JAWS and the 2025 Corridor of Fame Poll: Carlos González

The next article is a part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing take a look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2025 Corridor of Fame poll. For an in depth introduction to this 12 months’s poll, and different candidates within the collection, use the software above; an introduction to JAWS may be discovered right here. For a tentative schedule, see right here. All WAR figures seek advice from the Baseball Reference model until in any other case indicated.

He received’t find yourself in Cooperstown like Larry Walker and Todd Helton, and he was by no means the face of the franchise the way in which Troy Tulowitzki was, however Carlos González is the one participant to look in three separate postseasons for the Rockies, a bridge between excessive factors of the Helton/Tulowitzki period to these of the Nolan Arenado one. González solidified his spot within the majors with the 2009 Rockies, who overcame a gradual begin to declare a Wild Card berth, and was nonetheless taking part in commonly (albeit a lot much less successfully) on their ’17 and ’18 Wild Card qualifiers. In between these October appearances, the sweet-swinging CarGo made three All-Star groups, took residence three Gold Gloves, and received a really Coors Area-flavored batting title that propelled him to 3rd place within the 2010 NL MVP race. Alas, as with so many different Rockies stars, he additionally battled quite a few accidents, topping 140 video games simply 3 times in his 12 seasons.

Carlos Eduardo González was born on October 17, 1985 in Maracaibo, Venezuela, to folks Euro (an auto mechanic), and Lucila (an worker within the insurance coverage business). Euro had solely a passing curiosity in baseball, however his oldest son, Euro Jr., dominated avenue video games of their Maracaibo neighborhood. Euro Jr. didn’t begin taking part in organized baseball till he was 12, so he by no means had the chance to capitalize on his uncooked expertise, however he took nice curiosity within the affinity that Carlos, his youthful brother by seven years, had for the sport. When Carlos was 5, Euro Jr. helped discover him a Little League crew, his entry into Venezuela’s huge state-run youth baseball construction. Euro Jr. labored to assist his youthful brother purchase a glove and baseball sneakers.

As a baby, Carlos usually snuck into the kitchens and closets of family and hijacked their broom handles. “I’d discover the broom and unscrew it so I had a bat to hit stuff with,” he advised the Denver Submit’s Troy Renck in 2013. His toys turned projectiles. “I by no means favored taking part in with them. I’d toss them up within the air and hit them on a regular basis,” as he advised Renck.

It wasn’t lengthy earlier than González was taking part in in opposition to boys a number of years older than him, and copying the left-handed batting stance of fellow Venezuelan Bobby Abreu. González was “the child that hit residence runs practically each at-bat when he was 8 and dropped jaws with moon photographs as a teen,” in response to Renck. At 12, he hit a monster homer off fellow future main leaguer (and 2025 poll newcomer) Félix Hernández. Scouts found him through the 2001 Senior League World Collection, for boys between 13 and 16 years previous; at that 12 months’s event González performed in opposition to future main leaguers equivalent to Tulowitzki and Tyler Clippard. Agent Jose Ortega was impressed sufficient that he supplied to accommodate and practice González in Tampa, Florida, to arrange him to signal with a significant league crew when he turned 16. González’s dad and mom gave their blessing, so he give up college simply previous to commencement, and moved to Tampa, the place he roomed with 5 different Venezuelan gamers, together with future main leaguer Alberto Gonzalez (no relation). On August 3, 2002, he signed with the Diamondbacks.

González spent 5 seasons in Arizona’s system, incomes in-season promotions 3 times. He was the Midwest League’s MVP in 2005, when he hit .307/.371/.489 with 18 residence runs and 92 RBI; he cracked the Baseball America Prime 100 Prospects record, at no. 32, the next spring, and peaked at no. 18 in 2007. At varied factors on his method up, BA quoted managers or scouts evaluating him to Abreu and Carlos Beltrán. After González hit .288/.336/.478 with 17 homers and 10 steals in a 2007 season cut up between Double-A Cell and Triple-A Tucson, the Diamondbacks — who already had younger outfielders Carlos Quentin, Justin Upton, and Chris Younger vying for taking part in time with veteran Eric Byrnes — dealt him to the A’s in November as a part of a six-player bundle in trade for pitchers Dan Haren and Connor Robertson.

The A’s, who had received the AL West in 2006, had been within the midst of one among their periodic rebuilds; that they had been energetic forward of the 2007 commerce deadline, and inside a month of buying and selling Haren, additionally they dealt away Nick Swisher and Mark Kotsay. González entered the 2008 season ranked twenty second on BA’s Prime 100 Prospects record; the publication raved about his bodily instruments however sounded notes of warning about his perspective:

“He has large bat pace, with a pure easiness to his swing that generates plus uncooked energy to all fields… A prototype proper fielder, he has an above-average arm and sufficient pace to play in heart area if want be…

“Scouts and managers usually have been turned off by González’ strategy to the sport, accusing him of gifting away at-bats or not hustling at instances. The Diamondbacks have addressed this concern prior to now and say it’s a case of immaturity and lack of focus however not dangerous make-up. On the contrary, they are saying he’s a vibrant, outgoing one that desires to be a star.”

