Coming into the 2016 season, one in which the Colorado Rockies are expected to have a losing record for the sixth straight year and finish last in the National League West for the second year in a row, outfielder Carlos Gonzalez believes the Rockies have what it takes to win baseball games.
“We want to win. That’s our number one goal,” Gonzalez said before last Sunday’s victory over the Padres. “We always prepare ourselves to win ballgames. I think we have enough players here, enough talent to make sure that that happens.”
Despite what the pundits and so-called experts think about the Rockies, Gonzalez firmly believes that they can compete this year. And if the Rockies are to compete the way he believes they will, an essential cog in that wheel of success is Gonzalez’ health. Over the course of his career in Colorado, he has lost a number of games, and even at times his production, to injury.
When he’s been healthy, Gonzalez has been a key offensive and defensive contributor. When he’s played at least 125 games, which has only happened four times in his eight-year career, Gonzalez is among the best players in all of baseball. In 2011 and 2012, the best years of Gonzalez’ career, he hit over .300 and more than 20 home runs. Even last year, after struggling for much of the first half, he slashed at .285/.309/.565 with 27 home runs and 62 RBI in 71 games after the All-Star Break.
“Things are well right now and I’m healthy which is important,” Gonzalez said. “That’s all I can ask for. The more I play, things are going to improve.”
The statistics bear that out. When Carlos Gonzalez is healthy, he is a good baseball player and should strike fear into the heart of opposing pitchers. When he’s not healthy, he can’t help the team win. In 2014, when he tried to play through an injury to his hand (the “fatty mass with tentacles”) Gonzalez slashed just .238/.292/.431 with a paltry 14 home runs and 38 RBI in 70 games before being sidelined for the year with a torn patella tendon in his knee.
“He looks like he always has when he’s been healthy,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said of Gonzalez’ strong start to 2016. “The only time he’s struggled was during the last couple years when he’s had to deal with some [injuries].”
Last year, during much of the first half, the prevailing thought was that Gonzalez was readjusting to Major League Baseball after spending so much of the past two years off the field. When he finally fully adjusted, he began torturing opposing pitching. Gonzalez’ quick start to 2016 shows that early last year, he was simply a sleeping giant about to wake up. Yes, this year’s sample size is still small, but through seven games in 2016, the Rockies right fielder is slashing .357/.400/.714 with three home runs. He does only have five RBI, but that’s simply a function of hitting behind rookie phenom Trevor Story, who keeps clearing the bases. There have rarely been runners on when Gonzalez steps to the plate.
If Gonzalez stays healthy this year, there is no reason he can’t be a massive contributor to a productive Rockies lineup. If Gonzalez stays healthy this year, the sky is the limit for the offensive production at the top of the order.
Recent history is not in his favor, but Carlos Gonzalez believes that the Colorado Rockies can compete in the uber-talented NL West. Skeptics certainly won’t believe him, but time will tell how true Gonzalez’ prognostications are.
