Gilroy
– Years ago when Patricia Gonzalez registered her oldest of four
sons, Manny, for his first year of Little League, she did it mainly
to keep him busy and out of trouble. Little did she know she was
starting a family tradition that has bonded the brothers over the
past 16 years.
Gilroy – Years ago when Patricia Gonzalez registered her oldest of four sons, Manny, for his first year of Little League, she did it mainly to keep him busy and out of trouble. Little did she know she was starting a family tradition that has bonded the brothers over the past 16 years.
Now, all four Gonzalez boys – Manny (22), Eric (20), Marc (18) and Adam (9) – have played baseball at various levels in Gilroy, from Little League to college. Manny currently plays for Gavilan College, Eric played for Gilroy High from 2000 to 2003, Marc, a GHS senior, just finished his high school career and the youngest, Adam, plays for the Rangers of the Gilroy Little League Minors division.
“It’s the only sport they ever played,” said Manuel Gonzalez Sr., their father. “They loved baseball when they were little. They were always getting ready to go for baseball.”
Manuel, who came to the United State from Mexico when he was 14, never played baseball growing up. As a child, he didn’t have the equipment to play. He gives Patricia all the credit for getting the boys into the sport.
“You would think that our father or someone played baseball,” Marc said. “But Manny was the one that started it all and the family built off that.”
The beginnings
When Manny, Eric and Marc were younger, the Gonzalez front yard was often converted into an impromptu baseball diamond where kids in the neighborhood would come to play.
“We used to play in the front yard and Manny would hit tennis balls and we’d try to make fancy catches and diving catches,” Marc said. “We’d have fun playing pick-up games with friends.”
The Gonzalez brothers also made frequent trips with their father to nearby parks, where they would practice fielding and hitting.
When all three sons played in Little League, things got a little more hectic. They were close enough in age to all play in the league at the same time. But not close enough that they could play on the same teams. On Saturdays – game days – Manuel and Patricia had to somehow be in three places at once.
“We’d be running around. They’d all be scheduled to play at the same time on the same day on three different fields,” Manuel remembers. “I’d be riding around, seeing if they needed water or forgot their jacket.”
And when all three boys made All-Star teams, it meant even more traveling.
“We have gone all over, but it was fun,” Manuel said.
The pioneer
Everyone in the Gonzalez family calls Manny “the natural.”
“The way I see Manny, he was just built for baseball,” Marc said. “It’s just there. He showed it when he took three years off and he came back. He still had it and just came back and he did pretty good.”
After his high school career at Gilroy High ended in 2001, Manny got away from the game. But this spring, after a three-year hiatus, he joined the Gavilan baseball team.
“I just took a few years off working and going to school,” Manny said. “I heard that coach (Neal) Andrade was going to be (at Gavilan) and heard he was a good coach, so I said, ‘Why not?'”
Manny got back into baseball without missing a beat. He played first base and designated hitter for the Rams and continued to be the power hitter he’d always been. Against Cañada College on April 12, the freshman hit a three-run homer and a grand slam in a 12-8 win.
However, Manny didn’t think his first season back was all it could have been.
“I was hoping for more this year. I thought I would do better,” he said. “I had high expectations.”
Full of talent – and the oldest – Manny set the tone for his younger brothers when it came to baseball.
“I remember going to (Manny’s and Eric’s) games and while they played, I took my glove and ball and played catch with my dad,” Marc recalled. “I’d be out there watching them and learning.”
Manny said he hasn’t decided if he’ll try to play at a four-year college after next season, but that coaching might be something he’ll try. Manuel Sr. would like to see Manny pass his baseball skills on to his own 2-year-old son Andruw.
“It’s a family thing,” Manuel said. “Hopefully my grandson will be playing in a few years.”
Hard at work
While baseball came easily to Manny, Eric and Marc always had to work a little harder.
“They have to work more to get where they’re at,” Manny explained. “They might not have all the talent in the world, but they have the work ethic and drive to keep playing.”
Marc calls Eric “the speedy guy” – fitting for someone who played every infield position except first base at GHS.
“Manny always had the bat,” Eric said. “I wasn’t that great of a batter. For him, it came naturally. I had to work harder. Defense came more naturally to me.”
Though he’s stopped playing competitively, the Mission College student still gets plenty of time around the game, thanks to his brothers.
For Marc, it’s about keeping the family’s Mustang legacy intact. For a span of eight years, from 1999 to 2005, there was a Gonzalez playing baseball at GHS.
“I’ve always tried to work hard because I’ve always wanted to fill the shoes,” said Marc, who will attend Cal State-Fullerton in the fall. “There’s always been a Gonzalez every year (at GHS) … I just wanted to keep the Gonzalez thing going. I wanted to let it be known that Gonzalez is still here, to still show that we have baseball in our blood.”
Though Marc’s time as a Mustang – and as a competitive player – came to an end with Gilroy’s loss to Valley Christian in the first round of the CCS playoffs last Wednesday, there’s a good chance another Gonzalez will be on a GHS roster in a few years.
Nine-year-old Adam, who’s been playing baseball for three years, has a bit of an advantage over his three older brothers: He’s got three coaches at his disposal almost all the time.
And he listens to them – sometimes. “Adam does have an advantage,” Eric said. “He can learn more while he’s young. He’ll be farther ahead than other people.”
So far, Adam’s already learned his share.
“I learned how to pitch, be catcher, be first base,” he said. “I think (my brothers) are good athletes, great athletes.”
The support system
The Gonzalez brothers had only a few chances to play on the same team together. But when they did, they were sure to help each other out.
When Eric was a sophomore, he was moved up to the GHS varsity team with senior Manny for the CCS playoffs. Eric said Manny gave him hitting tips during their short stint together. On one memorable play, Eric saw precisely why he should listen to his older brother’s advice.
In the Mustangs’ first-round game of the playoffs, Manny hit one out of the park. Eric was duly impressed.
“It came off the bat and you just knew it,” Eric said. “It was exciting. I’m thinking ‘That’s my brother!’ I never really got to watch him play (before that) because I was playing (on JV) at the same time. So that was great.”
Now that Eric no longer plays, he gets to see Manny play a lot more and was a regular this past season at his brother’s games at Gavilan.
The whole family was on hand for Marc’s last game on Wednesday. But even though he’s finished playing for GHS, Marc knows his baseball days aren’t over: They’re just going to take a different shape. And they’ll still be spent with his brothers.
“It will be weird because I’m used to being ready to go out and practice,” Marc said. “Baseball in general, with all of us, is a part of life. There hasn’t been a year since I was four when there wasn’t baseball. It will still be a part of my life down the road.”