The 22-year-old González started the 2008 season at Triple-A Sacramento, the place he hit .283/.344/.416 in 46 video games earlier than he was referred to as up by the A’s in late Could. He debuted on Could 30, doubling twice off the Rangers’ Kevin Millwood and driving in Oakland’s solely run in a 3-1 loss. On June 20, he hit his first homer, a solo shot off the Marlins’ Mark Hendrickson. Serving because the crew’s common heart fielder but in addition dabbling in proper, he scuffled on the plate, hitting simply .242/.273/.361 (71 OPS+). He was optioned to Sacramento in late August and stayed by way of the Pacific Coast League playoffs, throughout which he shared Postseason MVP honors with Chris Denorfia whereas serving to the River Cats to the PCL Championship.

In November, CarGo was on the go once more, traded to the the Rockies together with pitchers Greg Smith (who was additionally within the Haren deal) and Huston Avenue in trade for Matt Holliday. The Rockies began him at Triple-A Colorado Springs, the place he hit .339/.418/.630 with 10 residence runs in 48 video games earlier than getting referred to as up in early June. The Rockies had began the season 18-28 earlier than firing supervisor Clint Hurdle, who had taken them to the World Collection simply two years earlier. González arrived a couple of week after bench coach Jim Tracy took over. Enjoying primarily in opposition to righties and spending extra time in left area than in heart, he hit .284/.353/.525 (118 OPS+) with 13 homers and 16 steals in 89 video games. The Rockies went 74-42 beneath Tracy to assert the Wild Card spot. Within the Division Collection, González terrorized Phillies pitching, amassing a number of hits in every of the 4 video games. He went 10-for-17 with two doubles and a house run; whereas he scored 5 runs, the homer represented his solely collection RBI, and it got here in a Recreation 3 loss.

Beginning with a 4-for-5 efficiency in opposition to the Brewers on Opening Day, González broke out in 2010, batting .336/.376/.598 (143 OPS+) with 34 residence runs and 26 stolen bases. In each July and August, he slugged above .700 and totaled 17 homers throughout these two months alone. On July 31, he hit for the cycle in opposition to the Cubs, capped by a walk-off two-run homer; it was his second straight four-hit sport and his fourth in a row with a house run.

González beat out Joey Votto for the NL batting title, thanks largely to a .380/.425/.737 slash line at residence. Even so, the efficiency was hardly misplaced among the many batting titles received by Rockies hitters:

González moreover led the NL with 197 hits and 351 whole bases, ranked second in slugging proportion, and sixth in each OPS+ and WAR (5.9). Votto claimed 31 of the 32 first-place votes within the NL MVP race, with Albert Pujols getting the opposite one; González completed third and moreover received his first Gold Glove, although the metrics present he was simply two runs above common by way of DRS. His efficiency wasn’t sufficient to get the Rockies again to the playoffs, as they completed third within the NL West, at 83-79.

Viewing him as a cornerstone together with Tulowitzki, the Rockies hammered out a seven-year, $80 million extension with González in January 2011. He wasn’t fairly nearly as good that 12 months, hitting .295/.363/.526 (125 OPS+) with 26 residence runs and 4.3 WAR. He injured his proper wrist crashing into the middle area wall at Coors Area on July 3; although he spent solely 15 days on the disabled record for it later in July, the lingering results of what was in the end recognized as a deep bone bruise shut him down in mid-September.

González was voted into the All-Star lineup in each 2012 and ’13, and he received Gold Gloves in each years. Superficially, the seasons had been related on the offensive facet, albeit with a bit extra energy within the later 12 months — .303/.371/.510, 122 OPS+ with 22 homers in 2012; .302/.367/.59, 144 OPS+ with 26 homers in ’13. Nonetheless, González plummeted to -13 DRS in 2012, his first season as a full-time left fielder, earlier than rebounding to 11 DRS in ’13, and so his WAR fluctuated from 1.6 to five.1. That latter whole got here in simply 110 video games, as he sprained a ligament in his proper center finger on July 7, reaggravated it on July 25, performed simply two video games in August earlier than happening the disabled record, and was restricted to defensive alternative obligation in seven September appearances earlier than once more being shut down for the season.

