Oct 25, 2018

MVP Profile: Juan Gonzalez, 1996

Outfielder, Texas Rangers


Age:  26
7th season with Rangers
Bats – Right, Throws – Right
Height: 6’3”    Weight: 175

Prior to 1996:
A native of Puerto Rico, the lanky Gonzalez drew attention while playing youth baseball and signed with the Rangers as a 16-year-old in 1986. He appeared in 60 games that year in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and hit .240. Gonzalez moved on to Gastonia of the Class A South Atlantic League in 1987 where he produced 21 doubles, 14 home runs, and 74 RBIs with a .265 batting average over the course of 127 games. In 1988 he was with Port Charlotte of the Class A Florida State League and hit .256 with 8 home runs and 43 RBIs in 77 games. Gonzalez moved up to the Tulsa Drillers of the Class AA Texas League in 1989 where he improved to .293 with 30 doubles, 21 home runs, and 85 RBIs while leading the league with 254 total bases. He was named to the Texas League All-Star team for his performance. He also received a late-season call-up to the Rangers where he batted only .150 in 24 games but hit his first major league home run. Gonzalez was with the Oklahoma City 89ers of the Class AAA American Association in 1990, where he hit .258 with 29 home runs and 101 RBIs (the home run and RBI totals led the league). Named MVP of the American Association, Gonzalez received another call-up to the Rangers and batted .289 with 4 home runs and 12 RBIs in 25 games. Sticking with Texas in 1991, despite struggling with a back injury, he split his time between center and left fields and hit .264 with 27 home runs and 102 RBIs. A line-drive hitter with power, Gonzalez, regularly playing center field in 1992, led the AL with 43 home runs and also compiled 109 RBIs and batted .260. “Juan-Gone” topped the league in home runs once again in 1993 with 46 to go along with 118 RBIs and a .310 batting average while also leading the AL with a .632 slugging percentage. He was an All-Star for the first time and placed fourth in league MVP balloting. In the strike-shortened 1994 season, while adjusting to The Ballpark in Arlington, Gonzalez dropped to 19 home runs and 85 RBIs with a .275 average. In an injury-plagued 1995 season, he appeared in 90 games, primarily as a Designated Hitter, and slugged 27 home runs with 82 RBIs and a .295 average. In 1996 he was utilized in right field, his natural position, although he was not an exceptional fielder.   

1996 Season Summary
Appeared in 134 games
RF – 102, DH – 32

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting
Plate Appearances – 592
At Bats – 541
Runs – 89
Hits – 170
Doubles – 33
Triples – 2
Home Runs – 47 [5]
RBI – 144 [2]
Bases on Balls – 45
Int. BB – 12 [6, tied with four others]
Strikeouts – 82
Stolen Bases – 2
Caught Stealing – 0
Average - .314 [14, tied with Derek Jeter]
OBP - .368
Slugging Pct. - .643 [2]
Total Bases – 348 [5]
GDP – 10
Hit by Pitches – 3
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 3

Midseason snapshot: HR – 22, RBI - 70, AVG - .320, SLG PCT – .652

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 5 AB) vs. NY Yankees 7/30
Longest hitting streak – 21 games
HR at home – 17
HR on road – 19
Most home runs, game – 2 on five occasions
Multi-home run games – 5
Most RBIs, game – 6 vs. Baltimore 4/19
Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding
Chances – 171
Put Outs – 163
Assists – 6
Errors – 2
DP – 0
Pct. - .988

Postseason: 4 G (ALDS vs. NY Yankees)
PA – 19, AB – 16, R – 5, H – 7, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 5, RBI – 9, BB – 3, IBB – 1, SO – 2, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .438, OBP - .526, SLG - 1.375, TB – 22, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
Silver Slugger

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:
Juan Gonzalez, Tex.: 290 pts. - 11 of 28 first place votes, 74% share
Alex Rodriguez, Sea.: 287 pts. – 10 first place votes, 73% share
Albert Belle, Clev.: 228 pts. – 2 first place votes, 58% share
Ken Griffey Jr, Sea.: 188 pts. – 4 first place votes, 48% share
Mo Vaughn, Bos.: 132 pts. – 34% share
(1 first place vote for Ivan Rodriguez, Tex. who ranked tenth)

Rangers went 90-72 to finish first in the AL Western Division by 4.5 games over the Seattle Mariners, the first division title in franchise history. Lost ALDS to the New York Yankees, 3 games to 1, despite Gonzalez's batting heroics.  

Aftermath of ’96:
Gonzalez missed the first 24 games of the 1997 season due to a thumb injury but still had another strong year at bat by hitting 42 home runs with 131 RBIs and a .296 average. That set the stage for another MVP season in 1998 as he batted .318 with 45 home runs, and a league-leading 50 doubles and 157 RBIs. The numbers dropped to 39 home runs with 128 RBIs and a .326 average in 1999, following which he was traded to the Detroit Tigers as part of a nine-player deal. Bothered by a foot injury and playing home games at spacious Comerica Park, Gonzalez had a down year in 2000, hitting just 22 home runs with 67 RBIs and a .289 average. He still received a one-year, $10 million contract to join the Cleveland Indians in 2001. He hit .325 with 35 home runs and 140 RBIs and was voted to the All-Star Game as well as placing fifth in league MVP balloting and receiving a Silver Slugger. In the offseason he signed a two-year, $24 million contract to return to the Rangers. Gonzalez suffered through an injury plagued 2002 season in which he was limited to 70 games and hit just 8 home runs and his 2003 season was cut short by a leg injury that held him to 24 home runs and 70 RBIs in 82 games. Moving on to the Kansas City Royals as a free agent in 2004, Gonzalez played in 33 games due to a bad back and ended up with a mere 5 home runs and 17 RBIs. He signed with Cleveland in 2005 but appeared in only one game. Thus ended his major league career, despite getting a feeler from the St. Louis Cardinals to attempt a comeback in 2008. He did play in 36 games for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League in 2006, hitting 6 home runs and batting .323. Overall for his major league career Gonzalez batted .295 with 1936 hits that included 388 doubles, 25 triples, and 434 home runs. He also compiled 1404 RBIs. With Texas he batted .293 with 320 doubles, 21 triples, and 372 home runs, and knocked in 1180 runs as well. He was a three-time All-Star as well as two-time AL MVP and six-time Silver Slugger Award recipient. Gonzalez was elected to the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2015, but his legacy has been clouded by allegations of steroid use during his career.   

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.

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