Hall of Fame Case: Juan Gonzalez

The candidate we’ll look at today is Juan Gonzalez. Gonzalez began his career in 1989 with the Texas Rangers, for whom he played for the majority of his career. He also was a member of the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, and Kansas City Royals. He appeared in only one game in 2005, striking out in one at bat. As this article is being written, it has been reported that Gonzalez has signed a minor league for 2006, either with the Red Sox or another team, but he has not yet reported to camp anywhere. In this article, we’ll look at the pros and cons of Gonzalez’s Hall of Fame case, and compare him to other sluggers from his era. 

Below is a look at Gonzalez’s career numbers: 


  
Pros

Juan Gonzalez was one of the top sluggers of the 1990s. His career rate stats of .295/.343/.561 paint a picture of a talented, free swinging hitter with a lot of power. His 434 career home runs rank 34th all time. Of those ahead of him only three eligible hitters are not already enshrined in Cooperstown – Jose Canseco (462, .262 BA), Dave Kingman (442 HR, .236 BA), and Andre Dawson (438 HR, .279 BA). Of those three, only Dawson stands any chance of election, but Gonzalez beats them all heartily in batting average and slugging percentage. It is worth noting that two active players, Jim Thome and Alex Rodriguez, should bump Gonzalez to 36th place this year. His 1404 career RBI rank 63rd all time. His slugging percentage ranks 21st all time for hitters with over 3,000 plate appearances.

His 17 year career contained an eleven year peak that included two MVP awards, three All Star games, and six silver slugger awards. During those years he led the league in home runs twice, and RBI, doubles, and slugging once each. He had five seasons with 40 or more home runs (and two more of 35 plus), and eight seasons with over 100 RBI, including an amazing five times over 120 (including 4 in a row). He drove in over 140 runs three times, including a high of 157.