Luis Gonzalez is a retired American baseball player. He’s 55 years-old. He played Major League Baseball for the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Florida Marlins. Gonzalez won a World Series in 2001, and he’s a 5-time All-Star. Gonzalez also had his jersey retired by the Diamondbacks.
Luis Gonzalez played high school baseball at Thomas Jefferson High School in Tampa, Florida. He played college baseball for South Alabama where he earned Baseball America All-Freshman Second Team honors. Gonzalez was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 4th round of the 1988 draft.
Luis Gonzalez made his MLB debut for the Houston Astros on September 4, 1990. He recorded 4 hits, including two doubles in 1990. In 1991, Gonzalez’s first full season, he batted .254 with 13 home runs, and 69 runs batted in. In 1993, he batted .300 with 15 home runs and 72 runs batted in. He also led the National League in sacrifice flies with 10. Gonzalez was traded to the Chicago Cubs halfway through the 1995 season. The deal was part of a package that had Houston giving up Gonzalez and Scott Servais in exchange for the Cubs’ Rick Wilkins. Gonzalez played for the Cubs in 1996 where he batted .271 with 15 home runs and 79 runs batted in. Gonzalez returned to Houston for the 1997 season after signing a one-year contract in the 1996 offseason. He batted .258 with 10 home runs and 68 runs batted in in 1997. Gonzalez became a free agent after the 1997 season.
Luis Gonzalez signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Tigers in the 1997 offseason. He batted .267 with 23 home runs and 71 runs batted in in 1998. Gonzalez also hit the first ever home run at Tropicana Field on Opening Day 1998. Tropicana Field is the home field for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (shortened to Rays beginning with the 2008 season). 1998 was the inaugural season for the Devil Rays. Gonzalez was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks prior to the 1999 season.
Luis Gonzalez played his first season with the Diamondbacks in 1999. The Diamondbacks won 100 games that year and won the NL West Division title in just their 2nd season as a franchise. Gonzalez made the 1999 All-Star Game. Gonzalez made three straight All-Star Game appearances from 2001 to 2003. He was an All-Star again in 2005. Gonzalez won the Silver Slugger Award in 2001. Luis Gonzalez delivered the winning hit in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. The Yankees had won the previous three World Series. The Diamondbacks became the fastest MLB expansion team to win the World Series. Gonzalez became a free agent after the 2006 season. He would sign a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Luis Gonzalez spent the 2007 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gonzalez was productive at the plate where he batted .278 with 15 home runs and 68 runs batted in, but his struggles on defense led to him being benched late in the season and he was replaced by Matt Kemp. he opted not to return to the Dodgers for 2008.
Luis Gonzalez signed with the Florida Marlins on a one-year contract for the 2008 season. He batted .261 in 136 games.
Luis Gonzalez retired from baseball in 2009. He finished his career with a lifetime batting average of .283 with 2,591 hits, 354 home runs, and 1,439 runs batted in. The Diamondbacks retired his number 20 jersey in 2010. This would be the first jersey retired by the team. The Diamondbacks retired Randy Johnson’s number 51 jersey in 2015.
jakethesportsguy 