Sadly, the Rockies had been on their method down as properly. After sliding to 73-89 in ’11, they went 64-98 in ’12, setting a franchise document for losses that may stand till 2023. They improved a bit in 2013, to 74-88, however sank again to 66-96 in ’14, a season that for González was utterly wrecked by accidents. Hampered by tendinitis in his left knee, he performed in simply 70 video games and hit for an 88 OPS+ with -0.5 WAR. After lacking 5 weeks attributable to surgical procedure to take away a benign tumor on his left index finger, he wanted season-ending surgical procedure to restore his left patellar tendon in mid-August. The information of his surgical procedure hit a day after the Rockies misplaced Tulowitzki to his personal season-ending surgical procedure to restore a torn hip labrum.

Like his teammate, González spoke of the difficulties of recovering from taking part in at altitude. As he advised the Denver Submit’s Nick Groke:

“I nonetheless have that fireplace, that keenness,” González stated. “Nevertheless it’s restricted. I present up the primary sport and go 3-for-5 with a house run, and I lengthen a single right into a double. After which the subsequent day, I really feel like I received hit by a bus.”

… “It’s onerous to play that method, once you go on the market and really feel like, ‘I can’t transfer right this moment. I simply hope no person hits the ball the place I’m taking part in proper now,’” he stated. “When your physique will get pressured, your psychological half will get affected too.”

When González returned to motion in 2015, he moved to proper area as a part of an outfield shuffle that put Charlie Blackmon in heart. He was wholesome, setting profession highs with 153 video games and 40 residence runs (third within the league), although he had change into much less affected person on the plate and extra vulnerable to chasing exterior the zone. His .271/.325/.540 line translated to only a 116 OPS+, and with common protection in proper, his 2.6 WAR was merely stable, not particular. Wholesome once more in 2016, he hit 25 homers to go along with a .298/.350/.505 (111 OPS+) line and a couple of.3 WAR; he made his first All-Star crew since 2013, and the Rockies went 75-87, mediocre however nonetheless their finest displaying in three years.

After serving as a vibrant spot throughout some lean years for the Rockies, González light to round alternative degree simply as they turned good once more. His efficiency in opposition to left-handed pitching had deteriorated markedly; after managing a 109 wRC+ in opposition to lefties from 2009–13, he had slipped to a 57 wRC+ in opposition to them from ’14–16. The Rockies nonetheless valued him sufficient to provide him a three-year, $45 million extension within the spring of 2017 — the ultimate season of his seven-year contract — however he rejected that. He then spent the primary half of 2017 battling a sleep problem, and plummeted to .262/.339/.423 (86 OPS+) with -0.2 WAR general. These numbers would have been even worse if not for a red-hot September during which he was the crew’s finest hitter (.377/.484/.766 with six of his season’s 14 homers), serving to the Rockies eke out a Wild Card berth. Within the Wild Card Recreation itself, González went 2-for-5 in opposition to the Diamondbacks in a dropping trigger.

Even with Scott Boras as his agent, González discovered a less-than-robust market in free company. A number of groups — together with the Astros, Blue Jays, Orioles, Royals, and White Sox — reportedly confirmed at the least some curiosity, however no person supplied something approaching the deal he had bypassed within the spring, and whereas he remained upbeat about his prospects, as names got here off the board, he remained unsigned. In late February, Arenado publicly lobbied for his return, saying, “I feel it could be protected to say that everybody right here misses him, actually badly… CarGo is a good participant. I need him on my crew.”

In early March, González lastly agreed to a one-year deal guaranteeing $5 million, with an extra $3 million value of incentives primarily based on days on the roster. He met these incentives and was marginally more practical than in 2017, hitting a still-meager .276/.329/.467 (99 OPS+) and 0.8 WAR propped up by a giant July efficiency that wasn’t sustainable. He went simply 2-for-12 within the postseason; the Rockies beat the Cubs within the NL Wild Card Recreation however had been swept by the Brewers within the Division Collection.

With that, González hit free company once more, and this time couldn’t even scare up a significant league deal. He settled for a minor league cope with Cleveland in mid-March, opened the season with half a dozen video games at Triple-A Columbus, and joined the large membership in April; for a number of days, he was teammates with present ballot-mate Hanley Ramirez, who was making his last main league cease. González wasn’t very efficient, taking part in simply 30 video games earlier than being launched in late Could. He caught on with the Cubs in early June, however was launched once more in July after simply 15 video games. Nonetheless hoping to discover a job at 34 years previous, he signed one other minor league contract with the Mariners in February 2020, however was launched in late June, simply as camps had been reopening following the pandemic shutdown. He by no means signed one other deal.

The Rockies have had solely intermittent success of their 32 seasons, ending at .500 or higher simply 9 instances and making the playoffs a mere 5 instances. Different gamers could have achieved extra, however because the bridge between two profitable, if short-lived durations within the franchise’s historical past, González occupies a notable area of interest, a fond reminder of higher instances.