Rene Gonzales - Outstanding Athletic Achievement

Think about it. Every time a young boy plays catch in a park or pulls on a uniform to play baseball for his team, he thinks about making it to the major leagues. Through tee ball, little league, high school and college, the odds of achieving such a goal is probably right up there with winning the lottery.

Rene Gonzales has never won the lottery but the former Glendale College baseball standout was able to beat the odds to not only get drafted to play Major league Baseball in 1982, but by enjoying a solid career in the majors with seven teams from 1984 to 1997.

Gonzales or “Gonzo” as he is known to his friends played for the Vaqueros in 1979 and 1980 for Head Coach Steve Coots after a standout career at Rosemead High. He later transferred to Cal State Los Angeles where he played two years for the Golden Eagles in 1981 and 1982. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 5^th round of the 1982 amateur draft. 

“It was a blast playing at Glendale College and I still have great relationships with a lot of the guys that I played with there. Stengel Field was a great place to play and I still get over there to see a game every now and then,’’ said Gonzales, who was the manger in 2009 for the Helena Brewers, a minor league team in the Milwaukee Brews organization, . “I get asked a lot about what it takes to get to the majors and I just remember when I was a little kid, about six or seven years old, I used to tell everyone that I was going to make it and I worked very hard to achieve my goals”

In a career that spanned 13 seasons, Gonzales played 10 years in the American League for the Baltimore Orioles from 1987 to 1990, the California Angeles in 1992 to 1993 and again in 1995 as well as the Cleveland Indians in 1994 and the Texas Rangers in 1996. he also played three years in the National League with the Montreal expos in 1984 and 1986 and the Colorado Rockies in 1997.

He was classified as an infielder by trade and alternated between shortstop, second base and third base during his major league career but also played some first base and in the outfield, whenever necessary. In 1993 for the California Angels, Gonzales even pitched an inning of relief and successfully retired all three batters he faced.

The versatility of Gonzales served him well to not only be able to adjust to playing for several teams during him Major League career but to adjust to the situational needs of the games when it required him to play different positions.

“I guess I got labeled for being a utility player early in my career and I was never really able to shake that name,’’ Gonzales said. “But playing the game at that high level was really what it was all about. Just to get the opportunity in Baltimore to play second base between Baseball Hall of Famers Eddie Murray at first and Cal Ripken at shortstop is just one of the memories I will never forget.’’