CLEVELAND – Jacob Gonzalez is new to the Pirates' clubhouse, though he’s familiar with the confines of an AL Central stadium.
Acquired from the White Sox on July 10, Gonzalez made his first start for the Pirates against the Guardians in Game 1 of Saturday’s twin bill. He quickly showed off his power, unleashing a two-run homer into the right-field corner for his first hit with the club. He added his second hit in his next at-bat and finished 2-for-4, helping Pittsburgh to a 7-1 win.
“It was really nice to help do something to help this team win, and it was a good moment for it, and we just kept going from there,” Gonzalez said. “... I was just looking for a fastball. Luckily, I saw that pitch and timed it up right to get it out to right.”
Gonzalez was added to give some more thump from the left side and fill in at shortstop with Konnor Griffin on the injured list until September. He played largely at first base with the White Sox due to an injury to Munetaka Murakami, just learning the position at the end of Spring Training.
Gonzalez has always shown power, but he added even more after an offseason adjustment. He altered his batting stance to be more upright, closing his stride so his body is more aligned, and he practiced with a band around his waist, resisting movement toward the plate.
“The hardest part was getting over the mental side of, ‘I've always hit like this my whole life,’ and going to something completely different and expecting it to be the same,” he said. “I hit good when I was low, and then standing upright, I'm gonna hit just as good. Whereas when I was younger, I always wanted to look cool in the box, but I couldn't. It just didn't work.”
Gonzalez always wanted to hit the way he is now. His father encouraged it, showing him clips of then-D-backs’ Alek Thomas. What he described as his “light bulb moment” has added to his power, as all his movement is now directed toward the pitcher rather than down the first-base line.
Gonzalez has always been technical with his swing, working on it constantly with his dad. When he was younger, Gonzalez said, he tried all sorts of stances to find his comfort zone. He joked that he didn’t think about launch angle back then. Now, although working through it constantly, he still doesn’t like to overthink.
“It's fine to think about it in practice when you're trying to feel stuff,” he said. “In the game, I don't really think about anything. I just think, ‘All right, be on time for a fastball and just adjust.’”
Gonzalez’s homer was his third in the Majors after he walloped 19 in the Minors earlier this season. He was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on July 10 and played two innings there before being pulled from a game on defense. His mind began to race.
He checked the White Sox game, wondering if anyone had been hurt. He also texted his agent, asking if he had heard anything. He even scrolled through social media, attempting to see the chatter of any trade talks. Knights’ manager Chad Pinder didn’t tell him what was happening.
Gonzalez’s initial reaction was to feel bad for his wife. The 24-year-old’s other half was still on her way to Charlotte from Chicago, already a long way through the 12-hour drive. He soon found out he was traded to Pittsburgh as part of a deal for the 34th pick in the next night’s Draft.
Adjusting to a new team is difficult, even for the best of the best. Although he knows Brandon Eisert from their time together with the White Sox, he was only familiar with a few: Paul Skenes from Team USA, Jared Jones from playing against each other back in California and Tyler Callihan from the Minor Leagues. He admitted that maybe the most difficult part is remembering all the new names.
While that’s still a work in progress, his teammates and Pirates fans likely won’t have a hard time remembering his name, especially after this impressive start to his Pittsburgh career.