Sports Reference Blog
B-R: HoF Candidate – Juan Gonzalez
Posted by Neil on December 13, 2011
Juan González
Juan Alberto (Vazquez) Gonzalez (Juan Gone or Igor)
Position: Outfielder
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Height: 6' 3", Weight: 175 lb.
Born: October 20, 1969 in Arecibo, P.R. (Age 42)
High School: Vega Baja (Vega Baja, PR)
Signed by the Texas Rangers as an amateur free agent in 1986. (All Transactions)
Debut: September 1, 1989
Teams (by GP): Rangers/Indians/Tigers/Royals 1989-2005
Agents: Scott Pucino, previously: Bob Gilhooley,Jim Bronner,Scott Boras [*]
Final Game: May 31, 2005
Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | TB | GDP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB | Pos | Awards | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1986 | 16 | TEX-min | Rk | 60 | 259 | 233 | 24 | 56 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 7 | 5 | 21 | 57 | .240 | .302 | .266 | .568 | 62 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | RGS · GULF | |||
1987 | 17 | TEX-min | A | 127 | 549 | 509 | 69 | 135 | 21 | 2 | 14 | 74 | 9 | 4 | 30 | 92 | .265 | .310 | .397 | .707 | 202 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | GST · SALL | |||
1988 | 18 | TEX-min | A | 77 | 308 | 277 | 25 | 71 | 14 | 3 | 8 | 43 | 5 | 2 | 25 | 64 | .256 | .325 | .415 | .740 | 115 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | POE · FLOR | ||
1989 | 19 | TEX-min | AA | 133 | 547 | 502 | 73 | 147 | 30 | 7 | 21 | 85 | 1 | 8 | 31 | 98 | .293 | .342 | .506 | .848 | 254 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 3 | TUL · TL | |||
1989 | 19 | TEX | AL | 24 | 68 | 60 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 17 | .150 | .227 | .250 | .477 | 34 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8/7 | |
1990 | 20 | TEX-min | AAA | 128 | 537 | 496 | 78 | 128 | 29 | 4 | 29 | 101 | 2 | 2 | 32 | 109 | .258 | .300 | .508 | .808 | 252 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | OKC · AA | |||
1990 | 20 | TEX | AL | 25 | 95 | 90 | 11 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 18 | .289 | .316 | .522 | .838 | 131 | 47 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8/D97 | |
1991 | 21 | TEX | AL | 142 | 595 | 545 | 78 | 144 | 34 | 1 | 27 | 102 | 4 | 4 | 42 | 118 | .264 | .321 | .479 | .800 | 121 | 261 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 7 | *87/9D | |
1992 | 22 | TEX | AL | 155 | 632 | 584 | 77 | 152 | 24 | 2 | 43 | 109 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 143 | .260 | .304 | .529 | .833 | 133 | 309 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 1 | *87/D9 | MVP-16,SS |
1993 | 23 | TEX | AL | 140 | 587 | 536 | 105 | 166 | 33 | 1 | 46 | 118 | 4 | 1 | 37 | 99 | .310 | .368 | .632 | 1.000 | 169 | 339 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 7 | *7D | AS,MVP-4,SS |
1994 | 24 | TEX | AL | 107 | 463 | 422 | 57 | 116 | 18 | 4 | 19 | 85 | 6 | 4 | 30 | 66 | .275 | .330 | .472 | .802 | 104 | 199 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 10 | *7 | |
1995 | 25 | TEX | AL | 90 | 374 | 352 | 57 | 104 | 20 | 2 | 27 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 66 | .295 | .324 | .594 | .917 | 130 | 209 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | D/7 | |
1996 | 26 | TEX | AL | 134 | 592 | 541 | 89 | 170 | 33 | 2 | 47 | 144 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 82 | .314 | .368 | .643 | 1.011 | 145 | 348 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 9D | MVP-1,SS |
1997 | 27 | TEX | AL | 133 | 579 | 533 | 87 | 158 | 24 | 3 | 42 | 131 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 107 | .296 | .335 | .589 | .924 | 131 | 314 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 7 | D9 | MVP-9,SS |
1998 | 28 | TEX | AL | 154 | 669 | 606 | 110 | 193 | 50 | 2 | 45 | 157 | 2 | 1 | 46 | 126 | .318 | .366 | .630 | .997 | 149 | 382 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 9 | *9D | AS,MVP-1,SS |
