Juan Alberto González Vázquez (born October 20, 1969), nicknamed Juan Gone, is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball outfielder. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams, but is most identified with the Texas Rangers, for whom he played from 1989 to 1999 and again from 2002 to 2003. One of the premier run producers and most feared hitters of the 1990s and early 2000s, González hit over 40 home runs five times and amassed at least 100 runs batted in (RBI) eight times. He also had a batting average of .310 or higher in five seasons.
In his career as a whole, González averaged 42 home runs, 135 RBI, 81 extra-base hits, and 353 total bases per 162 games, placing him well within the top ten all-time in these season-adjusted statistics.
González was known as a line drive hitter, not a fly-ball home run hitter, as were many power hitters of the 1990s. He was a full-time player at the age of 21 and a two-time Most Valuable Player before his 30th birthday. González explained his propensity for bringing runners home by saying, "I concentrate more when I see men on base."
Early life González grew up in a rough area of Puerto Rico, where as a young boy he learned to hit bottlecaps and corks with a broomstick handle in the Alto de Cuba barrio. In the Puerto Rico youth league, González batted cleanup behind future Yankee center fielder Bernie Williams, where both competed against González's future teammate Iván Rodríguez. When the Yankees scouted the teenage Williams, he requested that they also bring his friend González to their scouting camp on the east coast; however, due to a lack of funding, González would remain in Puerto Rico.
Professional career Minors The Texas Rangers signed González as an amateur free agent on May 30, 1986, at the age of 16. González has always wanted to serve as a role model for the kids of Puerto Rico, as they are faced with the downfalls of drugs and prostitution frequently. González avoided such temptations growing up. His father, a math teacher, and mother, a housewife, made sure González and his two sisters behaved properly and stayed away from negative influences. González moved his family out of the barrio early in his MLB career. He paid utility bills for down-on-their-luck friends and plans on working to construct recreation facilities and a baseball diamond in his home town. One of Juan's managers, Johnny Oates, believed that until you've walked where Juan González has walked, you just won't understand. Speaking from experience, as Oates has walked the streets of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, during visits multiple times, he had this to say: "I don't think you can appreciate how far he's come until you've been there", Oates said. "We might be making choices between going to the movies or going to the skating rink. But look at the choices the kids there were faced with growing up – do you want to do drugs or get beaten up? I think it says so much about him that he was able to rise above the peer pressure in Vega Baja. He had enough intelligence to say, 'I don't want to do that.'"
In Puerto Rico he is known as "Igor", the nickname he has carried since he was a nine-year-old fascinated by the professional wrestler "Igor the Magnificent." "I watched wrestling all the time and I still like it", González said. "One day when I was nine, I told another guy, 'I'm Igor.' And he said, 'Okay, your name is Igor from now on.' And I've been Igor since then."
González debuted with the 1986 GCL Rangers and finished with .240 batting average, .303 on-base percentage, and a .266 slugging percentage in 60 games. He only had five extra-base hits (none of them home runs) in 233 AB and struck out 57 times. He tied Harvey Pulliam by grounding into a Gulf Coast League-leading 9 double plays.
In 1987, González showed some improvement with the Gastonia Rangers, though Mark Whiten and Junior Felix were deemed better outfield prospects in the South Atlantic League. In ratings by Baseball America, González tied Ryan Bowen for 10th place on the prospect listing. He finished with .265 batting average, .306 on-base percentage, and .401 slugging percentage with 14 home runs and 74 RBI.
González spent 1988 with the Charlotte Rangers and batted .256/~.327/.415 with 8 home runs in 277 AB. One of his outfield teammates that year was Sammy Sosa. The next year, he showed more improvement with the Tulsa Drillers hitting .293/~.322/.506 with 21 home runs and led the Texas League with 254 total bases. He outhomered Sosa by 14 and was third in the League in home runs, behind teammate Dean Palmer (25) and Chris Cron (22). González was rated the league's No. 4 prospect by Baseball America, behind Ray Lankford, Andy Benes and José Offerman. Lankford and Warren Newson joined him in the TL All-Star outfield.
Texas Rangers (1989–1999) González was called up by the Texas Rangers in September of that year, but only hit .150/.227/.250. During his time with the Rangers that year, González only hit one home run. He became the youngest player in Rangers history (19 yrs old) to hit a home run.
In 1990, González – playing with the Oklahoma City 89ers – led the American Association in home runs (29), RBI (101) and total bases (252). He made the AAA All-Star outfield alongside Lankford and Bernard Gilkey and was named the league MVP. Baseball America named him the top prospect in the league in a poll of managers. He finished with .258/~.343/.508 for the 89ers. In the AAA All-Star Game, González hit 4th for the AL prospects and played as a designated hitter. He went 2 for 5 with a double, one of the game's two homers, two runs and two RBI in the AL's 8–5 loss. González was again called up by the Rangers and did far better this time, batting .289/.316/.522.
