Adrian Gonzalez – First Base – Boston Red Sox
When your signature makes a seven-year, $154 million contract extension (12th largest in sports history) official, your employer has every right to expect high performance. If salary wasn’t enough motivation, add being employed by one of MLB’s most storied franchises in a division where you and your arch nemesis are co-starring in the most famous sports rivalry. This is the weighty expectation placed on the California-born Gonzalez, who arrived in Boston following a trade with the San Diego Padres in December 2010. Gonzalez, whose father played baseball for Mexico’s National Team, has the requisite offensive (four straight All-Star selections since 2008) and defensive (three-time Gold Glove winner) credentials to place smiles on the head brass and deliver euphoria to an impassioned Red Sox Nation.
Photo credits:
Albert Pujols- Mike Blakey/Reuters/Corbis
Jose Reyes- Cliff Wlech/Icon SMI/Corbis
Yoenis Cespedes- Henry Romero/Reuters/Corbis
Jose Bautista- CJ Lafrance/ZUMA Press/Corbis
Yadir Molina- Gary I Rothstein/Reuters/Corbis
Johan Santana- Icon SMI/Corbis
Adrian Gonzalez- Daniel Aguilar/Reuters/Corbis