1999 | 29 | TEX | AL | 144 | 629 | 562 | 114 | 183 | 36 | 1 | 39 | 128 | 3 | 3 | 51 | 105 | .326 | .378 | .601 | .980 | 141 | 338 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 7 | *9D | MVP-13 |
2000 | 30 | DET | AL | 115 | 496 | 461 | 69 | 133 | 30 | 2 | 22 | 67 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 84 | .289 | .337 | .505 | .842 | 115 | 233 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9D | |
2001 | 31 | CLE | AL | 140 | 595 | 532 | 97 | 173 | 34 | 1 | 35 | 140 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 94 | .325 | .370 | .590 | .960 | 148 | 314 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 5 | *9D | AS,MVP-5,SS |
2002 | 32 | TEX | AL | 70 | 296 | 277 | 38 | 78 | 21 | 1 | 8 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 56 | .282 | .324 | .451 | .776 | 99 | 125 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9/D | |
2003 | 33 | TEX | AL | 82 | 346 | 327 | 49 | 96 | 17 | 1 | 24 | 70 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 73 | .294 | .329 | .572 | .901 | 122 | 187 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9D | |
2004 | 34 | KCR-min | Rk | 9 | 33 | 26 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | .346 | .455 | .538 | .993 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ROY · ARIZ | ||
2004 | 34 | KCR | AL | 33 | 138 | 127 | 17 | 35 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 19 | .276 | .326 | .441 | .767 | 96 | 56 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9/D | |
2005 | 35 | CLE-min | AAA | 5 | 21 | 21 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .286 | .286 | .286 | .571 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | BFL · IL | ||
2005 | 35 | CLE | AL | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | -100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | /9 | |
17 Seasons | 1689 | 7155 | 6556 | 1061 | 1936 | 388 | 25 | 434 | 1404 | 26 | 19 | 457 | 1273 | .295 | .343 | .561 | .904 | 132 | 3676 | 184 | 62 | 2 | 78 | 74 | |||||
162 Game Avg. | 162 | 686 | 629 | 102 | 186 | 37 | 2 | 42 | 135 | 2 | 2 | 44 | 122 | .295 | .343 | .561 | .904 | 132 | 353 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 7 | |||||
G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | TB | GDP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB | Pos | Awards | |||||||||
TEX (13 yrs) | 1400 | 5925 | 5435 | 878 | 1595 | 320 | 21 | 372 | 1180 | 24 | 16 | 375 | 1076 | .293 | .342 | .565 | .907 | 133 | 3073 | 150 | 53 | 2 | 60 | 65 | |||||
CLE (2 yrs) | 141 | 596 | 533 | 97 | 173 | 34 | 1 | 35 | 140 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 94 | .325 | .369 | .589 | .958 | 148 | 314 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 5 | |||||
KCR (1 yr) | 33 | 138 | 127 | 17 | 35 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 19 | .276 | .326 | .441 | .767 | 96 | 56 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||
DET (1 yr) | 115 | 496 | 461 | 69 | 133 | 30 | 2 | 22 | 67 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 84 | .289 | .337 | .505 | .842 | 115 | 233 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
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any other era but the steroid era he would be a shoo-in.
Steroid issue aside for a moment........one of the best things about this site is the 162 game averages. This sorts the greats from the wannabes. By that standard, yes, a shoo-in. But cheating?
Maybe in another era he'd have a chance but that SO/BB ratio doesn't set well with me at all.
I think he deserves serious consideration. His career share MVP ranks 42nd all time. Forget that it was the steroid era, relative to his peers at the time, he clearly stood out. Every other eligible player ranked ahead of him in career shares is in the Hall of Fame. Many ranked below him are also in the Hall.
I think he deserves serious consideration. His career share MVP ranks 42nd all time. Forget that it was the steroid era, relative to his peers at the time, he clearly stood out. Every other eligible player ranked ahead of him in career shares is in the Hall of Fame. Many ranked below him are also in the Hall.
