Saying farewell to a Diamondbacks icon
09/29/2006
PHOENIX -- Forget about the 57 home runs for a minute.
Put aside the game-winning hit in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series.
If you want to know why Arizona loves Luis Gonzalez and how he became the face of the franchise, its icon, you have to look away from the on-field accomplishments, because they are just a small part of it.
Instead, you'll have to look at scenes like the one Thursday in the dugout during batting practice. Gonzalez was chatting with a small child and his family, who had been brought down by the club's Community Affairs Department. Gonzalez finished talking and posing for pictures and went to grab his helmet and bat to go hit.
As he picked up his batting gloves, he paused for a minute, realizing that he had more than one set. He quickly walked back over to the boy and handed him a pair, which drew an ear-to-ear grin.
As he put his helmet on and walked up the dugout steps, Gonzalez turned to an observer and said, "That right there is why I play the game."
And that right there is why he is so beloved.
It's not only that Gonzalez made himself available for charity appearances or that he signed lots of autographs, it's that he seemed to genuinely enjoy doing those things.
And it's why come Sunday's finale, there will be plenty of tears shed as D-Backs fans say good-bye. That they'll get a chance to say farewell is a credit to the Arizona front office, which informed Gonzalez of its decision not to bring him back for 2007, more than two weeks before the end of the season.
"We met with him because we wanted to be decisive and we didn't want this to drag on," GM Josh Byrnes said. "We felt he deserved that. We felt our fans deserved that."
Predictably, Gonzalez was not pleased with the decision and neither were a large group of fans. While he knew his $10 million option for 2007 would not be picked up, Gonzalez thought the club would offer to bring him back at a reduced price.
"There was one door and that door said, 'Exit,'" Gonzalez said. "So that's the way I took it. I wish the results would have been different because I would have liked to have stayed here, but that option wasn't given to me even to negotiate."
And though it may not feel like it right now, a parting of the ways is probably in everyone's best interest. The D-Backs are a team in transition, an organization loaded with prospects who have shown they are ready for the big leagues. It's time to turn the reigns over to them.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez proved with his 52 doubles this year that he's far from being ready to give up the game he loves, even if he is 39 years old. The perceived snub from the organization he's been with for eight years will just fuel his competitive fire and likely push him to be successful again next year.
"I'm kind of looking forward to the end," he said last week. "I need a change. I need to get out."
Sure, Arizona could have brought Gonzalez back at a reduced rate for 2007 and they might even have told him he'd be the starter in left, which would have put Eric Byrnes on the bench. But what would have happened had Gonzalez gotten off to a slow start? The firestorm a Gonzalez benching could cause would engulf the team and become a distraction.
And what if Gonzalez got off to a hot start? The pressure would mount to sign him to an extension and once again through no fault of Gonzalez, the whole issue would become a distraction.
Fans who say the D-Backs should bring Gonzalez back in a part-time role to work with the young players ignore the fact that he's not ready to accept a part-time role and in fact wants to play at least another few seasons and try to get to 3,000 hits.
You can scoff at that or say it's unrealistic, but know this: it's that stubbornness, that belief in himself that allowed Gonzalez to go from a self-proclaimed "skinny kid from Tampa" to a Major League All-Star. It's also just the kind of attitude that's needed if you're going to succeed at a game like baseball, which is predicated so much on failure.
And let's face it, one more year wouldn't make a difference. It wouldn't make it any easier to say goodbye to a player who has meant so much to so many. The departure of a franchise icon is rarely easy and seldom without ruffled feathers on both sides.
The D-Backs have said they want Gonzalez to rejoin their organization in some capacity when his playing career comes to an end. Gonzalez demurred when asked about that, the wound obviously still a bit too fresh. But time has a way of taking care of those things. Heck, in 2003, third baseman Matt Williams was unceremoniously released in the middle of the season and it seemed like that rift would last for a while. But less than two years later not only was he back as a broadcaster, he was also an investor in the club.
In time, Gonzalez will no doubt return to the place he will always call home, the place where he took his career to a new level and has so many friends.
So, when you're at Chase Field on Sunday and you give him that one last standing ovation, think of it as saying farewell for now rather than goodbye.
