OF - 1986/87 North Pole Nicks
Bats: Left - Throws: Right
Drafted: Houston, 1988, 4th Rd.
MLB Career: 1990-2008
MLB Teams: Houston, Chicago (N), Detroit, Arizona, Los Angeles, Florida
The North Pole Nicks were short lived, especially compared to their mentor/rival right up the road in Fairbanks. The larger-than-life club with none other than Santa Claus for a mascot put together a mere ten seasons before being bankrupted, but in those years they managed to produce a significant amount of would-be Major League stars, including our #8 pick on the All-Time countdown, Luis Gonzalez.
Life in Alaska may have taken a little getting used to for Gonzalez, who was once hassled by cops for loitering around local parking lots at the wee hours of the morning (his excuse? He couldn't sleep with all the daylight). But he came into his own in the ABL, as well as in college play with University of South Alabama where he was named second-team All Freshman. Scouts thought enough of him that he was taken in the fourth round in the 1988 draft.
Gonzalez made the ascent to the Major Leagues quickly, but the first half of his career was largely unimpressive. He would put up mediocre numbers year in and year out until his 1999 move to the year-old expansion franchise, the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was there that he would establish himself as one of the game's top hitters, consistently putting up .300/20hr/100rbi seasons for the next few years. This includes a 57-homer campaign in 2001, his career-best season, in which he drove in the winning run to lift the Diamondbacks to a World Series crown over the New York Yankees.
The former Nicks OF boasts an impressive trophy case. Gonzalez is a five-time All Star who has Silver Slugger, Branch Rickey and Home Run Derby hardware to go with his World Series ring. It's no wonder that he made #8 on our All-Time Top ABL Player countdown.
Photo Courtesy of Rab Bethan - CC-SA 3.0
Just looking over his stats....how out of place does that 57 Hr 2001 campaign look? He had only topped 30 once, in the previous year, and would go on to hit 28 and 26 dongs the next two years, before his career basically fell off a cliff. Just sayin...
ReplyDeleteI'll always remember Gonzo for his crazy stance (that I emulated for an entire little league season) and his lucky-ass bloop single off Rivera to win the World Series (greatest world series EVER by the way).