Former Major League Geremi Gonzalez passed away last Sunday when the boat he was sailing in his native Zulia, Venezuela, was tragically struck by lightning.
Gonzalez, 33, began his career with the Chicago Cubs (2007-2008) and has also had stints with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2003-2004), Boston Red Sox (2005), New York Mets (2006) and Milwaukee Brewers (2006). In 2007, he was signed to play for the Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Central League.
His best year was his rookie season with the Cubs when he went 11-9 with a 4.25 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 144 innings pitched. That year he finished ninth in the Rookie of the Year voting. For Geremi's career he is 30-35 with a 4.93 ERA and 354 strikeouts in 573.1 innings pitched.
I know him best as being one of the Met's circle of fifth starters in 2006, a group that included Oliver Perez, John Maine, Gonzalez, Brian Bannister, and Jose Lima. He never pitched that well for the Mets but he wasn't Jose Lima so that gets some points in my book.
Gonzalez went by the spelling of his first name as "Jeremi" early in his career as a more Americanized spelling. He decided to go by the traditional "Geremi" starting in 2006.
Cubs GM Jim Hendry expressed his sadness in an article for espn.com:
"The Chicago Cubs are very saddened today to learn of Geremi Gonzalez's sudden passing. Geremi began his career as a Cub, leading our pitching staff with 11 wins as a rookie in 1997 and, despite an arm injury, helping the club early in the season a year later to an eventual postseason appearance. The organization sends its heartfelt condolences to his family."
"He was so much fun to be around. He was always happy, always smiling," Brewers manager Ned Yost said, in an article for The Capital Times based out of Madison, Wisconsin. "He was a guy that could scare real easy and then horse laugh. He was just one of those guys that when he saw you, he always had a smile on his face."
Rest in Peace.
Statistics and information courtesy of espn.com, wikipedia.com, and madison.com. Picture courtesy of graphics.jsonline.com.
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2 comments:
r.i.p. geremi. i'll never forget the start i saw you pitch against the yankees. you didn't pitch well, but that just made the come-from-behind win more exciting.
best of luck in the afterlife.
Hello. Great job. I did not expect this on a Wednesday. This is a great story. Thanks!
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