SAN DIEGO (AP) -Adrian Gonzalez shrugs off the All-Star-caliber numbers he’s putting up with the San Diego Padres.
He’s not getting caught up in the talk that he’ll likely be the only representative the lowly Padres will send to the Midsummer Classic at Yankee Stadium.
A season that went so wrong so fast will do that to an unassuming guy who’s quietly become a star and leader of his hometown team.
But playing alongside his older brother, Edgar? Now that’ll put a smile on the first baseman’s face.
“I’ve really enjoyed every moment of it, and being able to be there for his first hit, homer, his first everything, has been pretty awesome,” said Adrian Gonzalez, who’s four years younger than Edgar. “We always joked around that we were going to be playing for the Padres in the big leagues. That dream has become a reality.
“I mean, he’s been through a lot in his career and he finally got what he deserved.”
It’s hard to imagine how much worse the Padres would be this season without Adrian Gonzalez. He’s hit 21 homers and driven in 68 RBIs, accounting for more than one-fifth of San Diego’s offense. Although he’s not among the top five first basemen in All-Star voting by the fans, he is among the top five in the NL in RBIs and home runs.
He’s also playing defense at a Gold Glove clip. His signature play is going after the lead runner at second base rather than going for the easy out at first on bunts and other balls hit to him.
And the two brothers manning the right side of the infield not far from where they grew up? Well, that’s the kind of story that only baseball can provide, and this one has a cross-border flavor.
“You can’t get a better combination in a town on the Mexican border,” said San Diego’s John Boggs, the agent for both brothers. “Two players that are locals, they grew up in San Diego, both are bilingual. I’m stating the obvious, but where can you go wrong in a package like that, as long as they’re productive? My goodness, they’re representative of the community they’re playing for.”
It certainly is one of the few bright spots for a team that has been dreadful offensively and hobbled by its share of injuries.
“Seeing my kids playing together when they played with Mazatlan, I was so happy,” said their father, David, who runs an air conditioning business and owns a professional baseball team across the border in Tijuana. “But now with the Padres, it’s a different story. Seeing them play in the same team that I can go to every day is very good, very nice.”
Edgar Gonzalez, who made his big league debut just more than month before turning 30, said it really hasn’t sunk in yet.
“But after the season ends I’ll probably look back and say, ‘Well, that was pretty cool,” said Edgar, who played two seasons of winter ball with Adrian in Mexico. “I don’t know how long we’re going to be able to play together but at least right now we’re playing together, so you’ve got to enjoy it.”
The Gonzalez brothers were born in San Diego, although the family lived in Tijuana at the time. They moved north of border in 1990. All the while, the Gonzalez boys watched the Padres and idolized Tony Gwynn.
They headed off to the state of Florida in the 2000 draft. Adrian was the No. 1 pick overall by the Marlins out of Chula Vista’s Eastlake High. Edgar, who had played at San Diego State, was taken the next day in the 30th round by Tampa Bay.
Adrian never played with the Marlins. When Florida was making a surprise push for the wild card in 2003 – the Marlins ended up winning the World Series – Gonzalez was one of three minor leaguers dealt to Texas for reliever Ugueth Urbina. He made his big league debut with Texas in 2004, but All-Star first baseman Mark Teixeira was in his way.
He made it back to San Diego in January 2006 in a trade that has been hailed as one of general manager Kevin Towers’ best, a six-player deal that also brought All-Star right-hander Chris Young to the Padres.
This time, Ryan Klesko was in the way. But then Klesko hurt his left shoulder in spring training and Gonzalez was the opening day first baseman.
Edgar Gonzalez had a much more circuitous route to the big leagues. After playing eight minor league seasons for five organizations, the Padres signed him as a minor league free agent in November.
Although Edgar had been high on the Padres’ list, “He basically pushed us,” Towers said. “He wanted to play with his brother.”
Edgar Gonzalez had a good spring but didn’t make the club. He finally got his first callup after the Padres designed Callix Crabbe for assignment on May 12. That night against the Chicago Cubs, he became the sixth player in team history to get an RBI hit in his first career plate appearance. The next night, he made his first start, at third base.
Edgar Gonzalez took over at second base after Tadahito Iguchi separated his right shoulder on June 5.
This is the second straight season that brothers who grew up in the area have played for the Padres. Right fielder Brian Giles played with his younger brother, Marcus, last year. Both were established big leaguers when they were reunited.
“This is different because Edgar had never played in the big leagues before,” Giles said. “Adrian was there for his first big league game. He got to see him play and was sitting on the bench when he got his first hit.
“It’s not very common for brothers not only to play together, but to play together in your hometown,” Giles said.
Edgar Gonzalez is often mistaken for being the younger brother because he’s two inches shorter and 43 pounds lighter than Adrian.
“Adrian is more quiet. Edgar smiles more,” their father said.
“I know he’s an older brother, but he brings energy to our team, just the way he is, just the way he handles himself,” Giles said. “They’re both great to have on your team.”
Edgar Gonzalez has been solid both defensively and at the plate, where he’s hitting .313 with three homers and 14 RBIs. He had his first four-hit game Monday night at Colorado, including two homers.
“You can tell there’s a closeness to the guys,” manager Bud Black said. “It’s got to be pretty special for those guys. There’s a coolness to it.”
The Gonzalezes are always talking baseball, in English and Spanish.
“At the bat rack, on-deck circle, dugout. I’ve heard both,” Black said.
“Spanglish,” said Adrian Gonzalez, who had 10 homers and 29 RBIs in May. “The new language of California. Sometimes we mix them together. I’ll be talking and a few words out of a sentence are in English and the rest are in Spanish, and you kind of mix and match. Whatever comes to your mind quickest.”
Perhaps nobody knows Adrian’s smooth left-handed swing – with opposite-field power – as well as his righty-hitting brother does. Edgar doesn’t hesitate to speak up if he sees something Adrian needs to work on.
“I can because I’m his older brother and I can tell him that stuff,” Edgar said. “He is my brother, but I just think he is a special hitter. You can’t teach a swing like that, that Adrian has.”
Towers would like to have the brothers around as long as possible.
“I think they kind of feed off one another,” Towers said. “They help one another out. They have been a very, very productive combination for us.”
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