Adrian Gonzalez was the first overall pick of the 2000 draft; he was selected by the Marlins and was the first infielder chosen No. 1 since Alex Rodriguez in 1993. He suffered a wrist injury that Florida felt would hinder his swing, and thus was included in a trade with Texas, along with Will Smith and Ryan Snare, for ex-Red Sox reliever Ugueth Urbina on July 11, 2003.
Gonzalez broke into the major leagues with the Rangers in 2004 at the age of 22. Heading into the '04 season, he was ranked as the 52nd-best prospect in the minors by Baseball America. He hit his first major-league home run on April 25 against future Red Sox pitcher Kevin Jarvis, then of the Seattle Mariners, in Arlington.
2004 MAJOR-LEAGUE STATISTICS
GAMES: 16
AT-BATS: 42
RUNS: 7
HITS: 10
DOUBLES: 3
TRIPLES: 0
HOME RUNS: 1
RBI: 7
WALKS: 2
STRIKEOUTS: 6
BATTING AVERAGE: .238
ON-BASE PERCENTAGE: .273
SLUGGING PERCENTAGE: .381
OPS: .654
OPS: 63
Stats courtesy baseball-reference.com. Photos courtesy of AP Images.
ADRIAN GONZALEZ, YEAR-BY-YEAR
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