-Jacob Gonzalez arrived in the fall of 2020
looking to win the battle for starting nod at shortstop.
-It probably lasted maybe half the fall,
which is probably longer than everybody else saw it.
In my head, I'm sitting here thinking,
"Oh, no, I still got a shot. I can maybe play short."
But yeah, it wasn't -- it wasn't too hard of a decision
for -- for the coaches to make, for sure.
-I think it probably took, like...
two weeks.
You know, like Clem says,
like, you watch him hit, and take enough BP,
you go, "Okay, this kid can really hit."
-Two-two pitch. Lined to right field.
Pretty well hit on the run.
Baker, he is -- not gonna get there.
And it is gone!
Jacob Gonzalez, first career home run.
-Everybody on the team knew he was gonna come in,
and just dominate, because we saw it all fall.
He was kind of just, like, the cool, calm,
collected presence.
Came in, and just knew he was good from the get go.
-Swung on deep to right field.
That ball is crushed! and it is gone!
Two-run homer for Jacob Gonzalez!
He got every bit of it.
And the rebels regain the lead.
-You know, he just come in as a freshman, and,
you know, been -- been one of the best shortstops,
I think, in the country.
-Gonzalez.
Fires from deep.
-Oh, my goodness. Are you kidding me?
That is a Major League play, right there.
-Give me some!
-My freshman year, I hit 12 home runs.
Didn't know I was gonna hit hit that many home runs.
So, I was just proud of myself that that many were hit.
[ Cheering ]
Let's go!
-Say "goodbye."
And add some more to the Rebels' total.
-I watched it go, and then, once it finally went out,
we were -- we were pumped.
I mean, I think I was going more crazy
than Gonzo probably was, just 'cause he's Gonzo.
What's up, Gonzo?
You got the hot microphone on, huh, man?
-Mm-hmm.
-Are you gonna give it some good content,
or are you just gonna be like this?
-I'm gonna be normal.
-I love you, Gonzo.
-The old adage "never too high, never too low"
is stressed in the game of baseball.
Nobody ever had to tell that to the California Kid.
He was born with that talent.
-I mean, I don't think
his heart rate has ever gotten above 70
on the baseball field --
just super calm, super confident all the time.
-No shot that he is ever gonna be the exuberant, flashy guy.
I would be shocked if that happened.
He is a superstar, though, ma-- make no qualms about it.
He is as good as advertised.
-He knows he's really good.
And it's not a braggadocious way,
he just carries himself with a lot of confidence.
Hitting a homer is cool for me, and it's cool for him, too,
but we just show it a lot differently.
-He's so, just, even-keeled,
which is great for a baseball player.
The thing about baseball players,
you don't want them too high or too low.
You want them consistent.
Because the game's hard enough.
I think that's what makes him so good --
the pulse is very slow.
You know, nothing seems to -- to disrupt him.
-It all started with I would get hit with the pitch,
and then I'd, like, touch my arm 'cause it hurt.
And then, my dad always told me,
"No one cares that you're hurt."
I kind of took it to with errors and striking out --
no one wants to see me feel bad that I got out or made an error,
so I just...
don't.
I mean, I just act like nothing happened, and get the next one.
-SEC tournament my freshman year,
he was even-keeled the whole year,
never really showed any emotion,
and then hit a big game-tying double against Arkansas,
and -- and finally celebrated on the field.
And then, we ended up losing that game.
And he came up to me after,
and he said he was never celebrating on the field again,
until we won a National Championship.
[ Cheering ]
-One of my favorite things he ever does
is when he gives the pitcher a thumbs up, like, "good pitch."
He's only done that probably twice in his career,
maybe three times, since I've been here --
we've been here together all the time.
But he does that pretty much telling the pitcher, like,
"Wow," you know, "You just fooled me."
But in the back of his head,
and what he's told me, is "I do that,
but knowing that you'll never be able to do that again.
That's why I'm giving you the thumbs up."
-He actually said to me in the dugout the other week,
he was like, "I wish other people didn't get so upset
when they got out, 'cause I'd like to mess with them."
And it's just -- it's just funny to see how he's just immediately
flushing whatever mistake he made,
'cause he knows he's gonna get another opportunity
to help our team out.
-The moment's not too big for him.
It's not getting to him. He's not nervous.
And for the opponents, I think that that
might scare them a little bit,
When he comes up there,
and it's the bottom of the ninth, two outs,
and it looks like the same at-bat
as it was the first inning.
-Swung on. Fly ball. Right field.
Does it have enough?
It's headed towards toward the seats!
It's gone!
-Let's go!
-I was talking to some guys about it,
kind of leading up to the World Series.
I can feel it.
Jacob Gonzalez is gonna win us a game.
I remember being on deck, and he was hitting.
I just had, like, this peace about, like,
"Oh, yeah, Gonzo's gonna get a hit right here."
-Pitch to Gonzo. swung on.
Hit sharply into right field!
It's a base hit!
McCants will score! headed to third is Bench!
The Rebels have runners in the corners,
and have tied it at 2-2.
-Feels good.
I mean, all I've been trying to do is help us win.
And that's all I've been trying to do this whole time.
-Gonzo has done his fair share of winning in Oxford,
and scouts noticed the rest,
making him a sure-fire first-round pick.
-Whenever I see the stuff pop up, I think,
"Oh, that's pretty cool, but it's not real yet,
so I got to make it real."
-We saw him coming into this league
as a freshman, and perform.
We saw him perform in the National Championship game.
You've seen him do it on every stage.
I think, when you put that into one complete package,
that's how you go, like, "Okay, this guy's a big-leaguer."
Then, you look at it from the work-ethic side,
that you have to be a different animal
to play at the highest level.
And that dude works.
That dude works as much as anybody in our program.
-I can't feel my legs.
But I won my heat,
so that's really all I can do to help my team.
-The ceiling is very, very high for him.
There's no doubt, if I -- if I look up on TV one day,
and see him playing, I would not be shocked.
-It is the year 2023, correct, right now.
He will play in the big leagues in 2025.
He'll be a shortstop in the big leagues.
That's what I think.