Breitbard Hall of Famer Adrian Gonzalez made MLB mark in San Diego – elcajon newson Elcajon News only

At the end of 2010, Padres’ first baseman Adrian Gonzalez was coming off a third consecutive All-Star season and fourth-place finish in National League MVP voting.

In five seasons with San Diego, Gonzalez hit .288 with 161 home runs, 501 RBIs and 856 hits. He combined contact and power with a dependable glove and remarkable durability, averaging 160 games per season.

When time came for a new deal?

Crickets.

“You can’t sign if you’re not offered a contract,” he said.

Gonzalez will be inducted into the Breitbard Hall of Fame on Monday during the San Diego Sports Association’s Salute to Champions dinner.

The graduate of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista made a major impact on the Padres, reaching three of his five career All-Star Games and collecting half of his four Gold Gloves. He hoped for even more.

“They spun it like I was the one who didn’t want to stay,” said Gonzalez, who played in San Diego from 2006-10. “Fans bought it and I took the blame for it. What are you going to do?

“I would have put the percentage at 90% (of me thinking I would stay). If the offer was well below a hometown discount, that would be one thing. I was willing to play with the number to get it done, though.

“But there was no offer.”

What numbers might he have put up for the Padres with more time in San Diego?

During his first season in Boston, Gonzalez led baseball with 213 hits, collecting Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards. Three years later with the Dodgers, he topped both leagues with 116 RBIs. The 15-year career ended with 2,050 hits, 317 home runs and 1,202 RBIs.

Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black filled the same role with the Padres for Gonzalez’s final four seasons in San Diego.

“It was one of those things when you played the Padres, don’t let Adrian Gonzalez beat you,” Black said.

It was a tough assignment against peak Gonzalez.

Consider 2009, when the slugger belted 40 home runs and walked a baseball-best 119 times. The power coupled with patience complicated gameplans for opposing pitchers.

“The thing that sticks out for me, he had a great knowledge of the game,” Black said. “His baseball acumen and instincts were outstanding. He played a lot of baseball in San Diego, in Mexico, winter ball.

“He was just steady. You could count on him.”

The offense was not solely dependent on launching balls out of the park.

On Aug. 11, 2009, Gonzalez finished 6-for-6 — with five singles and a double — in a 13-6 win over the Brewers at Miller Park in Milwaukee. It remains the most hits by a Padres player in a nine-inning game.

“When you’re locked in, it feels like you know what the pitcher’s doing, what pitches to attack and it all syncs up,” Gonzalez said. “Everything works.”

The real highlight came after the on-field highlights.

Gonzalez, who wore No. 19 growing up because of his childhood idol Tony Gwynn, spoke with the then-Padres broadcaster after the historic game.

“Being able to talk to Tony Gwynn after the game, that was the most special thing about it,” he said. “I love that memory.”

The former No. 1 overall pick, just the second player of Latin descent after Alex Rodriguez, also excelled because of his constant availability.

From 2007-12, Gonzalez played in at least 159 games a season. In 2008, he played in all 162 for the Padres.

“I devoted a lot of time in the gym, took care of my body and listened to my body,” Gonzalez said. “But I wasn’t sprinting like a a lot of other guys who pulled muscles. I wasn’t a speedster, so my ability to not pull muscles allowed me to stay healthy.

“My brother (Edgar) was hit by a pitch in the head (while with the Padres in 2009) and put on the (injured list). That never happened to me. I was blessed in those ways.”

Gonzalez routinely showed the diversity of his baseball skills.

In 2009 with the Padres, he finished with more walks (199) than strikeouts. That season, only Albert Pujols of the Cardinals matched that among the top 25 home-run hitters in the game.

No one else in that group came close.

“That doesn’t happen, especially with a power hitter,” Black said.

Gonzalez’s numbers in San Diego likely would have risen if he played for nearly any other team in the National League.

Petco Park was long known for being a pitcher’s park. It was such an imbalance that the Padres moved in the fences in 2013. Despite the change, power hitter Luke Voit, who played for the team in 2022, called Petco “a freaking (hitter’s) graveyard.”

“Guys in the NL Central were playing in tiny ballparks and you’re hitting in the hardest division in terms of big parks,” Gonzalez said. “I feel like I get a little short-changed because people don’t realize the Petco dimensions at the time. It’s still a tough place to hit.”

Black said the state of the Padres at the time also played a factor in how Gonzalez was perceived beyond the West Coast.

“We didn’t have the cachet the Padres have now based on their roster,” he said. “So nationally, Adrian probably didn’t get the recognition he deserved.”

That was not the case for Gonzalez in Mexico. He played for the country where he first grew up in youth leagues, then later in the Caribbean World Series, World Baseball Classic and Tokyo Olympics.

“I always wanted to be a part of those things and make Mexico proud,” he said.

The ultimate baseball dream, however, was waiting in the United States.

“When I was told halfway through my senior year that I would be drafted, I knew I could do it professionally in the minor leagues,” Gonzalez said. “To do it in the big leagues 15 years, that takes day-to-day work and effort.

“As a teenager, you can’t know you’ll be a 15-year MLB guy.”

A San Diego kid who found the spotlight for San Diego’s team.