Andy Gonzalez Piece

[DBAHO]

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.--A year ago, the White Sox viewed Andy Gonzalez as their shortstop of the future.

 

But as he struggled miserably at low Class A Kannapolis, and shortstop Mike Morse blossomed at high Class A Winston-Salem, those plans have changed.

 

The Sox moved Gonzalez to third in spring training and the fifth-rounder in 2001 has responded. While he hasn't had the same kind of pressure making the change as the Yankees' more high-profile move of a shortstop to third base, the move has taken some getting used to. So has the abuse from teammates.

 

"The ball gets to you quicker," Gonzalez said. "At short, you have a lot more time to get reads. At third, it's all reaction. You take balls off the chest, off your shoulders, off your legs, but whatever you do, you've got to keep it in front of you. It's been a change, but I like it. People kid around with me a lot about A-Rod, but I mean, come on."

 

Gonzalez seems a lot more upbeat this year than he did in 2003, when he hit just .231-1-39 in 429 at-bats for the Intimidators. In fact, there was nothing even slightly intimidating about his game. He started slumping at the plate, which carried over to the field. He committed 38 errors in 121 games.

 

His first full season last year was a far cry from his first year at Rookie-level Bristol, when he batted .280-1-45. Gonzalez batted third in the lineup for then-manager Nick Leyva, who said he was the team's leader on and off the field.

 

"He knew how to play and he was a guy everybody looked up to," said Leyva, now a roving infield instructor for the Sox. "I think his struggles last year can be chalked up to immaturity. Last year, he was hitting down in the lineup, and I think just little things like that tend to bother Andy.

 

"He got off to a tough start and got really down on himself. He wasn't hitting the ball very well, so we sat him for a few games. He'd have to come to the ballpark on a daily basis, and the first thing he'd have to do is look at that wall to see if his name was on the board. I don't think he was used to that at all. Sometimes when you've been where he's been and you've had a great high school career and you're mister all-star and stuff, you don't even look at the lineup. You take it for granted that you're automatic."

 

A prep standout out of Florida Air Academy in Melbourne, Fla., the 22-year-old had a lot of early successes, but nothing could have prepared him for the funk he endured last season.

 

"Last year was my first full season and I started hitting bad," Gonzalez said. "Then all of the sudden everything went bad. I wasn't playing my game. Everything was an uphill battle for me. I had completely lost my confidence in my ability.

 

"But I've been though a lot of things in my life, both personal problems off the field and on it. It's all in the way you approach it. I had to take a step back and realize that this is just a game. There are always going to be tough times, but you can always get back to the field tomorrow."

 

A native Puerto Rican, Gonzalez started this season back in Kannapolis, which agitated him at first, but turned out to light a fire under him. Three weeks and 13 hits in his 48 at-bats later, he moved up to Winston-Salem.

 

"In spring training I got mad," he said. "I'll be totally honest. I was like, 'Here we go, back to Kannapolis again.' So I used it to challenge myself, go back there, put up numbers and let them decide where I should be. All I can do is be responsible for myself. They make the decisions; I play for them.

 

"The first week in Kannapolis, I couldn't buy a hit and I started to doubt myself a little bit again. But I worked real hard mentally on just letting things go. I let it go everyday when things weren't going well that first week and good things started to happen. They know I can play; I just have to show it. I just have to have confidence in myself."

 

The confidence is showing now--even though he is hitting just .221 in 104 at-bats for the Warthogs, Gonzalez's four homers are one shy of his career high.

 

"I think when he starts to use his legs more, he can be an RBI guy," Leyva said. "He's a very, very intelligent hitter. He's the type of guy where situational-wise, he's another manager on the field for you. He's a pretty sharp kid. He's been playing baseball his whole life."