Edgar Gonzalez (born June 14, 1978) is an American 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 ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

. 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

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...

Professional career

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

In Gonzalez batted .270 with seven doubles, seven triples, 16 RBIs and nine stolen bases in a combined 61 games with the Rookie-Level Princeton Devil Rays and the short-season Hudson Valley Renegades. Gonzalez led the New York–Penn League in in

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hit (baseball), hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single (baseball), single, 2 for a double (baseball), double, 3 for a triple (baseball), triple and 4 ...

with 146, and hits with 92. He was second in batting average and games, third in

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

, fourth in runs and extra-base hits and fifth in doubles. He played 73 games in '01. He played a career-high 134 games with the Class-A

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Char ...

in . 128 of those games at third base with just one game played at

second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...

. He finished the season hitting .275 with 123 hits, 28 doubles, eight

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

and 62 RBIs in 447 at bats Playing mostly at third base, Gonzalez spent the season with the Class-A Advanced Bakersfield Blaze. He had a 12-game hitting streak from July 20 to August 12 in which he hit .340 with seven RBIs. In 100 games he hit .298 with 32 doubles, six home runs and 62 RBIs.

Texas Rangers

On December 15, Gonzalez was drafted by the Texas Rangers from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2003 Rule 5 draft. Gonzalez saw his first action at Double-A in , playing with the Frisco RoughRiders of the Texas League in . He put together a 16-game hitting streak from May 4–20, boosting his batting average from .190 to .327 during that stretch. He batted .299 with five homers and 26 RBIs in 52 home games.

Washington Nationals

Gonzalez was drafted by the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

from the Texas Rangers in the 2004 Rule 5 draft, making it the second time he was chosen by a team from the draft. He opened the season at the Double-A Harrisburg Senators and played 101 games at Double-A before an August promotion 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), ...

. He picked up his first hit at Triple-A on August 16 against the Omaha Royals. On March 31, Gonzalez was released by the Washington Nationals.

Florida Marlins

After signing with Florida on April 4, Gonzalez opened the season with the Class-A Advanced Jupiter Hammerheads. He was promoted to the Double-A

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games ...

after hitting .293 with Jupiter. He had hits in 18 of his first 24 games at Carolina, batting .341 in May. He hit at a .349 clip out of the second slot in the line-up while with Carolina. He was transferred to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes on July 19. He picked up his first hit on July 21 at New Orleans and continued with a 10-game hitting streak that lasted through August 1. Gonzalez hit .392 during his 46 games at Triple-A.

St. Louis Cardinals

On January 30, Gonzalez signed as a Free Agent with the St. Louis Cardinals. He spent the entire '07 season with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

batting .308 with 34 doubles, eight home runs, 53 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 126 games.

San Diego Padres

Gonzalez made his Major League debut in May, and spent the remainder of the season with San Diego. He joined his younger brother Adrian on the Major League club, becoming the sixth set of brothers in club history and fourth pair to play together. He finished among National League rookie leaders in batting average,

, RBI, multiple-hit games, runs, hits,

, doubles, walks,

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

and extra-base hits. He made 72 appearances at

, 66 starts, four at third base, two starts, three 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 ...

, one start, two in left field, one start, and three in right field, one start. Gonzalez posted a .984 fielding percentage overall, making five errors in 310 total chances. His contract purchased from the Triple-A Portland Beavers on May 12 and he made his Major League debut that night against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, collecting his first hit, an RBI single. He was only the sixth player in franchise history with an RBI hit in first career plate appearance and first since Kevin Higgins in . Gonzalez made his debut at 29 years, 333 days old making him the second oldest player to make his debut for the Padres, the first being Akinori Otsuka at 32 years, 84 days old. Nine June doubles tied him for second in the National League during the month in that category. Edgar Gonzalez at bat

In Gonzalez failed to follow up his superb rookie season. He hit .216 with 33 hits, eight doubles, two triples, four home runs and 18 RBIs. On July 18, he was struck in the head by a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

from Colorado Rockies'

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Jason Hammel. This caused Gonzalez to miss seven weeks with concussion-like symptoms.

Yomiuri Giants

On January 8, 2010, Gonzalez signed with the

of the

(NPB).

San Francisco Giants

On February 10, 2011, the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

signed Gonzalez to a minor league contract. The deal did not include an invite to spring training.

Chicago Cubs

Gonzalez signed a minor league contract with the

on January 6, 2012. He became a free agent after the 2014 season.

Coaching career

Gonzalez was named as the manager for the GCL Yankees for the 2019 season.

International career

Gonzalez selected for the

Mexico national baseball team The Mexico national baseball team (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de México'') is the baseball team that represents Mexico in international tournaments. It is currently the 2nd-ranked baseball team in the world. Current rost ...

in the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an International Baseball Federation, international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23. Unlike in 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2006, when the Round-robin tournament, round- ...

and 2013 World Baseball Classic. Gonzalez managed the

in the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualification in 2016, 2016 exhibition series against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and 2017 World Baseball Classic in 2017.

Personal life

Gonzalez is the older brother of

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Adrián González, who last played in MLB for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

and the younger brother of David Gonzalez. Their father was a member of the Mexico national baseball team. He married Ana Cristina Lujan Gonzalez in 2003. He has two children, Arianna Gonzalez and Edgar Alexander Gonzalez. Arianna was born on August 11, 2012 and her little brother, Alexander, was born on October 14, 2014.

References

External links

Edgar Gonzalez NPB Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Edgar 1978 births Living people Águilas de Mexicali managers Albuquerque Isotopes players 21st-century American sportsmen American baseball players of Mexican descent American expatriate baseball players in Japan Bakersfield Blaze players Baseball players from San Diego Carolina Mudcats players Charleston RiverDogs players Fresno Grizzlies players Frisco RoughRiders players Harrisburg Senators players Hudson Valley Renegades players Iowa Cubs players Jupiter Hammerheads players Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball right fielders Memphis Redbirds players New Orleans Zephyrs players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball second basemen Portland Beavers players Princeton Devil Rays players San Diego Padres players San Diego State Aztecs baseball players Venados de Mazatlán players World Baseball Classic managers Yomiuri Giants players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players World Baseball Classic players of Mexico