Marwin Javier González (born March 14, 1989) is a Venezuelan 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 ...

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, basketball, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water ...

. 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

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, and

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

, 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

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture ...

. González was signed as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

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 a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

in 2005. He made his MLB debut with the Astros in 2012, and won the World Series with the team in 2017. González has appeared at every position in MLB except for

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Professional career

Chicago Cubs

Minor leagues

González was signed as an international

by the

on November 23, 2005. From 2006 through 2011, he played in the Cubs'

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, 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 pl ...

, reaching the Triple-A level in 2011 with the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

. He was an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

through 2008, then also started to play as an

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 ...

in 2009.

Houston Astros

On December 8, 2011, the

selected González from the Cubs in the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

, and then traded him to the

in exchange for pitcher Marco Duarte.

Major leagues

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, González made the Astros'

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster. He played 80 games with the Astros and 13 games in Triple-A with the Oklahoma City RedHawks. With Houston, he batted .234 with two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 12

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBIs). During 2013, González again split time between MLB (72 games) and Triple-A (44 games). With the Astros on April 2, González broke up a perfect game bid by Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. For the season with Houston, he batted .221 with four home runs and 14 RBIs. González spent all of the next five seasons in MLB, with Houston. From

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

through 2016, he batted a combined .268 with 31 home runs and 108 RBIs in 364 games. On August 18,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, González went 3-for-4 with a doubled and belted his first career walk-off home run in the bottom of the tenth off All-Star closer Brad Boxberger, giving the Astros a 3–2 win over the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

. He set a major league record by hitting his first 25 MLB home runs with no one on base. That streak was broken when he hit a home run on May 6, 2016, with Evan Gattis on second base. In

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, González had a

slash line This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

of .303/.377/.530, while seeing the lowest percentage of fastballs of all MLB hitters (45.7%). He received six votes in

AL MVP The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League (baseball), National League. The award has been present ...

balloting, finishing 19th. In Game 2 of the 2017 World Series, González hit a home run in the ninth inning off of

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

closer Kenley Jansen to tie the score at 3–3, as the Astros went on to win in 11 innings, 7–6. The World Series lasted seven games, and the Astros became MLB champions for the first time in franchise history. In 2020, it was revealed during the

Houston Astros sign stealing scandal The Houston Astros sign stealing scandal in Major League Baseball (MLB) broke in November 2019. Several members of the Houston Astros were disciplined for illegally using a video camera system to Sign stealing, steal signs from opposing teams ...

that the Astros broke MLB rules during the 2017 season. Analysis of videos during the season found that González received more “bangs” than any other player on the team, and received bangs on the second highest percentage of pitches seen. Note that, since bangs indicated an off-speed or breaking pitch, this is to some extent expected for a player who sees fewer fastballs. González subsequently apologized for his role in the scandal. In

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, González slashed .247/.324/.409, and saw the highest percentage of curveballs (14.9%) of all MLB hitters. He decided not to re-sign with the Astros and became a free agent after the season. Overall, in parts of seven seasons with Houston, González hit 76 home runs and 292 RBIs in 795 games, with a .264 batting average. Defensively, he played as an infielder during 2012 and 2013, and as both an infielder and outfielder thereafter. By the end of the 2016 season, he had appeared at every position for Houston except for pitcher and catcher. He played a career-high 92 games at one position—first base—in 2016.

Minnesota Twins

On February 25, 2019, González signed a two-year contract worth $21 million with the

. During the 2019 season, he batted .264 with 15 home runs and 55 RBIs in 114 games. In the shortened 2020 season, he appeared in 53 games while batting .211/.286/.320 with 5 home runs and 22 RBIs in 175 at bats. He became a free agent in late October 2020.

Boston Red Sox

On February 24, 2021, González signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the

. González became the first player in modern major league history to start at four different positions in the field through his team's first four games of the season—he played left field on 2021 Opening Day for Boston before manning second base, third base, and first base in the ensuing contests, respectively. He made his first-ever pitching appearance in the eighth inning of a game against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

on June 13, in which he allowed no runs to score. On July 16, he was placed on the injured list due to a right hamstring strain; he was activated on August 2. On August 13, González 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 ...

by the Red Sox, and he was released by the team three days later. In 2021 with the Red Sox, he batted .202/.281/.285 in 242 at bats.

Houston Astros (second stint)

On August 27, 2021, González signed a minor league contract with the Astros. The Astros added him to their major league roster on September 5. In 2021 with the Astros, he batted .176/.222/.441 in 34 regular-season at bats. He also

pinch hit In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Am ...

four times, collecting one hit, during the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

. On November 3, 2021, he was declared a free agent.

New York Yankees

On March 20, 2022, González signed a minor league contract with the

. He made the Yankees Opening Day roster for the 2022 season. In 2022 he batted .185/.255/.321 in 184 at bats, with six home runs and 8 RBIs. He slumped especially in the second half of the season, batting .110/.185/.233, and against power pitchers, batting .094/.186/.170.

Orix Buffaloes

On December 29, 2022, González signed with the

. He played in 84 games for Orix in 2023, hitting .217/.266/.385 with 12 home runs and 38 RBI. In Game 5 of the

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series between the winning cl ...

, González hit a home run off of

Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, next to their main stadium, Hanshin Koshien Stadium. The Tigers are owned by Hanshin Electric Railway Co., ...

starter Kotaro Otake. In doing so, he became the fifth player in baseball history to homer in the World Series and Japan Series, joining Johnny Logan, Roy White,

Hideki Matsui , nicknamed "Godzilla", is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, and in Nipp ...

, and

Andruw Jones Andruw Rudolf Jones (; born April 23, 1977) is a Curaçaoan former professional baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. Jones also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tex ...

. On September 26, 2024, the team announced he would retire at the end of the season.

Personal life

González married his wife Noel in 2010. The couple have four children, Eliana, Brooks, Dallas and Isabella together and reside in Houston in the off season.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Marwin 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Ciudad Guayana Baseball players from Bolívar (state) Major League Baseball utility players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen Houston Astros players Minnesota Twins players Boston Red Sox players New York Yankees players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Águilas del Zulia players Arizona League Cubs players Boise Hawks players Daytona Cubs players Dominican Summer League Cubs players Iowa Cubs players Leones del Caracas players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Peoria Chiefs players Sugar Land Skeeters players Tennessee Smokies players Worcester Red Sox players Florida Complex League Astros players Orix Buffaloes players