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
PHOENIX -- Forget about the 57 home runs for a minute.
Put aside the game-winning hit in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series.
If you want to know why Arizona loves Luis Gonzalez and how he became the face of the franchise, its icon, you have to look away from the on-field accomplishments, because they are just a small part of it.
Instead, you'll have to look at scenes like the one Thursday in the dugout during batting practice. Gonzalez was chatting with a small child and his family, who had been brought down by the club's Community Affairs Department. Gonzalez finished talking and posing for pictures and went to grab his helmet and bat to go hit.
As he picked up his batting gloves, he paused for a minute, realizing that he had more than one set. He quickly walked back over to the boy and handed him a pair, which drew an ear-to-ear grin.
As he put his helmet on and walked up the dugout steps, Gonzalez turned to an observer and said, "That right there is why I play the game."
And that right there is why he is so beloved.
It's not only that Gonzalez made himself available for charity appearances or that he signed lots of autographs, it's that he seemed to genuinely enjoy doing those things.
And it's why come Sunday's finale, there will be plenty of tears shed as D-Backs fans say good-bye. That they'll get a chance to say farewell is a credit to the Arizona front office, which informed Gonzalez of its decision not to bring him back for 2007, more than two weeks before the end of the season.
"We met with him because we wanted to be decisive and we didn't want this to drag on," GM Josh Byrnes said. "We felt he deserved that. We felt our fans deserved that."
Predictably, Gonzalez was not pleased with the decision and neither were a large group of fans. While he knew his $10 million option for 2007 would not be picked up, Gonzalez thought the club would offer to bring him back at a reduced price.
"There was one door and that door said, 'Exit,'" Gonzalez said. "So that's the way I took it. I wish the results would have been different because I would have liked to have stayed here, but that option wasn't given to me even to negotiate."
And though it may not feel like it right now, a parting of the ways is probably in everyone's best interest. The D-Backs are a team in transition, an organization loaded with prospects who have shown they are ready for the big leagues. It's time to turn the reigns over to them.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez proved with his 52 doubles this year that he's far from being ready to give up the game he loves, even if he is 39 years old. The perceived snub from the organization he's been with for eight years will just fuel his competitive fire and likely push him to be successful again next year.
"I'm kind of looking forward to the end," he said last week. "I need a change. I need to get out."
Sure, Arizona could have brought Gonzalez back at a reduced rate for 2007 and they might even have told him he'd be the starter in left, which would have put Eric Byrnes on the bench. But what would have happened had Gonzalez gotten off to a slow start? The firestorm a Gonzalez benching could cause would engulf the team and become a distraction.
And what if Gonzalez got off to a hot start? The pressure would mount to sign him to an extension and once again through no fault of Gonzalez, the whole issue would become a distraction.
Fans who say the D-Backs should bring Gonzalez back in a part-time role to work with the young players ignore the fact that he's not ready to accept a part-time role and in fact wants to play at least another few seasons and try to get to 3,000 hits.
You can scoff at that or say it's unrealistic, but know this: it's that stubbornness, that belief in himself that allowed Gonzalez to go from a self-proclaimed "skinny kid from Tampa" to a Major League All-Star. It's also just the kind of attitude that's needed if you're going to succeed at a game like baseball, which is predicated so much on failure.
And let's face it, one more year wouldn't make a difference. It wouldn't make it any easier to say goodbye to a player who has meant so much to so many. The departure of a franchise icon is rarely easy and seldom without ruffled feathers on both sides.
The D-Backs have said they want Gonzalez to rejoin their organization in some capacity when his playing career comes to an end. Gonzalez demurred when asked about that, the wound obviously still a bit too fresh. But time has a way of taking care of those things. Heck, in 2003, third baseman Matt Williams was unceremoniously released in the middle of the season and it seemed like that rift would last for a while. But less than two years later not only was he back as a broadcaster, he was also an investor in the club.
In time, Gonzalez will no doubt return to the place he will always call home, the place where he took his career to a new level and has so many friends.
So, when you're at Chase Field on Sunday and you give him that one last standing ovation, think of it as saying farewell for now rather than goodbye.
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
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