Gio Gonzalez retired from baseball yesterday
The South Florida native was a mainstay of the Nats organization window of success, pitching for the team from 2012 until traded away in 2018. Before coming to the Nats he was a first round White Sox draft pick who was traded to the Phillies (in a deal that involved Aaron Rowand and Jim Thome), back to the White Sox (Gavin Floyd) then over to the A's (Nick Swisher). He'd debut for the A's before finally coming over to the Nationals.
I liked the deal when it happened. Though the Nats did give up a lot - everyone traded away is still bopping around in the majors except Norris and that's because he hits women - they got something back that would clearly help them in the next few years and was likely better than anything given up. Not assuredly better, but likely. There was a little worry that Gio would suddenly give up a lot of bombs, moving from the huge Oakland park to DC and having some history of doing so but that never materialized. Instead Gio had the best year of his career, giving the Nats a little hope of stealing an ace, before settling into being something slightly less than he was in Oakland. An inning eatings number 3.
Gio was characterized by (1) being healthy - having the 5th most starts from 2010-2018 (2) Striking out guys with his big curve - 10th most Ks (3) walking a ton of guys - 1st! and because of the last 2 throwing a TON of pitches - 5th, behind K guys with like 100+ more innings pitched. That made Gio's starts normally an experience to survive rather than enjoy. The type of game you'd watch him give up 2 runs in 5+ innings, but watch him take 110 pitches to do it.
His postseasons were the Nats postseasons before 2019. Some passable work, maybe even the rare good moment, but mostly disappointment. He never had a signature game like ZNN or Stras would*, never pitching past the 5th. He did have one game that might have qualified - shutting down the Giants for 4 innings (and only 55 pitches!) but with the bats struggling Matt Williams pulled him early in a run-scoring opportunity (didn't work). No, the games you remember from Gio are G5 of the 2012 NLDS and G5 of the 2017 NLDS. In 2012 the Nats staked Gio to a seemingly insurmountable 6-0 lead by the end of the third and Gio had it at 6-1 going into the 5th. Holding them there for another inning, maybe 2, would probably do it. But in the 5th Gio would implode, walking three (including a bases loaded one) and uncorking a wild pitch. He luckily escaped giving up only 2 but made it necessary for the Nats to work deep into their pen. In 2017 it was arguably even worse. A team desperate for post-season success had just seen post-season hero Michael A Taylor hit a homer to give the Nats a 4-1 lead after 2. They wouldn't expect much of Gio, who's first inning was a similar walk/wild pitch filled mess but had settled down in the second. Get through 5, hell through 4 and we'll figure it out from there. But Gio could barely make it through 3, immediately giving back two runs with his 3rd and 4th walks of the game and second wild pitch in three innings. Even setting a low bar Gio didn't come through.
But still despite all of the above Gio was a guy people liked having on the team, if not in the game they were currently watching. He'd go out every 5th day, do a decent job, and on a team with fragile Strasburg and questions at 5 (like every team), he kept the rotation steady. The team seemed to like him too, consistently upbeat and likeable from everything I hear.
Eventually Gio outlived his usefulness. The Nats extended him as they could, he was still a good deal, but with his skill fading a bit the Nats didn't have much interest re-signing a 4/5 who couldn't go deep into games occasionally. They'd trade him to Milwaukee during that first lost Martinez season for a couple of nothings and unceremoniously move on. Gio would do well for the Brewers in the regular season that year, flop in an opener role in the playoffs, but get another shot at starting and do ok in 2019. In 2020 he caught on with the White Sox as insurance and didn't perform and this Spring had the same experience in Marlins camp. Rather than try to rework himself as a reliever or go off to AAA Gio hung up his cleats.
Gio was a good and remarkably durable pitcher for nearly a decade. He made two All-Star games, got a couple Cy Young votes and even an MVP one. That's a great career. Here's to an enjoyable retirement spending all that money.
*Honestly I'm not sure Max has either - though not through much fault of his own. His G5 against the Dodgers in 2016 and g3 versus the Cubs in 2017 both could have been that but the Nats didn't support him with any runs. G2 against the Cardinals in 2019 was a masterpiece but also part of a sweep where the Cards bats were completely silent. His WS performances were first fine, then OMG thank god we survived. Does G4 of the NLDS vs the Dodgers count? It's kind of a nebulous post-season career where there's no laudatory moments but not much blame either, the stench of "give me the ball" in G5 Chicago bad decisions and play all-around washed away by the WS and ALL the regular season success.
6 comments:
I would say you have to count Dodgers game 4 in 2019. Max gave up the Turner home run and then shoved for 7 innings. And his relief appearances in the DS were lights out.
I'm glad you did a post to commemorate Gio. Good grief he drove me crazy, but even despite all the frustration he was still one of my favorite Nats. He was so good with the fans. I recall he tossed us a baseball when we went to Miami to see a couple of away games there. He always liked pitching in his hometown.
Always will have a soft spot for Gio. Fathers Day 2015, Gio went 7 shutout innings, had an RBI double, and, most important, fouled a ball right to me in Section 314. Balls rarely get to that level, and I was holding my 1-year old son. Still made the catch.
The Gio trade wound up being the sort of poster example of what you hope to get out of a Prospects for pitcher trade. Obviously -- Gio's wildness made him frustrating, particularly in pressure and playoff games. He was a guy you could not trust in a pressure moment. That's why it's ultimately a good trade, but not an "A+" kind of trade.
But on balance - it's worth a lot to have a guy you could count on not to miss a start, and be reasonably successful for years. And like everyone else has said, he seemed to be a really good dude, which was probably pretty valuable to the team even if you can't really measure for that. He's linked to playoff failures, but he was also a big part of what got them there in the first place.
Watching him suddenly, inevitably, lose command of the strike zone... that was headache and ulcer inducing. Everything else about him wasn't. From the long view, it's good to have a good and fun player on your roster. (Though again, it would have been better if he could be good and fun, but not routinely wander into 30-pitch innings.)
Hats off the Gio! Very good career with the Nats. One of Rizzo’s best trades; perhaps his best one other than Souza and a pitcher for Ross and Trea Turn....I mean, a PTBNL!!!
And....not sure how to edit posts from the phone. I meant to say Hats off TO Gio!
Post a Comment