100 Greatest Phillies: 51 – Tony Gonzalez

Tony Gonzalez
Outfielder
1960-1968

Career w/Phillies: .295 AVG / 77 HR / 438 RBI / 68 SB

An above-average center fielder who patrolled the Phillies outfield through much of the 1960s, Tony Gonzalez was the first Latin star in Philadelphia baseball. The Cuban came from Cincinnati in a trade for Wally Post, Harry Anderson and Fred Hopke, and didn’t disappoint. He recorded a career-high 20 home runs in 1962, then hit a career-high .339 in 1967, second in the National League to Roberto Clemente. He finished in the top 30 of MVP voting three times, including 1963, when he hit .306 and slugged .436. A good fielder, he had a slightly above-average arm and threw out 10 runners or more twice during his Phillie career.

Comment: One of the better outfielders in team history, Gonzalez is a fine precursor to the speedy, slick-hitting center fielders that proceeded him – mainly Garry Maddox, Lenny Dykstra and Shane Victorino. And face it, dude looked pretty cool in those old-school pinstripe uniforms.

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.