Lots of guys like Gonzo with numbers like these have played in the last 25-30 years, so what distinguishes one as HOF and not all the others? I think nearly all of these guys are marginal HOFers at best, but the HOF has admitted far too many marginal members in my opinion and it has changed the HOF into the HOPG (Hall of Pretty Good)
I agree with all you guys, the steroid era has a lot of us baffled. We think just because they played during that era their not getting in, I disagree with that one. It has more to do with the change of the amount of homers than steroids. After finding out Ryan Braun is a cheater in this age, their era of steroids id far from over, in fact it's only just begun. In my opinion you can look at a name and see if they are not going to get in to the Hall of Fame. Jose Bautista No, Albert Pujols Yes.
I think Juan Gonzalez deserves to hang on the ballot, but I don't think he should get in. From 1991 to 2001, he had MVP votes 7 times (winning twice), had an OPS of .919, averaged 36 HR (44 per 162) and 115 RBI (I know RBI isn't a great stat, but it's still fairly impressive), and OPS+ed 136. That's over a decade of dominance, and that's borderline-HOF even in the steroid era. However, there's a level of taint on his records, and I think for that reason he goes from a "gets in after 10 years or so" guy to a "stays on the ballot for 4 years and fades away" guy.
Ask any Detriot Tigers fan what they think of Juan Gonzales.
His career (in calendar years) virtually defines the steroid era. And note the fact he was more or less finished as a player by the time he turned 33.
Perhaps he was actually older than that.
Also note he would not have lived up to a ten year contract if he signed one in the year 1999 when he was preparing to leave Texas.
All that aside, I don't see him as a viable HOF candidate. The voters have blackballed this type of record, no?
JuanGon's 2 MVP awards are 2 of the worst selections ever. In '96, both Griffey and A-Rod were massively better, and JuanGon didn't lead the league in anything, not even RBI. Even in raw OPS, he ranked just 9th.
If inducted into the HOF he would be one of the worst there, as well.
He should be a unanimous selection!!!
/gets box of 1,000 Juan Gonzalez cards out of the attic and dusts them off...
An puzzler indeed. He wasn't the best, but he was one of the elite players of his era. He had decent longevity too. Texas got a taste of postseason when we was leading them. That was something they'd never done before, nor since until recently.
This is another one of the early HOF enigmas and more are set to come. It has been noble how the voters have kept out former shoo-in's who've since either admitted to using or have been convicted in the public's eye. McGwire, Palmeiro, and Sosa come to mind.
It will be interesting to see if they will be able to keep up the resistance in the future when Bonds, ARod, and Clemens hit the ballot.
Also, I'll admit not being well-learned of the Mitchell Report, but I don't recall any implications being thrown his way outside of the Canseco book that started everything. He was pretty quick to throw accusastions at anyone that he thought would help him sell books back in those days. I figure many of them were guilty, but I don't recall any additional convincing evidence hitting Gonzalez or Pudge since them. If you keep out Gonzalez, do you keep out Pudge? Is being on the same roster as Canseco enough to keep anyone out of the Hall?
You CANNOT punish people for what YOU think might have happened! Juan was a dominant player in his era. A feared hitter who was a true game changer. He deserves consideration. More bothersome to me than all the supposed enhancement going on (I can tell you more pitchers were using than hitters, it helped then "bounce back" quicker,) was the juiced balls for a run seasons in there. Whatever you think Brady Anderson may or may not have done, no medicine can turn a slap hitter into a 50 bomb kind of guy. I do feel Juan's numbers are elevated, but that is not his fault. That is just what was happening while he happened to be in MLB. He deserves serious consideration.
In my book Rafael Palmeiro is in before Juan, congressional hearing, testing or not. He was just a better player. So you can't put Juan in without Raffy, Barry, Sammy OR McGwire. They all deserve the vote, you know it is true.
I like Juan Gone, but to put him in over these other fellows, would be a travesty!
#10, Joe Garrison nailed it head on. His numbers are all Steroid Era related and he was done in his early 30's when the started cracking down. He also played in Texas, which was the hotbed for steroid consumption with Misters Canseco and Palmeiro supplying the juice.
