With the Mets being unsure about Dominic Smith, and the team not expecting Peter Alonso to break out the way he has this past season, the team took a flyer on Adrian Gonzalez to at least compete for the Opening Day first base job.

Really, this was a flyer on a prideful player who has had a terrific Major League career.  While Cooperstown may not being calling him, the former first round draft pick has had a fine career having done great things for the Padres and the Dodgers.

One of the reasons Gonzalez made the Mets Opening Day roster was his professionalism.  He came to Spring Training, and he put in the work.  Considering that work included his having to stretch and prepare two hours before the game just to get ready, it speaks to his desire to play well, and perhaps, to end his career on his own terms.

On Opening Day, he seemed to shut up many detractors hitting a go-ahead double to give the Mets the lead.  From there, Gonzalez would have a number of good moments for the Mets, including his grand slam against the Nationals:

Another one of his biggest moments was his coming off the bench in a tight 1-1 game in Miami.  Against the left-handed Chris O’Grady, Gonzalez hit a go-ahead RBI single that not only gave the Mets the lead, but hit also sparked a four run rally.   At the time, it increased the Mets record to 10-1.

The one thing you could count on from Gonzalez was a professional at-bat.  It may be why he was such an effective pinch hitter on the days he didn’t start.  As a pinch hitter, he was 4-6 with two RBI and a walk.

His professional at-bats are probably why he was one of the Mets better hitters in the clutch.  In what Baseball Reference characterizes as “High Leverage” situations, Gonzalez hit .368/.444/.553 with four doubles, a homer, and 16 RBI with five walks.

The problem for Gonzalez was not every at-bat was a pinch hitting appearance or in a high leverage situation.  Overall, he hit .237/.299/.373 with five doubles, six homers, and 26 RBI.  Like the rest of this Mets team, his numbers were dragged down by his recent slide with him hitting .179/.207/.268 over his past 17 games.

With the way the team has been playing of late, the Mets didn’t have the time to see if he could get back to being the .265/.341/.425 hitter he was towards the end of May.

During his tenure with the Mets, Gonzalez was able to get to 1,202 RBI.  That made him just one of 22 first baseman in the history of the game to have 400 doubles, 300 homers, and 1,200 RBI.

It’s possible this is the end for him.  If it is, it was a great career that saw him hit .287/.358/.485 with 317 homers and 1,202 RBI.  He made five All Star teams while winning four Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers.

He had a very good career, and despite the recent struggles, he actually acquitted himself pretty well with the Mets.  If nothing else, he did show there was something left in the tank.

Where he goes from here is anyone’s guess, but wherever he lands, best of luck to him.