-Matthew McConkey
I remember Juan being one of the most feared home run hitters in all of MLB during the 1990s. He had some of the quickest hands and could swing the bat through the zone faster than I had ever seen. For a decade during the '90s, Juan was a home run-hitting machine, sending 339 HRs out into the cheap seats. I was always awestruck by how good he was at the plate, thanks to his exceptional hand-eye coordination.
It doesn't escape me that Gonzalez's name sometimes gets lost in the home run-hitting shuffle that was the 1990s. How? I don't know. It could be all those years he spent playing with the Texas Rangers, and the team not being in a huge media market. Had he been in New York, Boston, or Los Angeles, he would've been more revered, more of a household name.
During the 1990s, Gonzalez made life brutal for pitchers. Not only did he hit 339 home runs during the decade, but he also collected 1,068 RBIs. He averaged 33.9 HRs, 106.8 RBIs, and a staggering .920 OPS from 1990-1999. He was one of the toughest outs to get in all of baseball.
His best power season came in 1996, the year he won his first AL MVP. That year, he clobbered 47 HRs and drove in 144 runs with an OPS of 1.001, the highest of his career. He did all that damage in just 134 games. When the 90s were over, Gonzalez ranked 5th in MLB in both HRs and RBIs during the decade.
When I think of great home run hitters and RBI threats of the '90s, "Juan Gone" is on my list as one of the best to do it.
Juan Gonzalez Stats
