Angel Manuel "Andy" González (born December 15, 1981) is a Puerto Rican former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

and the current assistant

hitting coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisi ...

for 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

, and

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

Career

González was drafted by the

in the fifth round (163rd overall) of the

2001 Major League Baseball draft The 2001 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 5 and 6. First round selections Supplemental First Round selections Compensation Picks Background On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban baseball pitcher who had recently left Cub ...

. He made his professional debut that year with the

Gulf Coast League White Sox The GCL White Sox were a Gulf Coast League minor league baseball team that played from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 to 1997. The club was affiliated with the Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team ...

, where he was a

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the low ...

All-Star at

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

. He finished with a .323

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, five home runs and 30 RBI in 48 games. After steadily advancing through Chicago's minor league system, González was recalled by the White Sox and made his major league debut on April 25, . He finished the game 0-for-1 with a walk in Chicago's 6–2 win over the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

. In 189

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

in the majors in 2007, González batted only .185 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 67 games. After the season, the White Sox did not tender González a contract, making him a free agent. On December 21, 2007, González signed a minor league contract with the

with an invitation to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. After not making the team out of spring training, González began the season with the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

, where he batted .242 with seven home runs and 35 RBI in 83 games. He was called up to the majors on July 26 to fill the roster following the trade of

Casey Blake William Casey Blake (born August 23, 1973) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, and Los Angeles Dodge ...

. In 10 games with Cleveland, González hit .208 with a home run and 2 RBI before being designated for assignment on August 29. He became a free agent at the end of the season. In January , González signed a minor league contract with the

. He made the team out of spring training, and was added to the major league roster on April 4, 2009. However, he did not appear in a game before being sent to the Triple-A

New Orleans Zephyrs New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

on April 12. He was recalled again on July 8, and hit a triple in his first at bat with the team on July 9. González was optioned to New Orleans on July 20, and designated for assignment on July 31. On October 9, the Marlins outrighted him to New Orleans and he opted for free agency. On April 29, 2010, the

Sussex Skyhawks The Sussex Skyhawks were a professional baseball team that played at Skylands Park in Augusta, New Jersey. The team was part of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent minor baseball league also referred to as ...

signed González. He signed a minor league deal with the

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

on April 30, 2011.

Puerto Rico Baseball League

In 2008, González played with the Leones de Ponce of the

Puerto Rico Baseball League Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...

. He won the league's regular season batting championship. Registering an average of .387 in 41 games played. In the semifinals, González had an average of .313 with one RBI.

Post-playing career

In November 2020, González was named the first manager of

RA12 RA12 was a Puerto Rican professional baseball team based in San Juan. It competes in the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (LBPRC). Between its inception in 2020 and its final season in 2023–24, the team played its home games at Hiram ...

. On December 14, 2021, González was hired by the

as an assistant hitting coach for the 2022 season.

Personal

González attended

Florida Air Academy Florida Prep, formerly known as Florida Air Academy, is a private boarding and day school founded in 1961 by Jonathan Dwight, located in Melbourne, Florida, United States. Students in grades 6-12 are provided a college-preparatory education that ...

Melbourne, Florida Melbourne ( ) is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located southeast of Orlando, Florida, Orlando along Florida's Space Coast, named because of the region's proximity to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. The city ...

References

External links