2-time AL MVP Juan González, one of baseball’s best sluggers in the ’90s, honored by Texas Rangers

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Two-time American League MVP Juan González received his Texas Rangers Hall of Fame jacket in a pregame ceremony Friday night, eight years after his induction and 20 years after his last game for the team.

One of baseball’s best sluggers in the 1990s, González is still the Texas career leader with 372 home runs, 1,180 RBIs and 713 extra-base hits. He played for the Rangers from 1989-99, during a stretch when they won their first three AL West titles, and the outfielder-designated hitter returned to the club from 2002-03.

González also threw a ceremonial first pitch in what was believed to be his first public appearance at a Rangers game since 2004, when he was playing for the Kansas City Royals.

During his first MVP season in 1996, when the Rangers won their first division title, González hit .314 with 47 homers and 144 RBIs. He was the MVP again in 1998, when he batted .318 with 45 homers and 157 RBIs in the club’s second playoff season.

Overall, Gonzalez hit .295 with 457 homers and 1,273 RBIs in 1,689 career games that spanned from his debut at age 19 with the Rangers over the final month of the 1989 season to one game for Cleveland in 2005. He played for Detroit in 2000 after being traded in a nine-player deal, then went to Cleveland in free agency in 2001, when he had 140 RBIs in 140 games before re-signing with Texas.

The 53-year-old from Puerto Rico is now a coach for the national team back home, and was an assistant hitting coach for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.

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