Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
Fox Sports announced former Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has joined their Fox Deportes broadcast crew. He will make his debut this Friday night when the Dodgers take on the L.A. Angels in the Freeway Series opener at Angel Stadium.
“I’m incredibly excited to join FOX Deportes,” Gonzalez said. I look forward to getting in the booth and offering viewers my perspective of the game from a player’s and coach’s point of view based on what I learned over my years in the major leagues.”
Fox Deportes vice president Orlando Silver added: “We are thrilled to add Adrian and feel that he fits in perfectly with our star-studded talent roster. Adrian continues to have a major presence in Major League Baseball and will no doubt add invaluable expertise to our broadcasts. We are honored that he has chosen FOX Deportes to make his debut as a game analyst.”
Gonzalez had a successful 15-year Major League career, being named an All-Star five times in addition to winning four Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers.
The Dodgers acquired him in a blockbuster trade with the Boston Red Sox in 2012, and he wound up playing with the team through the 2017 season. He led the league in RBI in 2014 and was named an All-Star in 2015.
Gonzalez finished out his career playing 54 games for the New York Mets in 2018, although the best moments of his career came with the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres.
During his time with the Dodgers, Gonzalez was known to be a leader in the clubhouse, especially to the young Latino players on the team like Yasiel Puig.
The San Diego native is of Mexican heritage and has always been an outstanding ambassador for the game, making him an ideal candidate to go into Spanish-language broadcasting. He has made a few guest appearances on the Dodgers’ broadcast channel, SportsNet LA, over the last few years, so he is already familiar with his new job.
This weekend’s series at Angel Stadium is the first of two Freeway Series’ this season. After playing three games in Anaheim, the Dodgers will then host the Angels for three more from Sept. 25-27, the final regular-season series of the season for both teams.
Gonzalez in favor of end-of-season All-Star Game
It is well-documented how unique the 2020 MLB season is due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with teams only playing 60 regular-season games.
One of the casualties of the shortened season was the 2020 All-Star Game, which was supposed to take place at Dodger Stadium. The league decided to cancel the week’s events altogether as opposed to postponing it to the end of the season, which Gonzalez recently said he would have been in favor of.
As someone who went to five Midsummer Classics in his career, Gonzalez knows how special that experience is. Even though players won’t get that in 2020, hopefully the league does something to recognize those that have standout seasons.
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