Q&A with Luis Gonzalez

The 35-year-old Diamondbacks outfielder, who just signed a three-year, $30 million contract extension, had the winning hit in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series.

Luis Gonzalez. Brian Bahr/Getty Images

SI: You have four-and-a-half-year-old triplets -- Alyssa, Jacob and Megan. Compare their maturity to that of the average baseball player?

Gonzalez: Their maturity or immaturity?

SI: Did you think at all about naming the triplets Tinker, Evers and Chance?

Gonzalez: My son, yes. The girls, no.

SI: Should a ballpark really have a pool in it?

Gonzalez: If it's in Florida or Arizona, yes.

SI: When is the last time anyone referred to you as a journeyman?

Gonzalez: I would say four years ago, before I got to Arizona.

SI: How often are you on luisgonzalez.com?

Gonzalez: Never, actually.

SI: Are you the most famous person to attend the University of South Alabama?

Gonzalez: God, I would hope not. I would hope there are other alums doing more meaningful stuff.

SI: How much talk about the war goes on in your clubhouse?

Gonzalez: It's discussed every day. We constantly have the coverage on the television because we're doing something that's a lot of fun, but in real life we know that these young kids are out there defending our freedom

SI: Could anyone hit 80 home runs in a season?

^Gonzalez: Maybe if they're playing X-box.

SI: You shift fluently from English to Spanish while giving interviews. In which language do you prefer a home run call?

Gonzalez: I prefer Spanish because the announcers get a little more excited than people normally do.

SI: How would you approach hitting your teammate, Randy Johnson?

Gonzalez: Man, I don't like hitting against him. I would just try to look for something middle-in and take my chances.

SI: You need 505 home runs to catch Hank Aaron. Would you be willing to play until you're 65 to do it?

Gonzalez: Uh, no.

SI: Who is the toughest pitcher for you to face?

Gonzalez: I don't like hitting off Matt Clement.

SI: You opened Gonzo's All-American Grill in Gilbert, Ariz. Do you consider (fellow Phoenix-area restaurateurs) Alice Cooper and Dan Majerle the competition?

Gonzalez: No, because I'm directly on the other side of town.

SI: You were the first overall pick in the 1992 baseball draft. Any similarities between you and LeBron James?

Gonzalez: None whatsoever.

SI: You and Tino Martinez played high school ball together in Tampa. Who hit cleanup back then?

Gonzalez: He did. I hit in front of him. I was the ant and he was the bull.

SI: If you were baseball commissioner, would Pete Rose be reinstated?

Gonzalez: Yes.

SI: Who nicknamed you Gonzo?

Gonzalez: I think it was my teammates. They were too lazy to call me by my name.

SI: Will you read David Wells' book?

Gonzalez: Yes.

SI: Do you still have the bat or the ball from that final hit of the 2001 World Series?

Gonzalez: I gave the ball to our owner, Jerry Colangelo. I sent the bat to Cooperstown.

SI: Are Johnson and Schilling the best duo in history?

Gonzalez: I think so.

SI: When he was your coach on the Astros, Yogi Berra famously advised you to switch to a heavier, 33-ounce bat. Did he give you any other pearls of wisdom?

Gonzalez: I remember one day I had a terrible game in New York and I was scared to death. He came over, put his arm around me and spoke the truth, as Yogi always does. He told me: 'You flat-out stunk today.'

--Richard Deitsch

Issue date: April 14, 2003

 

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Q&A Archive April 14, 2003 Issue of Sports Illustrated

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