Friday, February 11, 2011

GOING TO CALIFORNIA: E-GON SIGNS WITH WORLD CHAMPS

“Made up my mind to make a new start…” It’s pretty safe to assume neither Robert Plant nor Jimmy Page had Edgar Gonzalez when they wrote the Led Zeppelin classic song, “Going to California,” but the older brother of Boston Red Sox slugger Adrian Gonzalez is moving back to the Golden State for 2011 after signing a contract with the world champion San Francisco Giants following a season in Japan.

Edgar, an infielder who batted .263 with 12 homers in 100 games for Tokyo’s Yomiuri Giants last year after playing 2008 and 2009 alongside his brother in San Diego, signed a one-year minor league contract with San Francisco after deciding to not make a deal with the Colorado Rockies, who were also interested in the 32-year-old Gonzalez. His father David told Puro Beisbol, “Edgar has already done a physical exam in San Francisco. Edgar wanted to be with a team in California…He said he’ll be given an opportunity to show himself in preseason games so the manager (Bruce Bochy) sees what he capable of.” Gonzalez is also a part-owner of the Gonzalez Sports Academy multisport training center near San Diego.

As a non-roster invitee to the Giants’ training camp in Phoenix, he may open the season with their Class AAA affiliate in Fresno (also in California but just as unlikely to be what Plant and Page had in mind in 1969).

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