In 1991, Texas gave González a chance to be an everyday player. He batted .264 while hitting 27 home runs and recording 102 runs batted in (RBIs). González came up as a center fielder, as did teammate Sammy Sosa; but the Rangers opted to keep González and trade Sosa. González split his time in the OF between CF (93 games) and LF (92 games). González thrilled the club in his first full season at the young age of 21, as his 27 home runs led the Rangers. His 102 RBI was good enough for 2nd on the club, and 7th in the AL.
In 1992, González finished with a .260 batting average, 43 home runs, and 109 RBIs. He spent most of his time in CF in '92, playing 123 games there, 31 in LF and making just one appearance in RF, while DH-ing 4 games. He was the American League home run champion (one more than Mark McGwire) while also ranking 3rd in TB (309), 4th in extra-base hits (69), 5th in slugging percentage (.529), 7th in RBIs (109) while winning his first Silver Slugger Award. Winning the home run crown at the age of 22 made him the youngest player to lead the majors since Johnny Bench in 1970.
In 1993, González broke through to true stardom. He led the AL for the second consecutive year with 46 bombs, while raising his batting average an impressive 50 points to .310, all this to go along with a league-leading slugging percentage of .632. That production garnered González an invite to his first All-Star team. During the 1993 All-Star Weekend, he participated in the only Home Run Derby of his career. González and Ken Griffey Jr. put on an amazing display of raw-power, as they each golfed 7 homers a piece. González, however, wowed the national audience even more, becoming the first player to hit a homer into the facade of the upper deck in left field (estimated 473 feet) at Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the green wall behind the center-field fence (estimated 455 feet). González then defeated Griffey in a winner-take-all playoff for the individual Home Run Derby title, 5–4. When asked about the title, González responded: "It was very exciting to surprise everybody. I never thought in my mind that I'd win the Home Run Derby. I even surprised myself." He also finished fourth in voting for the 1993 AL MVP and earned his second consecutive Silver Slugger Award.
In 1994, the Rangers moved from Arlington Stadium to The Ballpark in Arlington. González batted 19 home runs in 1994 during the strike-shortened season, but belted 27 home runs in 1995, in just 90 games.
From 1995–98, González was an RBI machine, averaging more than an RBI per game (514 RBI, 511 games). This made him the first player since World War II to drive in a run per game for any four-year period. He won two MVP awards in this stretch (1996 and 1998). The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract listed him as the player who had the highest ratio of slugging percentage to on-base percentage in baseball history at that time, ahead of Dave Kingman and Tony Armas and 4th in RBI per game by an outfielder (behind Sam Thompson, Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth). James also ranked González as the 52nd-best right fielder in baseball history as of mid-2000.
In 1996, González had one of his best seasons hitting .314 with a .643 slugging percentage. He edged Alex Rodríguez by one first-place vote (11–10) and 3 award points (290–287) in a very close vote to win the American League MVP. He won his third Silver Slugger as an outfielder and was second in the AL in slugging (87 points behind McGwire). He was selected to the Associated Press Major League All-Star Team and The Sporting News AL All-Star squad at season's end. González was also named the Puerto Rico Pro Athlete of the Year by Associated Press and the DFW Metroplex Pro Athlete of the Year by the Dallas All Sports Association. He received the honorable selection of American League Player of the Month in July, leading the majors in batting (.407), homers (15), RBI (38), slugging (.917) and total bases (99). González was also the AL Player of the Week for July 29 – August 4. González had a pair of 21-game hitting streaks, June 25 – July 19 and August 8–31, matching the 3rd longest hitting streaks in team history with Mickey Rivers (1980) being the only other Ranger with 2 20-game hitting streaks in the same season. On July 30, González went 5–5 vs. New York, a career best and tied the club record for hits in a game. González was also chosen as a member of the Major League Baseball All-Star Team that traveled to Japan for an eight game exhibition series in November, batting .500 (10–20) with one homer and 3 RBI in 7 games.Juan Gonzalez Stats, Bio, Photos, Highlights | MLB.com: Team. Mlb.mlb.com (January 1, 2011). Retrieved on November 13, 2011. That year, the Texas Rangers made the playoffs, and in the 1996 American League Division Series, González homered five times in four games and batted .438/.526/1.375 with 9 RBI. Texas ended up losing in four games to the New York Yankees. González tied Jeffrey Leonard's 1987 NLCS record by homering in four straight post-season games and joined Reggie Jackson and Ken Griffey Jr. as the only players to hit five home runs in a single post-season series. González, however, accomplished this feet in less games (4) than Leonard, Jackson and Griffey Jr; all of whom needed at least 5 games to accomplish said feat. Combining the regular season and postseason, González hit .315 with 52 home runs, 153 RBIs, and .664 slugging percentage in 1996.
In 1997, González batted .296/.335/.589 as a DH-RF for the Rangers, winning his fourth Silver Slugger Award. In 133 games he was 4th in slugging, 6th in total bases (314), third in homers (42) and RBI (131), 10th in extra-base hits (69) and tied for 6th with 10 sacrifice flies. González missed the first month of the season and was not activated from the DL until May 2 due to a torn ligament in his left thumb. Despite the injury he still managed to earn American League Player of the Month honors in September (.337, 10 home runs, 26 RBI) and was the Rangers Player of the Month in both August and September. González was selected to Baseball America's American League All-Star Team.