December 28, 2006

On this Date in Tigers History…

By Mike McClary in Fungoes | 1 comment

On December 28, 1998 the Detroit Tigers traded Luis Gonzalez to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Karim Garcia.

How’d that one work out for the Tigers?

In his one season with Detroit, Gonzo hit .267 with 23 HR and 71 RBI.

After that he hit 224 homers with the D-backs.

As for Garcia, he hit 14 just dingers in 104 games with the Tigers in 1999 and 2000. His average in that time was .236.

I don’t usually defend anything Randy Smith did as GM but from all accounts, Gonzalez just didn’t like Detroit. Despite the Tiger Stadium right-field porch and the promise of homers galore, he just wanted out.

He went on to become the face of the fledgling team in the desert, delivered the most famous bloop single in World Series history, and is revered across the state of Arizona. When the Diamondbacks announced during this past campaign that they would not pick up his option for the 2007 season the town went bezerk.

Now he’s a member of the Dodgers who will likely run roughshod over the N.L. West next season.

Garcia? The last I’d seen of him was during the 2003 ALCS when he and fellow Yankee Jeff Nelson allegedly pummeled a groundskeeper in the Fenway Park bullpen.

He was released by the Orioles during the 2004 season.

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1 Comment(s)

  1. Ian Casselberry | Dec 28, 2006 | Reply

    At the time, Gonzalez looked like a good placeholder for the phenom-to-be, Juan Encarnacion. Of course, that didn’t work out, and now Sister Encarnacion from “Nacho Libre” is far better known among the general populace.

    I also wonder if Tiger Stadium messed up Gonzalez’s swing. Rather than “staying within himself” (I hate that phrase) as a line-drive hitter, maybe he tried too hard to jack baseballs into that short right field porch.

    On a personal note: Years ago (about a decade, as it turns out), I used to write a weekly update for the Detroit Tigers page at RealFans on AOL, and Luis Gonzalez answered a couple of questions I asked him at TigerFest. And at the time, that was just the coolest thing ever and he earned a permanent place in the “Dudes I Like” category.

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