González finds home with Twins

By Miguel Martinez

Twins utilityman Marwin González hasn’t faced the cold Minneapolis winters yet, but he has a coolness about himself that you can see right away in the dugout. His team also happens to be one of the hottest and coolest in baseball.

Some version of the Bomba Squad would likely still exist without González being on the team, but it’s his presence that elevates this energetic squad into a focused and collected one.

Just don’t call him a veteran. He doesn’t like that.

“Obviously there’s a lot of young players on this team, and that’s why they call me [veteran] one but me? No,” González said. “I’m doing the same things I did in Houston. To me, age doesn’t change a thing.”

His calm and serious attitude makes him seem like he isn’t too pressured by the things around him. His manager calls him a low maintenance player. González just goes to work and does it well.

González does not have much to say about his new home but loves being a part of the team experience. That’s not a knock on the city, though. That’s just how González is.

“I’m always at home, even [back] in Houston,” González said. “I don’t go out on my days off. I like to rest.”

You might expect a professional athlete on a winning team to spew tired clichés about never taking it easy or always grinding 24/7. González is too chill for that.

“I miss my house and my bed,” González said of his Houston home. “Everyone likes to sleep.”

It’s fitting he said that. Everyone slept on the Twins before the season even though most of the core was here before he and slugger Nelson Cruz showed up.

His teammate Willians Astudillo is happy that there’s another Venezuelan on the team to improve the clubhouse environment. Not that it’s been a problem before. He just loves his new teammate.

“It’s a beautiful experience. We’re living out our life 100 percent,” Astudillo said. “We’re all on the same page and doing well this year.”

It’s clear that the additions of González and Cruz helped an already united clubhouse. Their winning attitude and experience is the jolt that young teams need.

Third baseman Miguel Sano, who has been around for a while now, appreciated all of the team’s additions this year.

“There’s nothing bad you can say about them,” Sano said. “We talk a lot. [Gonzalez] gives me advice. Nothing but positivity.”

González or Cruz haven’t had to speak up or hold meetings to rein everyone in. For a relaxed, easy going guy like González, leading by example is the way he does it, and everyone takes notice.

Manager Rocco Baldelli knows that he can count on González to do the right thing on and off the field. But what he provides on the field is what helps the team the most. That’s why they signed him in free agency.

“You can’t prepare for every position everyday and it takes a lot of work for you to be able to be a major league defender at one position,” Baldelli said. “To be able to successfully do this is extremely challenging.”

Having a versatile utility player like González makes him a great asset on any team but a boon for a contender.

It might be easy to forget that Gonzalez hasn’t always played for contenders. He debuted for the Astros in 2012 when 100-loss seasons were setting the foundation for future success. González, a key cog in the 2017 World Series championship team, was a building block, not the main attraction.

He wasn’t a top draft pick or a hot shot free agent coming out of Venezuela. He went through the Rule 5 draft and a trade before ending up in the Astros organization. Gonzalez had to work just like anyone else to earn his spot. He still does.

To go from one contender to another is a move that not too many players get to do. However, it might be safe to say that not many outside of Minnesota saw the Twins as potential contenders this season.

González isn’t surprised though.

“I knew plenty of the guys and had a great relationship with them. I believed that this team had good potential,” he said. “They got my attention. It’s a young team.”

The situation reminds him of Houston’s just four years ago. Except here he was brought in to be one of the big pieces along with Cruz. With World Series experience from them both, the Twins might be good enough to be just like them, too.

González got a taste of what that would be like with the Twins in their big series against the Yankees. For a guy with a relaxed personality, he’s ready to face that kind of intensity again.

Featured Image: Brace Hemmelgarn / Getty Images Sport