Over-rated in his time. Played in the best hitters park in baseball, excluding Coors Field. Bad percentage player. Like Dawson, was dreadful at getting on base (well, not as bad as Dawson). At least Dawson was a great defensive player. His eventual selection wouldn't surprise me, but it would further devalue the Hall.
He has great stats for the 162 avg. Unfortunately he is heavily linked to the steroid era. Along with Palmeiro,McGwire,Sosa, he should not be in the HOF
Not even close to being a HOFer ...seven great years (missing an 8th due to injury), but that's not enough, not for the HOF.
You don't even need to get into the steroids debate, because the stats decide the issue beforehand. For a guy with big numbers, he was fairly unimpressive.
Tremendous accomplishments, but didn't do it long enough to qualify for elite status -- that would be Bagwell ...compare the WAR values of the two.
#6 Lamar has it right. There are a ton of these guys in this era and one guy is the same as the next; they are Indistinguishable. It is swiftly becoming the hall of Pretty Good. Please take this whole group of guys, this whole era (along with interleague play & Bud Selig the enabler himself) and strike it from the record books. Henry Aaron & Roger Maris HOME RUN KINGS! Where is Judge Landis? He must be rolling in his grave.
The Best of the Season to you all!
6'3" 175# ? When did the chemotherapy kick in? This guy played at probably 225# + and had to be a product of chemical engineering. That being said, Gonzalez was certainly more entertaining (and less volatile) than Albert Belle..... but, I believe he was divorced three times before age 30? Maybe there was a little rage in that chemically enhanced performance.
Ain't it just great how those Rangers teams just put out some fantastic hitters once Canseco became their teammate?!!?
This guy in the Hall is an insult to anyone from the pre-roids era who actually may have raked to a similar 132 OPS+
He had a few HOF seasons, but not nearly enough of them. I'd be ok with that if he were ubber-dominant for those seasons, or if he was a fantastic defender, but he was just one of many players who had great seasons those years and was never a good defender. Not even close, in my opinion.
434 homers 457 walks has to be a record of some kind
I actually don't think he's that bad of a candidate, but when you look at the OF's who have been passed over by the HoF (Parker, Evans, Smith, Walker, Belle, etc.) JuanGon's got no shot.
Agree with John in post 11. In 1996 his WAR was 2.8, lower than all other 20 players who received a single vote!! ARod and Griffey were over 9 and several other players are over 6. In 1998 his WAR of 5.1 was not in the top 10 either. Just ignorant voters who could see the value of OBP or through the Park Factors. Even setting the steroid issue aside, a guy who hits 432 HRs in a hitters park in a hitters era, with a terrible OBP and glove does not belong in the HOF.
Guys like Keith Hernandez, Reggie Smith, Dwight Evans, Ken Boyer, Alan Trammell and Darrell Evans have a far better HOF case and they're not going to make it. And Juan Gone is closer to Dave Kingman than he is to those guys!
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I know you can't do this, but if Juan Gone had played 160 games per year and not been so injury prone, he would've hit 700 home runs, had over 3,000 hits and threatened the all-time RBI crown.
I watched his entire career and he was a machine at driving in runners (why is that now a worthless stat?). The problem was he could not stay healthy and he wasn't tough enough to play through a little pain.
I knew at the time he was playing he was something special - you could tell just by seeing him play. Yet I also knew he was wasting away his talent by not working harder to stay on the field.
Overall, I'd say just short of the HOF. And wasted potential.
Que pasa with B-R.com now linking to this blog?
RBIs were always an incredibly bad way to judge individual performance. Besides huge era & park factor variations, the opportunities presented due to line up account for much of production. It is an extremely unfair way to judge a player's slugging. What the guy did must be isolated from his contextual advantages & handicaps.
No to Juan gone. Adjusted #s not so great, & in this case the PED taint seems to be very likely true.
His lifetime WAR is 33.6, which isn't even on the radar for potential HOF'ers. His oWAR of 41.7 ranks him 240th all-time. His HOF Standard of 40, a more traditional measure of greatness, ranks him 165th all-time. Therefore, even without the PED taint, he doesn't rate being in the Hall. His SLG, RBI totals, and two MVP awards earn him the right to stay on the ballot. That's about it.