Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 6, 1990 TAG: 9007060042
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RAY COX SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
A benchwarmer when he was first here in 1988, Gonzalez is back with a bang. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound catcher is starting to show the promise the Atlanta Braves organization saw in him when it signed him as a 17-year-old out of Rosemead, Calif.
"It was real frustrating my first year here," he said. "Going from playing anywhere and everywhere and playing every day, then coming here and sitting on the bench was bad."
Twenty-two at-bats and one hit worth of bad. The at-bats were the fewest and the average (.045) the lowest on the team. Most of his catching was done in the bullpen.
That wasn't the way he expected for his sporting life to develop after he turned down the opportunity to play college football and signed a baseball contract. A swift and muscular linebacker/halfback, Gonzalez fielded offers from Southern California and San Diego State.
Furthermore, he also had been a star wrestler, once finishing second in the state as a 190-pound freestyler and ranked 12th nationally.
"I'd always wanted to play baseball, though," he said. "My grandfather, Carlos Del Rio of Puerto Rico, once played in the Yankees' organization. I didn't really get any family pressure to play baseball. But I'd played four years of high school football without getting hurt, and I knew that it would be unusual to avoid injury all the way through college, too. So I signed to play baseball."
Then he came to Pulaski and sat. One of the reasons was that he was not a very good catcher.
"I caught throughout high school, but I was never taught anything," he said. "I just caught."
By fall that year, he headed back to the West Coast to attend school for half a year at Pasadena City College and gather his thoughts. The next spring, he was dispatched to Bradenton, Fla., to work in the less-pressurized atmosphere of the Gulf Coast League.
The change of address was a powerful tonic. Gonzalez batted .380 (19-of-50) in 16 games. From there, it was off for winter ball in Puerto Rico, where he played for the Aircebo Lobos.
Gonzalez started the first nine games, then went back home to marry the former Veronica Cintron of Temple City, Calif. When he returned, he was out of the lineup. Nevertheless, he said the experience was valuable.
"The talent was awesome," he said. "Sandy Alomar [now of the Cleveland Indians], Joey Cora [San Diego Padres], Luis Quinones [Cincinnati Reds], Roberto Alomar [San Diego Padres]. You hit anything up the middle - hard or soft - and you're out."
These days, he seems to be hitting everything hard. In one pre-season batting practice session, he had roving hitting instructor John Grubb, coach Randy Phillips and manager Randy Ingle watching in admiration as he blasted three balls out of Calfee - one to right, one to left and one to center.
Through seven games, Gonzalez was batting .280 with one homer, two doubles, a triple and six RBIs in 25 at-bats.
That Gonzalez is hitting well is no surprise. More noteworthy are his newfound defensive skills.
"When I was in high school, I was strictly an offensive catcher," he said. "But in pro ball, a catcher isn't in the organization for offense. Now, I've learned to be a defensive catcher and an offensive catcher.
"It's hard to explain how much I've learned since I came in 1988. I've probably improved 300 percent. That's the way I see it."
by CNB