Back on the Blue Jays roster... Alex Gonzalez?

So it's no secret to those who know me well that I love baseball.

I've loved it since I was seven, laying in my grandparents' basement, listening to my dad shouting at the TV the night the Blue Jays won their second world series. I figured because of all the fuss, there must be something to this game, and the next season I started watching.

I had played softball since I was six, so I knew the game and the rules. And the team of choice seemed obvious - those Blue Jays my dad had been so passionate about.

The only thing left was finding a favourite player.

Being a shortstop myself, I gravitated to the Jays new, young shortstop, #8, Alex Gonzalez. It didn't take long before he was my hero.



Though he wasn't much of a hitter, Gonz shone defensively, and was robbed of numerous Gold Gloves by Omar Visquel (who I'm sure they just kept giving it to, year after year, because it was easiest). He was quick on his feet, had a great arm, and good instincts when the ball came off the bat. But all his critics were concerned with was his inconsistent plate appearances.

But I cheered for Gonz faithfully. On Sundays after church, knowing my mom liked to stay around and chat, I would race home on my bike right after the service to catch him, second up to bat, at the games that started at twelve.

My friends and family knew more about him than they ever wanted to. We even celebrated his birthday (April 8).

And so it was good. That is until that fateful day in December of 2001 when my dad called me downstairs and, as gently as he could, informed me Gonz had been traded to the Chicago Cubs.

After four-and-a-half months of mourning, I accepted the trade and converted from a Jays fan to a Cubs fan.



I had some good times cheering for the Cubs. There's a lot of history at Wrigley, and we enjoyed a thrilling playoff run in 2003 (until the Steve Bartman incident).

But in 2004, Gonz and the Cubs parted ways. Gonz bounced from Montreal to Tampa Bay to Philadelphia until his retirement in 2006, a sad day for baseball... well, a sad day for some of us.

After Gonz's retirement, I decided to forgive the Blue Jays and became a fan again. And last spring I finally made it to Toronto to see a game.



So my heart stopped for a moment when I saw that this off-season, the Blue Jays signed shortstop Alex Gonzalez...

But upon further reading, I realized that it was MLB's second version of shortstop Alex Gonzalez. #3 Alex Gonzalez, who previously played for Florida and Boston.



I don't know how I feel about this development. It will be a little weird every time I watch a Jays game and see the other Alex Gonzalez at shortstop.

I guess we'll see on Monday when the regular season starts.