About Juan González (baseball)
Juan Alberto González Vázquez (born October 20, 1969), nicknamed Juan Gone, is a Puerto Rican former baseball outfielder. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams, but is most identified with the Texas Rangers, for whom he played from 1989 to 1999 and again from 2002 to 2003. One of the premier run producers and most feared hitters of the 1990s and early 2000s, González hit over 40 home runs five times and amassed at least 100 runs batted in (RBI) eight times. He also had a batting average of.310 or higher in five seasons. In his career as a whole, González averaged 42 home runs, 135 RBI, 81 extra-base hits, and 353 total bases per 162 games, placing him well within the top ten all-time in these season-adjusted statistics. González was known as a line drive hitter, not a fly-ball home run hitter, as were many power hitters of the 1990s. He was a full-time player at the age of 21 and a two-time Most Valuable Player before his 30th birthday. González explained his propensity for bringing runners home by saying, "I concentrate more when I see men on base." One of Juan's managers, Johnny Oates, believed that until you've walked where Juan González has walked, you just won't understand. He became the youngest player in Rangers history (19 yrs old) to hit a home run. González thrilled the club in his first full season at the young age of 21, as his 27 home runs led the Rangers.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.