Gonzalez's impact on Marlins transcends statistics

MIAMI _ He looks like a coach. He might be a younger player's dad. He has been doing this _ demonstrating big-league baseball done right _ since most of his Marlins teammates were in grade school.

This sport quantifies everything, the boxscore a daily affidavit on how you have succeeded or failed. Statistics measure it all, including how you are hitting against lefties with runners in scoring position when behind in the count on Tuesday nights.

Statistics are superfluous with Luis Gonzalez, 40, though, because the numbers can tell you nothing of how interwoven he has been to this sweet surprise of a season.

"Gonzo" is one of the vital, indispensable pieces of this team not for what you see on the field but for what you don't see, in the clubhouse.

You are never quite sure what leadership means until it's missing, as it was last year. You're never sure what it even is, until you see it practiced so effortlessly.

"He's been a huge part of the next step to us becoming a complete team," said catcher Matt Treanor, whose three-run homer Thursday night sealed a 7-2 victory that ended a nine-game homestand with a three-game sweep of Milwaukee. "It's instant credibility. I call him E.F. Hutton, because when he speaks, everybody listens."

Miguel Cabrera led by default a year ago, because his bat commanded a respect otherwise unearned. He was young, at times moody and immature, usually overweight. The Marlins in turn were a juvenile, undisciplined team.

Change was needed. Some was small, as when manager Fredi Gonzalez banned loud music in the clubhouse. Some was big, as when Cabrera was traded in a deal that has benefited the team in ways that counterbalance the homers and RBI lost.

But quietly signing Luis Gonzalez as a free agent in February, as outfield role-player and Kindergarten Cop, has proved the best change of all. Oh, he contributes tangibly, too; His three singles Thursday raised his average to .288. But that is the gravy.

"He's been terrific. He brings professionalism and class. He brings respect," said his manager, only three years older.

"He talks the game, and backs it up. He's not afraid to get in somebody's face. He's the first here and last to leave. If he was on a veteran team like the Yankees, his presence might not be as needed. Or felt. But here, it is."

The Marlins have tied a franchise record for best start after 34 games and are in first place this deep into a season for the first time since 2002. And most of the reasons are big and obvious, things found in box scores.

Like Hanley Ramirez continuing to do what he does better than any athlete in South Florida right now _ bar none. Mike Jacobs" terrific start for a team second in the NL in homers. A bullpen, effective again Thursday, fashioned of no-names. And Scott Olsen and Mark Hendrickson a combined 9-2 as starters.

`OUR LEADER'

Those things shout. Luis Gonzalez does most of his work quietly.

"Our leader," Jorge Cantu puts it simply.

The bat wrapped in tin foil (a homemade Silver Slugger Award) in the locker of a pitcher who just had two hits. Guess whose handiwork?

"Keeping things light and fun," Gonzo said.

Mostly, he imparts his experience _ 18 big-league seasons" worth in a career that might reach all the way to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Gonzo was in the dugout before Thursday's game signing autographs for Little Leaguers, and you wondered if the boys knew what they were seeing.

No active player has more doubles than his 573. His next homer will be No. 350. Only two left fielders have hit more: Barry Bonds and Ted Williams.

Here, though, his bat is a bonus. It is his example that is needed.

"I had a chance to come to a team with really great young players starting to turn the corner and become great major leaguers _ to provide some type of leadership in the clubhouse. Glue everything together," he said. "I've had a long time to learn a lot, and hopefully pass that along. The respect you gain is what you cherish most."

Said Treanor: "We have mostly young guys still trying to feel their way through things. He's been there, done that. He's not going to sugarcoat things."

NO SHOWBOATING

Gonzalez preaches work ethic and old-school respect for the game, with a resume of accomplishment and longevity that speaks for him.

"I'm not a showboat guy," he said. "I believe in substance before style, not the 20-minute run around the bases and the ridiculous high-fiving."

Life is good for the old-schooler. He and wife Christine's triplets turn 10 this summer. Born and raised in Tampa, he is ending his career near home. And work as a TV analyst awaits. For now he has made a selfless transition from career-long starter to a man needed less to be a star than a sage.

Gonzalez has seen a difference in the team he met this spring and the one trying to prove itself a playoff contender. He doesn't take much credit. But he should.

"I've seen a change in guys" attitudes, the way they approach games. Their preparation," he said. "I see more guys staying later after games, sticking around, watching other games on TV, talking baseball. That's what fosters teamwork."

That isn't something you find in a box score.

It is too big to put a number on.

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(c) 2008, The Miami Herald.

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