Famous Baseball Players

Base Ball Players

Juan González

Juan Alberto González Vázquez (born October 20, 1969 in Arecibo, Puerto Rico), better known as Juan González, and nicknamed "Juan Gone" or "Igor", is a Major League Baseball right fielder. González bats and throws right-handed. He was one of the premier run producers during the 1990s, averaging 117 runs batted in per season between 1991 and 1999.
"Juan Gone" was signed by the Texas Rangers as an amateur free agent in 1986 and made his Major League debut on September 1, 1989 as a September call-up. Prior to making it to the major leagues, he played for the Caguas Criollos, a Puerto Rican professional baseball team based in Caguas
González' first full season was 1991. It was his first of many 100-plus RBI seasons, proving himself a capable middle of the line-up run producer. He improved his batting average and home run totals over the next few seasons, leading the league in homers in 1992 (43) and 1993 (46). On August 28, 1993, Gonzalez had the last 3-homer game in the history of Arlington Stadium. On the strength of González' steady production at the plate, Texas finished first in the AL West division in 1996, 1998 and 1999. Despite a ridiculious playoff output by Gonzalez in 1996, (.438 BA, 5 HR, 9 RBI, .526 OBP, 1.375 SLG% in 4 games) the Rangers were still defeated in the American League Division Series by the New York Yankees, as well as in 1998 and 1999. Between 1996-98, González averaged 45 home runs and 144 RBI in 140 games, the most productive period in his career. He won the American League MVP award in 1996 with a .314 BA, 47 HR and 144 RBI in just 134 games and 1998 with a .318 BA, 45 HR and 157 RBI in 154 games.
Fearing they would be unable to meet González' rising salary demands, Texas elected to trade him in the postseason, eventually settling on a deal with the Detroit Tigers. On November 2, 1999, he was traded with Danny Patterson and Gregg Zaun to Detroit for Frank Catalanotto, Francisco Cordero, Bill Haselman, Gabe Kapler, Justin Thompson and Alan Webb. The following season was a disaster for González and the Tigers as a team. 2000 was the opening year for Detroit's new ballpark, Comerica Park, and the team's management had counted on strong seasons from the team's new players to draw interest from fans. But, hampered by injuries and unable to adjust to Comerica's unfavourable dimensions, González had one of the poorest seasons of his career. Detroit had gambled on the one-year remaining on his contract hoping to spark fan interest and lost. However, this move turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Tiger fans, for it ultimately lead to the firing of General Manager Randy Smith in early 2002. González resurrected his career in 2001 with the Cleveland Indians, where he was asked to fill the void left behind as a result of Manny Ramirez' free agency departure to the Boston Red Sox. González batted .325 with 35 home runs and 140 RBI in 140 games, leading the Indians to the postseason where he hit .348 with 2 HR and 5 RBI in 5 games with a .739 SLG%.