Sunday School: History Lesson 22

Tony Gonzalez was an outfielder with the Phillies from 1960-1968. The Cuban born Gonzalez was a terrific defensive outfielder who was solid at the plate also. Gonzalez debuted in the Major Leagues with Cincinnati in 1960, but veterans Frank Robinson, Gus Bell and Vada Pinson were blocking his playing time. Gonzalez was traded along with Lee Walls to Philadelphia for Harry Anderson, Fred Hopke and Wally Post on June 15, 1960.

Gonzalez would quickly contribute as our Phillies' centerfielder, batting .299 in 78 games played. Gonzalez would go on to bat over .300 three times for the Phillies. Gonzalez was small in stature (5'9", 170 pounds), but he would display surprising power also. In 1963, Tony hit 20 homers. His best offensive season, however, came in 1967, when he posted a .339 batting avg, to finish second in the batting race.

On defense, Gonzalez had a couple remarkable seasons as well. In 1962, he played 112 games in the outfield without an error. And, the year he finished 2nd in batting (1967), he led all NL outfielders in fielding percentage.

In 1968, Tony's batting average shrunk a full 75 points, down to .264, and and his OPS dropped 198 points, so the Phillies left him unprotected in the following offseason's expansion draft. The brand new San Diego Padres selected Gonzalez in the draft. He played just 53 games for the Padres before being dealt in another mid-June deal, this time to the Braves. Gonzalez would play in the NLCS that season with against the Metropolitans. He had 5 hits in 14 at bats (.357 avg) in 3 games of that series. Tony would go on to play in the Majors through 1971, and even played a portion of the 1972 season in Japan.

Comments

2019 Phillies Prospects Countdown: #7 LHP JoJo Romero

JoJo Romero, image- Jay Floyd With a growing crop of very talented pitching prospects in the Phillies organization, left-hander JoJo Romero is certainly among the standouts. The five-foot-11 200-pounder was the Phils’ 4th round draft selection in 2016. That year he helped Yavapai College, the same school that the Phillies drafted Kenny Giles from in 2011, clinch the JuCo World Series, leading the way with an 11-5 record, a 3.64 ERA and a 10.2 K/9 mark. He also tossed a complete game gem to earn the win in their title game. After signing with the Phillies, Romero made his professional debut as a member of the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters. There, he notched a 2-2 record with a 2.56 ERA while striking out 31 and walking 11 in 45 2/3 innings. In 2017, he got off to a terrific start with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. In 13 starts, Romero tallied a 5-1 record with a 2.11 ERA and a 9.3 K/9 mark and was honored as a South Atlantic League mid-season All-Star. R

Diekman a Late Addition to Mesa AFL Roster

On Wednesday, Phillies lefty pitching prospect Jacob Diekman made his Arizona Fall League debut. Diekman, who was drafted in the 30th round of the 2007 amateur draft, was assigned to Mesa late, in order to increase his 2010 innings total, according to Mesa hitting coach Mark Parent, who managed Diekman in Lakewood this past season. Diekman, 23, posted a 2-0 record with 1.90 ERA in 21 games with Class A Lakewood before being promoted to High-A Clearwater on June 24th. In 24 games with the Threshers, Diekman went 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA. Combined, Diekman tossed 55 2/3 innings and held opponents to a .187 batting average against at two levels in 2010. However, after not pitching in an official game since he threw a shutout inning to wrap up the Clearwater season on September 5th, Diekman was unable to record an out as all seven batters he faced reached base, six with hits, one on an error. Diekman was charged with 5 earned runs in the outing. Diekman had spent time at instructional ball f

McGwire Stays Phony, Despite Admitting Drug Use

Mark McGwire made an effort to publicly come clean today, admitting to the world that he took performance enhancing drugs during his playing career. Steroids and human growth hormones were among the drugs that McGwire admitted to using. MLB Network featured a one on one interview with Bob Costas and McGwire on Monday evening. The broadcast was virtually garbage, thanks to McGwire. Ahead is a list of quotes from McGwire's interview. McGwire repeatedly stated his point of view that there were no dishonorable intentions involved when taking steroids, and that he was merely using them as a means to recover from varying ailments. When asked if he felt like he cheated... "As I look back now...I can see how people would say that. As far as the talent goes and the hand-eye coordination, the ability, the genetics I was given...I don't see it." "I did not take this for any strength purposes." Denial. Read on for similar B.S. He whined about the abuse he'

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog