Luis Gonzalez (minors06)

Luis Enrique González Hernández

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 205 lb.

• High School Florida Air Academy

• Born February 27, 1983 in Santurce Puerto Rico

BR register page

Biographical Information

Luis González pitched 17 seasons as a pro, including three in AAA and one in Nippon Pro Baseball, but never got the call to the majors. He also pitched for the Puerto Rican national team. He pitched in the USA, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

The Los Angeles Dodgers took him in the 11th round of the 2001 amateur draft, two picks after Dan Uggla. He was 4-2 with a 3.55 ERA that summer for the GCL Dodgers in 13 games (2 starts). He split the next year between the GCL Dodgers (1-1, 3.07 in 6 G) and Great Falls Dodgers (0-1, 7.71 in 4 G). He rebounded the next summer, spent with the South Georgia Waves (2-2, 3 Sv, 3.30 in 19 G) and Vero Beach Dodgers (2-3, 3 Sv, 1.48 in 21 G). He tied for 8th in the Dodgers system in saves.

With the 2004 Jacksonville Suns, he was 1-3 with a 4.73 ERA in 45 appearances, fanning 66 in 64 2/3 IP but walking 47. He was 8th in the Dodgers farm system in games pitched. In 2005, he was much better for Jacksonville (7-2, 7 Sv, 2.21), allowing only 35 hits (one homer) in 61 innings. He made it to AAA with the Las Vegas 51s and was 0-1 with a 9.31 ERA in ten games, walking 11 in 9 2/3 IP. He tied for 4th in LA's farm chain with 51 games pitched and was 5th in saves (between Franquelis Osoria and Kyle Wilson). The Colorado Rockies took him in the 2005 Rule V Draft; he was the second pick that year, after Fabio Castro and before Uggla and Jason Pridie among others. He did not make the Rockies team and was returned to the Dodgers. In 2006, he was 2-4 with a save and a 5.52 ERA in 35 games for Las Vegas, again having control issues (40 BB in 44 IP).

Pitching for the Gigantes de Carolina in the 2007 Caribbean Series, he walked two in two appearances, allowing no hits or runs in one inning combined. He split 2007 between Jacksonville (2-2, 3 Sv, 4.02) and Las Vegas (1-2, 5.06 in 8 G), walking 51 in 42 innings though he struck out 49 and allowed only 26 hits. He was 0-1 with a 3.18 ERA that winter for the Tiburones de La Guaira. Moving to the Colorado Rockies system for 2008, he was lit up with the Tulsa Drillers (0-1, 10.47 ERA, 20 BB in 16 1/3 IP, 2.63 WHIP). That ended his career in the affiliated minors, but he had a decade left in pro ball.

In the winter of 2008-2009, he was 1-1 with a 4.80 ERA for the Gigantes. Used somewhat as a LOOGY, he totaled 15 IP over 21 games. He tied Bubbie Buzachero and Bill Simas for fourth in the Puerto Rican Winter League in games pitched. Moving to the independent leagues, he had a 6-5, 4.86 record for the St. George Roadrunners, now being used as a starter and having much better control (21 BB in 76 IP). He was 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 14 games that winter for Carolina. In 2010, he was 9-4 with a 3.56 ERA for the Bridgeport Bluefish but walked 65 in 96 innings. He tied for 10th in the Atlantic League in wins and tied Josh Hall, Denny Stark and Jose Sanchez for 5th in walks. He was 0-2 with a 3.98 ERA that winter for the Gigantes.

He began 2011 with Bridgeport and was 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA. He then signed with Japan's Yokohama BayStars, going 1-1 with 16 hits and 10 runs in 7 innings with the big club and 1-6, 4.29 in the Japanese minors. He tied for 4th in the Eastern League in losses. He split the winter between the Criollos de Caguas (3 R, 1 ER, 6 BB, 1 H in 3 2/3 IP) and the Leones de Ponce (3 R, 1 ER, 7 BB in 5 2/3 IP). His international adventures continued with a stop in Taiwan, going 7-4 with a 4.45 ERA for the Brother Elephants. He tied Jim Magrane for 6th in the 2012 CPBL with 84 K and tied Chen-Hua Lin, Ken Ray and Ching-Ming Wang for 10th in victories. He finished the year in the Shikoku Island League plus.

Luis was with the Goyang Wonders in South Korea in 2013. He was 1-0 with a 3.77 ERA in 17 games for Caguas in 2013-2014. The next winter, he had a 2.25 ERA in 13 games for the Criollos, walking only two in twelve innings. He had a 4.91 ERA for Puerto Rico in the 2015 Pan American Games; he led Puerto Rico in games pitched (3, tied with Tomás Santiago), innings (11, 2/3 ahead of Benny Cepeda) and strikeouts (12, one ahead of Andrés Santiago). He was 5th in the Games in Ks, behind Lázaro Blanco, Philippe Aumont, Nate Smith and Chris Leroux.

The veteran had a 0.96 ERA in 20 games for Caguas in 2015-2016. He tied Jonathan Albaladejo, Luis Atilano and Travis Ballew for 7th in the Puerto Rican League in appearances. He split the summer of 2016 between the Joplin Blasters (2-4, 5.62 in 7 G) and Lancaster Barnstormers (1-0, 0.83 in 4 G). He was 0-2 with a 7.54 ERA for Lancaster in 2017. He was 2-1 with a 3.45 ERA for Caguas in 2017-2018. he ended his career in the 2018 Caribbean Series, pitching one shutout inning for the Criollos.