Carlos Gonzalez has spent seven and a half years in Denver. In only one of them – his first – has he had an opportunity to compete for a championship. That kind of draught, says a former MLB pitcher, could wear on a guy and give him pause to consider leaving town.
Former Rockies’ pitcher Jason Hirsh weighed in on Gonzalez’s future, joining Afternoon Drive on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7, and saying that if he were the Rockies’ slugger, he would want out of Denver.
“If I’m Carlos Gonzalez,” Hirsh said, “Yeah, I’d probably want out of Colorado. I want to go to a competitor; I want to play for a championship this year or next year.”
Gonzalez is a three-time All-Star whose .318 batting average has contributed to Colorado holding Major League Baseball’s third-best batting average this year. Still, though, they’re third in the NL West and seven games out of the Wild Card.
The Rockies are in a rebuilding period, but Gonzalez is not in a rebuilding stage of his career. He’s hit over .250 in six of his eight Major League seasons, is a three-time all-star, and won the 2010 National League batting title.
The Rockies went 92-70, made the playoffs as a Wild Card and lost in the Division Series to the Phillies in Gonzalez’s first year with the team, 2009. They’ve had just one winning season since, 2010. All the losing had reports surfacing last week that Gonzalez could desire a trade to a World Series contender.
Gonzalez last week denied rumors that he wanted out, but Hirsh thinks the veteran outfielder would do well for another club.
“When he’s going well, he’s having a great season, he’s healthy, and I think he could make a great contribution to another ball club.”
For the full discussion with Hirsh on the Rockies and Gonzalez, click on the podcast below…
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