Los Angeles Dodgers: Adrian Gonzalez announces his retirement

One could be forgiven if they thought that Adrian Gonzalez had already retired. The former San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman had not been in the majors since 2018. However, he spent the 2021 season in the Mexican League and was a part of the Olympics last year.

It is fair to say that Gonzalez has had a memorable career as a baseball player. On Saturday, he announced on Instagram that his career had come to an end as he is officially retiring.

Former Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez announces retirement

Gonzalez had quite a few memorable experiences as a player. He was a part of the Caribbean Series and Olympics and made five trips to the postseason in his 15 years in the majors. A five time All Star, he also won four Gold Gloves at first and was a two time Silver Slugger.

Considering all those accolades, it makes sense that he produced a solid career statistically. Gonzalez posted a .287/.358/.485 batting line in his 8046 plate appearances, hitting 317 homers and 437 doubles.

Even with his excellent career, Gonzalez may be remembered for his brief tenure with the Red Sox. He was shipped to the Dodgers after a year and a half in Boston, part of a massive salary dump that also served to reset the team’s culture. While Gonzalez was productive with the Red Sox, he also complained that they played too many Sunday night games and used that as an excuse for their poor play in 2012.

In the end, Gonzalez is going to be someone who would be inducted into the Hall of Very Good if such a thing existed. He was the type of player that one typically wanted on their team due to his strong production, but he was not a Hall of Fame type of player. It is not a knock on his career – he just did not put together enough counting stats to warrant induction.

Former Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has announced his retirement. He had quite the solid and memorable career.