Tag Archives: Juan Gonzalez

Adolis Garcia to Take Part in This Year’s Home Run Derby

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Adolis Garcia is ready to swing for the fences…

The 31-year-old Cuban professional baseball outfielder , nicknamed “El Bombi,” will represent the host Texas Rangers in Monday night’s Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Adolis GarcíaGarcía was knocked out by Tampa Bay Rays slugger Randy Arozarena last year in the first round at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez also confirmed he would participate during Wednesday night’s Phillies-Dodgers broadcast.

This will be Hernandez’s first time in the Derby.

Two Rangers have won the Derby: Ruben Sierra and Cincinnati’s Eric Davis were co-winners in 1989 at Anaheim Stadium, and Juan Gonzalez won in 1993 at Baltimore’s Camden Yards.

The New York Mets’Pete Alonso, Philadelphia‘sAlec Bohm, Baltimore‘sGunnar Henderson, Atlanta‘sMarcell Ozuna, Cleveland‘s José Ramírez and Kansas City‘s Bobby Witt Jr. previously committed to the eight-player field.

Alonso will participate in his fifth straight Home Run Derby, trying to win for the third time.

Juan González Honored with Texas Rangers Hall of Fame Jacket in Pregame Ceremony

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Juan González has entered a special Hall…

The 53-year-old Puerto Rican former baseball player, a two-time American League MVP received his Texas Rangers Hall of Fame jacket in a pregame ceremony on Friday night, eight years after his induction and 20 years after his last game for the team.

Juan González, One of baseball’s best sluggers in the 1990s, González is still the Rangers’ career leader with 372 home runs, 1,180 RBIs and 713 extra-base hits. He played for the Rangers from 1989 to 1999, during a stretch when they won their first three AL West titles, and the outfielder-designated hitter returned to the club from 2002 to 2003.

González threw a ceremonial first pitch in what was believed to be his first public appearance at a Rangers game since 2004, when he was playing for the Kansas City Royals.

During his first MVP season in 1996, when the Rangers won their first division title, González hit .314 with 47 home runs and 144 RBIs. He was the MVP again in 1998, when he batted .318 with 45 home runs and 157 RBIs in the club’s second playoff season.

Overall, Gonzalez hit .295 with 457 home runs and 1,273 RBIs in 1,689 career games that spanned from his debut at age 19 with the Rangers over the final month of the 1989 season to one game for Cleveland in 2005. He played for Detroit in 2000 after being traded in a nine-player deal then went to Cleveland in free agency in 2001, when he had 140 RBIs in 140 games before re-signing with Texas.

He is now a coach for the national team back home and was an assistant hitting coach for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.

Juan Soto Wins This Year’s Home Run Derby

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Juan Soto is officially a batting champion…

The 23-year-old Dominican professional baseball outfielder won $1 million on Monday with a swing that’s worth much more.

Juan SotoShaking off trade rumors that threatened to sully his MLB All-Star week, Soto beat a legend and held off a rookie to win the Home Run Derby and the big-money prize that accompanied it in front of a sold-out Dodger Stadium crowd.

After recently turning down a 15-year, $440 million contract extension from the Washington Nationals, Soto arrived in Los Angeles early Monday morning with his future in doubt ahead of the August 2 trade deadline. He emerged unbothered. When asked before the Derby whether he was going to win it, his answer was characteristically Soto: “Probably.” And on that prediction he came through, vanquishing Albert Pujols in the semifinals and Julio Rodriguez in the finals.

“I’m a lone survivor,” Soto said. “I’ve been going through all this stuff, and I’m still here standing up and with my chin up, all the time. And that shows you I can go through anything.”

Anything, in this case, included a day of answering questions he can’t possibly answer, including whether the Nationals will trade him before the August 2 deadline or where he might wind up. Soto instead worried about his powerful left-handed swing, shooting balls to all fields and finishing the finals with 19 home runs to the 18 of his Dominican Republic countryman Rodríguez.

Juan SotoAt 23 years, 266 days old, Soto became the second-youngest Derby champion — just a day older than 1993 winner Juan Gonzalez.

Until the finals, the Derby had been the latest episode of the J-Rod Show. Rodriguez, the precocious 21-year-old Seattle Mariners outfielder, ambushed the field Monday night, ousting the two-time defending champion and smashing 81 home runs.

The first hitter of the night, Rodriguez set the tone for his showing with 32 home runs in his first-round matchup against the Texas Rangers‘ Corey Seager. Then came Pete Alonso, the New York Mets slugger who won the last two competitions in 2019 and 2021 but mustered only 23 home runs in the semifinals, well short of Rodriguez’s 31.

Then came his matchup with Soto, against whom, Rodriguez said, he used to play Call of Duty games. Rodriguez was better at COD. Soto, at least on Monday, was superior at HRD.

“What did I show the fans?” Rodriguez said. “Who I am, I guess. They know a little bit now.”

Rodriguez, who is earning the MLB minimum salary of $700,000 this year, received a $500,000 bonus as the runner-up.

Soto was locked in from the beginning, beating Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez in the first round and St. Louis Cardinals great Pujols in the semifinals.

Pujols, 42, is in his final season — and upset Philadelphia‘s Kyle Schwarber, the No. 1 seed, in the first round, beating him in an overtime period. He couldn’t keep up with Soto, whose 482-foot home run in the first round was the longest of the night.

