Michael Vela Gonzalez (born May 23, 1978) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

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 ...

. He played in

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), ...

(MLB) for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, Texas Rangers,

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

, and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

Professional career

Pittsburgh Pirates

Gonzalez was traded twice prior to his MLB debut. First, on July 22, 2003, where he was traded by the

with

Scott Sauerbeck Scott William Sauerbeck (born November 9, 1971) is a retired left-handed Major League Baseball relief pitcher. High school career Sauerbeck attended Northwest High School in Cincinnati, and played baseball, basketball, and soccer graduating in ...

to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

for

Brandon Lyon Brandon James Lyon (born August 10, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, and New York ...

and Anastacio Martinez. Second, on July 31, 2003, where he was traded back to Pittsburgh with

Freddy Sanchez Frederick Phillip Sanchez Jr. (born December 21, 1977) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. Sanchez played in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox (–), Pittsburgh Pirates (–) and San Francisco Giants (–). He ...

and cash for Brandon Lyon, Anastacio Martinez and Jeff Suppan. Gonzalez converted all 24 save attempts during the 2006 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates before having his season end early because of an elbow injury. Gonzalez was traded to the Atlanta Braves with

Brent Lillibridge Brent Stuart Lillibridge (born September 18, 1983) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs a ...

for

Adam LaRoche David Adam LaRoche (born November 6, 1979) is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, ...

and

Jamie Romak James Robert Romak (born September 30, 1985) is a Canadian former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yokohama D ...

on January 17, . MG 4988 Mike González

Atlanta Braves

After experiencing a drop in velocity on his fastball in excess of in a game versus the

, the Braves quickly took precautionary measures and placed him on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

on May 16, 2007, with a left elbow strain. After several MRIs showed no damage to his elbow, a more specialized MRI was performed that indeed revealed a slight ligament tear. On May 25, 2007, it was announced that his elbow would require

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

and, consequently, he would miss at least the rest of the 2007 season, and possibly the first half of the season. In 17 innings with the Braves in 2007, Gonzalez posted a 1.59

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

with a 2–0 record and 2 saves. Gonzalez made his return on June 18, 2008, pitching a perfect 9th inning and recording a save against the Texas Rangers. On January 19, 2009, Gonzalez avoided arbitration and signed a one-year $3.45 million contract.

Baltimore Orioles

On December 16, 2009, Gonzalez agreed to a deal with the

for two years and $12 million. On December 19, 2009, Gonzalez officially signed with the Baltimore Orioles. On April 14, 2010, Gonzalez was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained left shoulder.

Texas Rangers

On August 31, 2011, Gonzalez was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for

Pedro Strop Pedro Ángel Strop (born June 13, 1985) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, and Chicago Cubs. Career ...

. In 2011, he was a combined 2–2 with a 4.39 ERA and 1 save. Gonzalez made his postseason debut with the Rangers in 2011 until the team lost the

2011 World Series The 2011 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2011 season. The 107th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Texas Rangers and the Nation ...

to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Washington Nationals

On May 10, 2012, the Washington Nationals agreed to terms with Gonzalez on a 1-year, minor league deal. The Nationals called Gonzalez up to the majors on June 3.

Milwaukee Brewers

On December 29, 2012, Gonzalez agreed to a one-year $2.21 million deal, pending a physical.

Second stint with Washington

Gonzalez returned to the Washington Nationals in 2014, agreeing to a minor league contract on March 4. He was released on July 5, 2014.

Toros de Tijuana

On April 8, 2016, Gonzalez signed with the

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (or Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican Baseball team based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They are members of the Mexican Baseball League and play their home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The fran ...

of the Mexican Baseball League.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
o
Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Mike 1978 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players Altoona Curve players American baseball players of Mexican descent American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Atlanta Braves players Augusta GreenJackets players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Texas Bowie Baysox players Gulf Coast Orioles players Gulf Coast Pirates players Indianapolis Indians players Lynchburg Hillcats players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Mississippi Braves players Nashville Sounds players Norfolk Tides players Pawtucket Red Sox players Pittsburgh Pirates players Richmond Braves players San Jacinto Central Ravens baseball players San Jacinto College alumni Sportspeople from Corpus Christi, Texas Syracuse Chiefs players Texas Rangers players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Toros de Tijuana players Washington Nationals players