by playing against older players in the Mexican leagues. "When I was 15, I was playing against 40-year-olds," he said. "You get a lot of knowledge and a lot of baseball leadership, and you ... learn how pitchers pitch." He continued by stating that he saw a lot of off-speed pitches, curveballs and changeups from the veteran pitchers in those leagues. "When I first came to the States in pro ball, I saw a lot more fastballs, and I wasn't used to it." Gonzalez is more than just a good hitter. He also takes pride in his glove work around the first base bag. "I work a lot on my defense," Gonzalez said. "I believe I can play a good first base, and I've played there all my life. Defense is something I look forward to playing and I've always prided myself on playing well." Deer concurred, adding, "Defensively, he's got a chance to be a real good first baseman. He's made some good plays for us this year." But in the end, hitting is what gets Gonzalez excited about coming to the park. "Hitting is what you look forward to most," Gonzalez said, "because hitting is why you started playing baseball. You didn't start playing baseball when you were a little kid to play defense." "You don't say, 'How many good plays am I going to make?' You say, 'How many hits am I going to get today?'" --- Bill Mitchell All photos on the Arizona Fall League Report are credited to Bill Mitchell, unless noted otherwise, and are not to be used for any other purpose without express permission.
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