Adrian Gonzalez & Visiting Cardinals At LA Hotel
On August 25, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox pulled the trigger on a blockbuster nine-player trade, which sent Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto across the country to LA LA Land. From a Dodger perspective, the centerpiece of the mega deal was Gonzalez, the 30-year-old slugging first baseman.
The San Diego native returns to Southern California, where he spent five very successful seasons with his hometown San Diego Padres. During a stellar nine-year career (TEX, SD, BOS, LA), the big left-handed power hitter has averaged 30 homeruns and 104 RBI a season.
As a result of Gonzalez's signing of a seven-year/$154 million contract with Boston, beginning with the 2012 season, the Dodgers, who elected to absorb 100 percent of the massive contract, will be paying Gonzalez $21 million per year, through the end of the 2018 season.
In addition to his outstanding level of on field productivity, Gonzalez's Mexican heritage serves as an ideal marketing tool, when factoring in the Dodgers immense popularity among Latino and Latina baseball fans, in both the Western US and internationally.
Friday, Gonzalez was spotted having lunch at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, California. This property, which ironically is the lodging destination of choice for the St. Louis Cardinals, during their all-important four-game weekend series in LA, sits 10 miles east of Dodger Stadium.
While Gonzalez and his three lunch mates were sitting at their outdoor table, Cardinals assistant hitting coach John Mabry and relief pitcher Mitchell Boggs were consuming some grub at a nearby table.
As he exited the dining area, amid the record-breaking 102 degree temperatures of Pasadena, Gonzalez said a quick hello to the St. Louis table, before heading inside for some much needed air conditioning.
With the 2012 arrivals of Gonzalez to the Dodgers and Albert Pujols to the Los Angeles Angels, the LA area has suddenly witnessed an influx of all-world first baseman.
Due to the length of both men's respective contracts, these titans of baseball will no doubt be patrolling the first base bags of LA and Anaheim, for many seasons to come.
