Gonzalez Takes Aim at the Babe

Babe Ruth, Rogers Hornsby, Jimmie Foxx -- Luis Gonzalez.

“Gonzo,” as he’s known to teammates and fans, is having the kind of season at the plate that hasn’t been seen since the long-ago days of those giants of the game.

Gonzalez has his eye on one of baseball’s most enduring records, Ruth’s mark for most total bases in a season -- 457 set in 1921.

“It’s an 80-year-old record and it’s Babe Ruth, the Bambino,” Gonzalez said. “You’re talking about an all-time legend, an icon in baseball. I think if I can come close to it, it will make it exciting for baseball.”

Gonzalez is slightly behind the pace he would need to break Ruth’s record, or Hornsby’s National League mark of 450, set in 1922.

Going into the weekend’s three-game series with the Chicago Cubs, Gonzalez had 328 total bases. By comparison, Barry Bonds had 291, and Manny Ramirez had 278 to lead the American League.

Gonzalez needs 100 total bases in his last 42 games to break Ruth’s record. He’s confident he can do it.

“I know I’ve fallen off the pace a little bit, but I still feel like there’s a hot streak or two ahead of me,” he said. “If I believe I can do it, I know I can.”

If he fails to reach Ruth or Hornsby, Gonzalez still could be the first player with 50 home runs and 200 hits in a season since Foxx did it in 1932. Entering the weekend, Gonzalez had 45 home runs and 157 hits.

“It’s difficult enough to hit 50 homers,” teammate Matt Williams said. “If you’re going to mix in 200 hits with those 50 homers, you’re being pretty consistent for six months.”

Gonzalez is a streak hitter. Two years ago, when he emerged from a so-so career as a .268 batter to lead the National League in hits, he had a 30-game hitting streak. He leads the league in multihit games this season with 53.

To challenge the total-base record, a batter needs to hit for a high average, with plenty of home runs mixed in with other extra-base hits. The combination is rare, which explains why Ruth’s record has been unchallenged for so long.

In 1921, Ruth was in his third season as an everyday outfielder. He hit .378 with 59 home runs, 44 doubles and 16 triples. In 1922, Hornsby hit .401 with 42 homers, 42 doubles and 14 triples.

After 120 games this year, Gonzalez was hitting .344 with 45 home runs, 24 doubles and six triples.

Even to mention Gonzalez in the same breath as Ruth is remarkable, considering the Diamondbacks left-fielder came to Arizona in 1999 with a total of 108 home runs in a little over eight big-league seasons.

The Detroit Tigers sent Gonzalez and $500,000 to the Diamondbacks for outfielder Karim Garcia in what turned out to be one of the most one-sided trades in recent baseball history.

Then-manager Buck Showalter intended to platoon Gonzalez in left field with Bernard Gilkey, but injuries changed that plan. Gonzalez went on a 30-game hitting streak and has been a starter ever since.

Last season, he was the only player in the majors to start all 162 games. This year, new manager Bob Brenly planned to give Gonzalez more rest, but that hasn’t been the case.

Gonzalez, who turns 34 on Sept. 3, has played in all 120 games, and started 119 of them.

“He has kind of sold me,” Brenly said. “We have tried to give him days off several times this year, and every time we do he says that in the past when he’s had days off he always felt it took him two or three days to get back into the rhythm that he was in before the off day.

“Until he shows a serious physical or mental need for an off day, I certainly don’t want to be the one to interrupt the rhythm that he’s in right now.”

Gonzalez is using the Ruth record as motivation as the Diamondbacks battle for the NL West title.

“I know that if I’m staying on that pace, then I’m doing what I need to do to create opportunities for my teammates,” he said.

“To me, it’s not anything far-fetched or unrealistic,” Gonzalez said. “I just need to go out there and keep hammering out hits and do what I’ve been doing all year.”