Luis Gonzalez on baseball-reference.com
Luis Gonzalez has had a very interesting career, spanning 18 seasons, and including a walk-off hit in the World Series. Most importantly, Gonzalez is not yet finished, enjoying a renaissance at age 39. Is Gonzalez a Hall of Famer? Well, in addition to the famous hit, Gonzalez hit 57 home runs in 2001, one of the finest seasons by any player. He has longevity and great peak seasons, but not enough of either to reach the hallowed grounds.
Gonzalez has always been underrated, from his Astrodome-deflated stats in his 20s to his doubles-heavy record in his 30s. From 1990-97, except for a brief stint with the Cubs, Gonzalez played his home games in the Astrodome, the worst hitters’ park in baseball history. Gonzalez hit only 62 home runs for the Astros and his counting stats were severely hampered. Now, as Gonzalez approaches 350 home runs, his record would look much better if not for the numbers he lost to his home stadium.
Even as he became the face of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Gonzalez performed under the radar. While the 57 homer season stands out, Gonzalez has had four other seasons of 45 or more doubles since turning 30, leading to some very impressive slugging percentages. Even when he wasn’t knocking the ball of out the park, Gonzalez remained an important power hitter.
The most similar player to Gonzalez, statistically, is Dave Parker. Like Parker, Gonzalez has had a long career with some important highlights, but the overall package just isn’t enough. Gonzalez had some power, but not as much as most of his contemporaries. He was durable, but not as much as some other players. Gonzalez didn’t stand out as a fielder or baserunner and really didn’t have anything to overcome his low totals.
Gonzalez has always been considered one of the good guys in baseball, and even took a turn broadcasting while he was still an active player. But he falls well short of the Hall of Fame.
