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Luis Emilio Gonzalez (born September 3, 1967), nicknamed "Gonzo" , is an American baseball player who is currently a free agent. more...

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A Cuban-American, Gonzalez spent his best years with the Arizona Diamondbacks and was one of the most popular players in that organization's history. He is a native of Tampa, Florida, but he and his family (which includes wife Christine and triplets Megan, Jacob and Alyssa) are residents of Scottsdale, Arizona.

Career

Gonzalez graduated from Jefferson High School in Tampa in 1985, and attended the University of South Alabama. He earned Baseball America's All-Freshman Second Team honors while there. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the fourth round of the 1988 amateur draft.

Astros, Cubs, Tigers

Gonzalez broke in as a Major League Baseball player with the Astros in 1990. He made his debut on September 4, 1990 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He struck out in his first appearance, as a pinch hitter. He recorded his first career hit on September 8 against Steve Bedrosian of the San Francisco Giants. He playing 12 games as a September call-up and became the Astros primary left fielder in 1991 and played for the team until 1995, when he and Scott Servais were traded in mid-season to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for catcher Rick Wilkins. He came back to Houston in 1997 as a free agent, but was not re-signed. So he signed with the Detroit Tigers in 1998. He finally became a Diamondback when he was traded by Detroit to Arizona in December 1998 in exchange for Karim Garcia and cash.

Between 1990 to 1998, Gonzalez was a slightly below average player and was not putting up the kind of batting numbers expected of a corner outfielder. His best year during that period was 1993, when his batting average was .300, with 162 hits, including 34 doubles and 15 home runs.

Arizona Diamondbacks

1999-2000

It was in Arizona that Gonzalez became a star. He helped the Diamondbacks into title contention immediately, hitting a career-best .336 in 1999, leading the NL in hits with 206 and helping them win the National League's western division that season before the team fell to the New York Mets in a divisional playoff series. He was selected to his first All-Star Team in 1999. In 2000, the Diamondbacks came in third place in their division. He also blasted 31 home runs and cracked 192 hits.

2001-2003

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. The total is the third most in National League history for a left-handed batter (behind Barry Bonds'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 finished second in the NL in hits with 198. Gonzalez also won the Home Run Derby that year.

Read more at Wikipedia.org