Marco Gonzales Wins John Olerud Award

May 20, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; General view of baseballs before the St. Louis Cardinals game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Former Gonzaga Bulldog Pitcher/Infielder, and first round draft pick Marco Gonzales was named the John Olerud two-way player of the year today. Gonzales edged out Michael Lorenzen from Cal-State Fullerton, and Mike Ford from Princeton to win this prestigious award. He joins Mike Mcgee of Florida State and Danny Hultzen of Virginia as recipients of the John Olerud award. Coincidentally, both Hultzen and Mcgee play in the Mariners organization, which is the closest MLB franchise to Gonzaga.

Gonzales was a stud on the mound, and a phenom in the field the entire season for the Bulldogs, and was the centerpiece of their WCC regular season championship run last season. The lefty threw 106 innings, and posted a 7-3 record with a 2.80 ERA, and struck out 96 batters while only walked 25 last season, proving to be extremely accurate with his pitch location.

Gonzales also hit in the middle of the Bulldogs order, and hit a team high .311. He brought home 26 runners for the Zags as well last season.

Marco Gonzales, who already was named co-WCC player of the year, adds another accolade to his resume. This is a unique award that not a lot of players are even eligible to win. Versatility is something that is important in not only baseball, but sports in general. Gonzales certainly has that, and is a better baseball player because of it.

Congratulations to Marco Gonzales for winning a once in a lifetime award.