“I wasn’t sure if I should beat him or let him beat me, but just the respect — I respect him a lot,” Soto said. “Even though I beat him at the end of the day, it’s just a competition. He knows how much I’m proud of him and how much talent he brings to all the generations and advice that he gives to us.”

Whatever Soto’s future, wherever he winds up, whether he’s moved before this deadline or after, he said he would walk away from this All-Star week sure of one thing.

“I will be a Home Run Derby champion forever,” he said.

Correa Becomes the MLB’s First Puerto Rican No. 1 Draft Pick

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He’s only 17-year-old… But Carlos Correa has already made it into annals of baseball…

The Houston Astros selected the Puerto Rican baseball phenom as the No. 1 pick Monday night, making him the first player from Puerto Rico to lead off the Major League Baseball draft.

Carlos Correa

“This means a lot,” said Correa, who was all smiles when he heard his name called, knowing he’d made hometown history at the baseball draft. “We’ve got a lot of good players there.”

Despite producing its share of baseball royalty like Roberto Clemente, Ivan Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Juan Gonzalez and Bernie Williams, Correa is the first selection from Puerto Rico. Some of those players signed as free agents — catcher Ramon Castro had been the highest-drafted player out of Puerto Rico, going No. 17 to Houston in 1994.

“I feel so excited to be the No. 1 pick,” said Correa, who was congratulated by Delgado on Twitter. “I’ve worked so hard to be here.”

It was the first time Houston had the top pick in the draft since 1992, when the Astros selected Phil Nevin — passing on future star Derek Jeter, who went five spots later to the New York Yankees.

“I have read about that,” said Correa, calling Jeter his idol. “I want to be like him. He’s awesome.”

Carlos Correa

First-year Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said Correa “has a chance to be a star” who could hit 20-30 home runs in the pros, whether it’s in his current role as a shortstop or “ultimately maybe third base.”

Correa said he’d like to stay at shortstop and plans to use his signing bonus to help his family.

As he walked to the podium and shook hands with commissioner Bud Selig before a brief hug, Correa pulled out a small Puerto Rican flag and held it up to cheers from the crowd of major league representatives and fans gathered in the stadium-themed studio.

While recent drafts lacked first-pick intrigue, Luhnow said the Astros didn’t settle on Correa until about an hour before they went on the clock. Several mock draft lists predicted the Astros would select Stanford right-hander Mark Appel, but instead Houston made a somewhat surprising selection — although Correa was considered one of the top five players available.

Correa, who has an incredibly strong arm and terrific instincts on defense, may be the highly sought after “big-time bat” for the middle of Astros lineup. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound star from Santa Isabel was a star at the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy. He’s committed to the University of Miami, but will likely head to Houston’s farm system instead.

“Right now, he stays at shortstop and if he was to happen to grow out of it, it’s the power that’s the attraction here and it’s the middle of the order potential impact bat,” Astros scouting director and assistant general manager Bobby Heck said. “So if he has to move, his profile is still very, very strong.”

Meanwhile, Florida high school outfielder Albert Almora was selected sixth by the Chicago Cubs.

“I’m speechless,” said Almora by phone in an interview with MLB.com, about an hour after the 18-year-old was drafted. “I don’t remember much of anything that happened tonight. I know that the Cubs drafted me, and I’m grateful, but I’m still kind of shocked and overwhelmed.”

The first round and the compensation rounds are completed Monday night, with rounds 2 through 40 conducted over the next two days via conference call with the teams.

Nelson Cruz Leads Rangers into the World Series

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Move over Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson! There’s a new “Mr. October” in Major League Baseball… And his name is Nelson Cruz.

The 31-year-old Dominican slugger has been named this year’s American League Championship Series (ALCS) MVP after helping propel his Texas Rangers into their second consecutive World Series with his “big boomstick!”

With his two-run homer against the Detroit Tigers in Game 6 on Saturday night, the Rangers outfielder elevated his ALCS totals to six home runs and 13 runs-batted-in (RBIs)—both major league records for a postseason series.

“It was fun to watch,” says last year’s American League MVP Josh Hamilton of Cruz’s remarkable play. “It’s one thing to be in the stands. But when you’re down here on the field with him, you can see the intensity, see the focus. To watch him do that was incredible.”

But that’s not all…

  • Cruz hit the first game-ending grand slam in postseason history.
  • He became the first player with extra-inning homers in two games of one series.
  • He became the first player to hit six homers in two postseasons (and he did it in back-to-back years).
  • He became the franchise’s career postseason home run king.

“It was his series,” says Rangers first-base and outfield coach Gary Pettis. “What can you say? He did it all. He played defense. He swung the bat. He drove in runs. We’re glad he’s on our team.”

Before Cruz’s record-breaking six homers, the record of five homers in a single postseason series was held by Reggie Jackson, Ken Griffey Jr., Juan Gonzalez and Chase Utley. Meanwhile, players Bobby Richardson and John Valentin held the previous RBI record at 12.

“Right now, I’m just enjoying it,” Cruz said. “After the season, hopefully I’m going to sit down and relax and reflect on it and make sure I realize what happened.”

But right now, Cruz is preparing for the World Series!

“We wanted to do this again and we have,” says Cruz. “Now we want to go all the way.” 

The Rangers now await the winner of the National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals.