It’s April 4th and the season is just about to begin. A man walks up to you and pronounces that this club will be in the ALDS facing the Yankees. He states that Miguel Gonzalez (who?) will be the Game Three Starter. If you haven’t laughed in his face yet, you might after he states that Gonzalez also will be 9-4 and pitch over 100 innings with an ERA of 3.25.
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The magical 2012 season has brought many amazing stories to Baltimore. Lew Ford, Nate McLouth, Steve Johnson, and a bunch of others have made this season one to remember. However, Miguel Gonzalez might have the strongest story out of all. His story is one of courage, dedication, pain, suffering, and perseverance.
Gonzalez was signed as a free agent by the Anaheim Angels in 2004. After pitching most of his minor league career out of the bullpen, he was given his first shot at starting in 2007. That season boosted his stock tremendously and he was getting closer to the majors. Unfortunately he missed the entire 2008 season due to a torn meniscus. The next season he was selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Red Sox, but missed the entire 2009 season after tearing a ligament in his elbow that required Tommy John Surgery.
After missing two full seasons, Miguel Gonzalez could have quit. He would not have been the first player to do so. He would have joined the thousands of ballplayers before him that decided it was just time to pack it in on the game they loved. As we all know, Gonzalez did not go down this path. He continued to play after signing minor league deals with the Red Sox. After two mediocre seasons, it appeared that time was finally starting to catch up with him.
Being a native of Mexico, Gonzalez often pitched in the Caribbean Series for a Mexican League during the winter. This is where Fred Ferreira spotted Gonzalez and decided to give him one last shot. Gonzalez was set to join the Norfolk Tides for the start of the 2012 season.
Gonzalez initially was in the bullpen for the Tides. He showed a strong poise in this role. What he lacked in great stuff, he made up with excellent command and mixing of pitches. Gonzalez “knows how to pitch” as I like to say. Little did we know, there were much bigger stages set for him.
He earned his promotion to the Orioles and made the most of it. It was only 11.2 innings and 3 appearances, but Gonzalez showed enough to garner himself a chance to start. After a quick stint to AAA in order to stretch him out, Gonzalez returned and threw a masterful game against the Angels. To add along to this story, he was using the glove of his friend Nick Adenhart. As many know, Adenhart tragically passed away in an accident. If anything, that portion of Gonzalez’ story alone makes his season amazing.
Photo Source: Jason Miller/Getty Images North America
This is where the real fun starts. For much of the season, it was stated that this club will fall apart. “Look at that run differential!”. “You cannot rely on AAAA players like Miguel Gonzalez!”. Well, guess what? This club did not fall apart, and I am not even sure where they are getting this idea of negative run differential from. It sure looks positive to me! (The Orioles ended the 2012 season with a +7 run differential) One of the main reasons this club was able to stay above water is because of Miguel Gonzalez. This man is one of the main reasons this club has garnered such a magical season.
-Gonzalez primarily relies on his fastball. In fact, he typically throws it around 60.0% of the time. In 2012 with the Orioles, he threw it 61.7% of the time. He will mix in a two-seam fastball on occasion, which was 7.1% of the time with the Orioles.
-His other bread and butter pitches are the slider and change up. The slider was thrown 17.5% of the time this season and is primarily used as his “roll-over” pitch. He does not want to throw this as a strike. This pitch should rarely be in the zone, and if it is…boom! He will get a lot of fly balls off this though, as right-handed batters will reach on it at times (just like most sliders)
This heat map from Fangraphs shows what I mean against right-handed hitters. It’s no surprise that a lot of those over the middle of the zone went for hits:
-The change up is one of his better pitches in my eyes, and he really can pull the string with it at times. It’s not necessarily a swing-and-miss pitch, but he does get 26.2% whiffs on it. He seems to love throwing this away in the zone from the hitter. That is especially true against left-handed hitters. He threw the change up 12.7% of the time this year.
-He has a curve ball that he will occasionally mix in. It has a tight rotation, but usually just a pitch that he attempts to throw off the hitter with.
Overall, Gonzalez mixes and matches with the best of them. I bring back that “he knows how to pitch” line because it is so true in his case. This is a guy who cannot rely on an overpowering fastball (91.4 average velocity). Instead, he will throw each and every pitch in any portion of the count. While he mostly throws the fastball, it will not necessarily be the first pitch of the AB. Gonzalez has done a terrific job this season using his repertoire to his full advantage. He understands what his limits are, and that truly is an important aspect when pitching. Maybe the long time he spent in the minors and working back from injury is what turned the light on with him. Regardless, he has been a terrific pickup for the Orioles.
In this magical 2012 season, Miguel Gonzalez might be one of the most magical of all. He is the epitome of what some would call “luck”. He is the type of pitcher that everyone mocks when they are called up to make a start. He is also exactly what the 2012 Baltimore Orioles are.
Gonzalez is a player with a magical season that is defying the odds of all naysayers. And you know what… I don’t think any of us mind at all.
Tucker Blair was born and raised in the Baltimore area and currently lives in Elkridge, Maryland. He graduated from York College of Pennsylvania with a B.S in Entrepreneurial Studies and is currently a Project Analyst for a Management Consulting Firm in Federal Hill, Baltimore. Tucker was previously the Managing Editor at Orioles Nation, where he worked on prospect lists, reports, and analysis on the Orioles minor league system. He also previously wrote his personal blog, The EntreprenOriole.