Houston Astros (1988–1995) Gonzalez was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 4th round of the 1988 June draft. After signing, he was assigned to the short-season Class A
Auburn Astros of the
New York–Penn League, where
Kenny Lofton, the Astros' 17th-round pick in 1988, was also making his pro debut. The buyer was Curt Mueller, owner of Mueller Sports Medicine Inc., manufacturer of the gum, Quench. In 2003, Gonzalez topped .300 (.304) for the fourth time in his first five seasons in Arizona, and eclipsed 100 RBI (104) for the fifth consecutive season. On May 22, 2004, Gonzalez got his 2,000th career hit in a game against the
Florida Marlins, though his season ended early when he had
Tommy John surgery in August. In 2005, he was selected to his fifth All-Star Team. On April 18, 2006, he got his 500th career double, becoming the 20th player in Major League history to hit 500 doubles and 300 home runs. On May 13, 2006, he passed
Babe Ruth for 38th place all-time for the most doubles hit in league history. On June 15, 2006,
The Arizona Republic printed an interview by columnist E. J. Montini with Diamondback managing general partner
Ken Kendrick. In the interview, Kendrick mentioned whispers of alleged steroid use by Gonzalez; in the interview Kendrick never directly accused Gonzalez of using performance-enhancing drugs. The interview came eight days after Diamondback relief pitcher
Jason Grimsley was released by the team after the team learned that federal agents had searched his home looking for evidence that he was a distributor of
human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing drugs. On June 16, 2006, an angry Gonzalez called a press conference to deny that he had ever used steroids.
Los Angeles Dodgers (2007) On September 14, 2006, the
Diamondbacks announced that they would not pick up the team option of $10 million to re-sign Gonzalez after the 2006 season. On December 7, Gonzalez signed a one-year contract with the
Los Angeles Dodgers for
$7 million for the 2007 season. Gonzalez hit his first home run as a Dodger on Sunday, April 8, 2007, versus
Barry Zito of the San Francisco Giants. He hit two home runs in that game. In his only season with the Dodgers, he was productive offensively, but struggled defensively. Many times throughout the season, he was benched for a defensive replacement. Towards the end of the season, he was benched in favor of
Matt Kemp, a top Dodger prospect at the time. He was upset about it and publicly said he was not interested in returning to the Dodgers before the season was even over. He hit .278 with 15 home runs and 68 RBI in 2007. Gonzalez was the first player to hit a home run off of the
touch tank on June 24, in
Tropicana Field.
Florida Marlins (2008) On February 7, 2008, he signed with the
Florida Marlins. The deal was reportedly worth $2 million for one season. Gonzalez played in 136 games for the Marlins in 2008, batting .261.
Retirement {{MLBBioRet Gonzalez announced his retirement on August 29, 2009, and joined the Diamondbacks front office as a special assistant to the president. In 2010, Gonzalez's number 20 jersey was retired on August 7, making him the first player to have his number retired by the team.
Career statistics In 2,591 games over 19 seasons, Gonzalez posted a .283
batting average (2,591-for-9,157) with 1,412
runs, 596
doubles, 68
triples, 354
home runs, 1,439
RBI, 1,155
bases on balls, 128
stolen bases, .367
on-base percentage and .479
slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .986
fielding percentage primarily as a left fielder. In 24 postseason games, he hit .253 (22-for-87) with 12 runs, 3 doubles, 4 home runs, 12 RBI and 11 walks. ==Other activities==