Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Adrian Gonzalez: All Star on, off the field


It’s nice to see Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres finally getting some recognition as the team’s lone 2008 All Star.

If you haven’t heard of Gonzalez and live off the West Coast, join the majority. The big boys at ESPN, Fox, etc. just simply don’t promote anything or anyone west of the Mississippi.

Here are a couple of things you would know about Gonzalez if he played on the East Coast:

He’s fourth in the National League in RBI (71) and sixth in home runs (22), despite playing his home games at a pitcher’s park called Petco Park.

He’s also a well-above average first baseman defensively and was the first pick in the nation by the Florida Marlins in 2000 out of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, Calif.

Jon Sciambi, the outstanding play-by-play announcer of the Atlanta Braves, hit it on the nose over the weekend when mentioning that players like Gonzalez get overlooked on the West Coast.

“I think there is reality as it relates to the East Coast bias,” Sciambi said on the SportSouth telecast of a Padres-Atlanta Braves game.

Gonzalez credits much of his turnaround in the past year or two to his religious faith.

You can find out more about Gonzalez, an All-Star on the field and off, by visiting his new Web site at http://www.agonzalez23.com/

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It sounds like Adrian Gonzalez is getting overlooked due to playing on the west coast. It seems like if you don't play for the Yankees or Red Sox the good ole boys at Fox Sports overlook you alot. But hopefully he will continue to perform and will eventually get the notice he is due.

Anonymous said...

Gonzalez looked pretty good in the all star game. Too bad his sac fly didn't win the game. He didn't look so good against LH in extra innings, but he did well overall.