Pirates End of the Year Awards: Heart and Hustle Award Erik Gonzalez

Being a back-up infielder on a team is no easy feat because you have to be ready for any situation. However, Erik Gonzalez took to every role thrown at him in 2020 and earns this year's Buccos Cove Heart and Hustle Award for his efforts.

Baseball is a game full of curveballs both on and off the field. When a situation changes due to injury or ineffectiveness, someone has to be able to step in and fill the void in order for the team to be competitive. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, the guy that stepped in during the 2020 season was infielder Erik Gonzalez. He has played all over the infield and played well at times where the Pirate's offense needed a spark. With so many injuries striking the Pirates this season, players had to be flexible and Gonzalez ended up taking advantage of his opportunities. He was out with a broken collarbone for the majority of the 2019 season, and he was out to prove that he could be a valuable asset for the Pirates moving forward.

No matter what the situation, Gonzalez played his heart out and was rewarded by being one of the Pirate's top hitters during the month of August. He mostly split time between second base, shortstop, and third base, playing solid defense at all three positions. His batting average of .224 at the end of the season isn't going to turn heads, but there was a time where his average was leading the team at as high as .354. Gonzalez hasn't had the easiest time since joining the Pirates organization in a trade that sent Max Moroff and Jordan Luplow to the Cleveland Indians, however, he signed an extension avoiding arbitration which means the Pirates will use him once again in a back-up role in 2021.

Utility Man Extraordinaire

After missing almost the entire 2019 season with a broken collarbone, and seeing Kevin Newman have success, Gonzalez was left without a spot entering Spring Training. He didn't perform very well in Spring hitting .143 over six games, but his defense showed through and he earned a bench spot. With the designated hitter in play in the National League, Gonzalez got a little more playing time than he otherwise would have. When all was said and done, Gonzalez hit .227 with three home runs and 20 RBI in 50 games with the Pirates. He finished fifth on the team in RBI with 20, and fourth with a .343 batting average with runners in scoring position, making him one of the most productive members on the team.

His best work came during August when he hit .282 with all three of his home runs and 15 of his 20 RBI. Colin Moran and Kevin Newman both went down with injuries at the beginning of that month, offering Gonzalez more consistent playing time. From August 2nd through August 14th, Gonzalez raised his average from a measly .083 to .349, which at the time led the team in batting average. Gonzalez began to use the gaps at PNC Park and collected nine total extra-base hits during that stretch. He was starting to turn doubters into believers and he was being rewarded by moving up to as high as the number two spot in the Pirates lineup.

While he wasn't nearly as hot for the rest of the month of August, he still ended the month with a .266 batting average. He was getting regular starts at third base, but with Ke'Bryan Hayes on the rise, it was only a matter of time before he was replaced. Once he moved back to a bench player role in the month of September, his numbers decreased as he hit just .181 over that final month of the season. He continued to bounce around the middle infield over the final month of the season but just couldn't seem to recapture the magic that made him so successful during his run in August. It was a glimpse of what Gonzalez could do but gave the Pirates some hope moving forward.

Defense is King

The big plus to Gonzalez's game when he comes off the bench is his ability to play several different positions. He is a guy the Pirates can call on late in the game, and you know he will get the job done. Over his first five years in the Big Leagues, he has played seven of the nine positions, excluding catcher and pitcher. While his primary position is shortstop, he can move around the field and give fellow teammates much needed days off throughout the season. His primary position is where he has played the best defense throughout his career, but his defense at the other positions are all strong as well.

As a shortstop, Gonzalez has a .961 career fielding percentage in over 645 innings played at the position. He has committed just ten errors in his five-year career at the position and has been a part of 48 double plays. With defense being king at shortstop, that is a plus for Gonzalez as he knows how to command the defensive side of the ball. His next best position fielding wise is second base, where he committed just seven errors in over 360 innings of work for a .958 fielding percentage. His fielding percentage stays over the .955 mark for every other position in the infield as well. He has only played 60 career innings in the outfield and has yet to commit an error in eight career games.

Looking at the current make-up of the Pirates roster, it looks as though Gonzalez will once again serve as a back-up infielder for the Bucs in 2021. He did sign a deal worth just over two million dollars this off-season, securing himself at least one more year in Black and Gold. On the offensive side of the ball, he looks to build off his success from August and carry that into 2021. Utility players have done well for themselves in the Pirates organization, see Adam Frazier and Josh Harrison, and Gonzalez could have a similar path. If his defense continues to hold and his offensive game starts to show through, the Pirates will have to find a spot on the field for this hustler.