Eduardo González
Last night, with Aldo watching from the on-deck circle, Gonzalez hit his 500th career home run in the first inning after both batters before him reached base. It was a no-doubter to straightaway center field, bouncing off the batter’s eye before being retrieved by a security guard. Lineu was the first to greet him as he crossed the plate, followed by the rest of the dugout.
Gonzalez was far from done. In the fifth inning, he came up with the bases loaded, no outs, and a run already in. After a called strike, he launched a high fly ball into the left-centerfield seats for a grand slam, giving him 7 RBIs on the day. But wait! There’s more! He came to the plate again in the next inning with the bases empty, and hit another home run to center, this one clearing the batter’s eye, for a total of eight RBIs. He finished the day with three hits, all home runs, in five at-bats, plus a walk.
After the game, the clubbie delivered the baseball to him that the security guard had retrieved from his milestone hit. He admired it for a moment before putting it into his locker. His thoughts turned to his early days with the club; who could’ve imagined that he would eventually hold the club record for career home runs? Next best was Hall of Famer Duane Whitley, with 439. He hoped his buddy Aldo would surpass that, making them 1-2 on the all-time Blazers home run leader board. Aldo needed 26 more to catch Whitley. Next season, maybe?
