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Alexander González (born February 15, 1977 in Cagua, Aragua State, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball shortstop who plays for the Florida Marlins (since 1998). González bats and throws right-handed. He is not to be confused with former Toronto and current Tampa Bay player Alex S. Gonzalez, who is also a major league shortstop.
González' speed and range enabled him to make acrobatic plays, quickly drawing comparisons to Venezuelan shortstops like Chico Carrasquel, Luis Aparicio, Dave Concepción and Omar Vizquel. His defensive tools were so masterful that by 1999 he established himself as an All-Star.
At the batters box González does some things pretty well. A free swinger, he concentrate on putting ball into play. González is a good bunter and has enough speed to turn singles in doubles with his hustle, and he also can show surprising power when a pitch is in his batting zone.
González played an important role in the 2003 World Series against the New York Yankees. After going 1-for-13 in the post-season, he hit a 500-feet walk-off home run in the 12th inning of the Game 4 to gave the Marlins a 4-3 victory and 2-2 tie in the series. The extra-inning only happened because Florida's closer Ugueth Urbina blew a 3-1 lead in the ninth. In Game 5, González hit a two-outs game-tying double and scored later in a new Marlins victory. González added an extra run in the sixth and final game, when he slid around catcher Jorge Posada, eluding him and brushing the plate with his left hand. Florida run out of odds with a 2-0 victory and won the World Championship.
In 2004, González posted career-high numbers in home runs (23), RBI (79), games played (159) and turns at bat (561).
In an eight-season career, González is a .244 hitter with 79 home runs and 350 RBI in 808 games. In the post-season, he hit .161 (10-for-62) with one home run and six RBI in 17 games.
See also
External links
- Alex González at:
- Baseball Reference (statistics) (http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/gonzaal02.shtml)
- ESPN (profile and daily updates) (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6077)es:Alex González