Michael Dixon
The World Series will begin in Los Angeles on Tuesday. But injured Los Angeles Dodgers’ first baseman Adrian Gonzalez won’t be anywhere near his team. He’ll be in Europe.
It was known long ago that Gonzalez would not be able to play in the playoffs. He missed most of the regular season with a back injury, returned in August, then re-aggravated the injury in his final at-bat of the season.
Still, Gonzalez would be able to be with the team if he so chose. But as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times noted, “Gonzalez and his family went on vacation in Europe,” with the blessing of the team.
It’s certainly hard to blame a player for taking time to be with his family. Athletes are away from their families an awful lot during the year. So, taking advantage of family time only makes sense.
But there are a couple things to note.
As Shaikin detailed, “Gonzalez has 20 at-bats against Justin Verlander, more than any Dodger besides Curtis Granderson.” While he can’t bat, he certainly could offer some insight to any of his teammates looking for a pointer on how to deal with the Houston Astros’ ace.
Secondly, Gonzalez has never won or even been in a World Series. He’s never received that Game 1 of the World Series introduction that all on-field personnel get. He’s certainly never experienced the thrill of being in the winning clubhouse after his team won the World Series. These are experiences that the 2017 World Series could have brought Gonzalez.
Certainly, we aren’t going to question his priorities. Gonzalez isn’t on the roster. If the Dodgers are okay with him being away from the team, everyone else should be, too.
But we do wonder if on occasion during the week, he’ll be in Europe wishing he could be back at the Fall Classic.
