Lariel Alfonso González (born May 25, 1976) is a Dominican former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played for one season. Before the 1998 season, ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' named him the 94th-best prospect in baseball. He pitched in the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

from 1994 until September 7, 1998 when he was called up to the Rockies' Major League roster along with

Jim Stoops James Wellington Stoops (born June 30, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for one season with the Colorado Rockies in three games during the 1998 season. Stoops attended Franklin High ...

Edgard Clemente Edgard Alexis Velazquez Clemente (born December 15, 1975) is a former professional baseball outfielder. He is the nephew of Hall of Fame baseball legend Roberto Clemente. Career Clemente was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 10th round of ...

Derrick Gibson Derrick Gibson (born March 22, 1979) is a former NFL Safety (American football position), safety who played his entire career for the Oakland Raiders. He was drafted by the Raiders in the first round (28th overall) in the 2001 NFL Draft. He play ...

and

Mark Strittmatter Mark Arthur Strittmatter (born April 4, 1969) is an American former professional baseball player and current coach for the Colorado Rockies. College Strittmatter played baseball at the County College of Morris in Randolph, New Jersey, for two ...

. He made his Major League debut on September 22 against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

Coors Field Coors Field is a baseball stadium in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Opened in 1995, the park is located in Denver's Lower Downtown neighborhood, two blocks from Union Station. The sta ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

in relief of

Curt Leskanic Curtis John Leskanic (; born April 2, 1968) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. During a 12-year baseball career, he pitched from 1993 to 2004 for the Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals and Boston Red S ...

. He faced three batters,

Brent Brede Brent David Brede (born September 13, 1971) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 5th round of the 1990 Major League Baseball draft, Brede made his MLB debut with the Twins on September 8, . ...

David Dellucci David Michael Dellucci (born October 31, 1973) is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven teams. High school Dellucci graduated from Catholic High in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

and

Jay Bell Jay Stuart Bell (born December 11, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop and former manager of the Rocket City Trash Pandas of the Southern League. He played for the Cleveland Indians (1986–88), Pittsburgh Pirates (1989� ...

and retired them all in order. He was returned to the

Minor Leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

in 1999 and, in January 2000, was traded to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

along with Bobby Jones for

Masato Yoshii , nicknamed "Oiyan", is a retired Japanese professional baseball player, former pitching coach and current manager for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He pitched in Major League Baseball from 1998 to 2002. Career Y ...

. He signed a contract with the Mets for the 2000 season for $202,000. González spent the 2000 season in the minors with the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

and was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

in December 2000. He was subsequently picked up by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

and spent the 2001 season in the minors with the

West Tenn Diamond Jaxx The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mar ...

. González last played professional baseball in 2002 in the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Atlantic League with the

Camden Riversharks The Camden Riversharks were an American professional baseball team based in Camden, New Jersey, from 2001 to 2015. They were a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not at that time affiliat ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Lariel 1976 births Living people Arizona League Rockies players Asheville Tourists players Camden Riversharks players Carolina Mudcats players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic New Haven Ravens players Norfolk Tides players Portland Rockies players Salem Avalanche players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Baseball players from San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic