“He is just one of the most unbelievable guys that I have ever met. Awesome person, awesome friend, someone that really wants to help out everyone,” said Freddy Sandoval in describing his childhood friend Adrian Gonzalez of the San Diego Padres.

Sandoval, a Tijuana native and alumni of the University of San Diego, credits his friendship with Gonzalez for turning his baseball career and his life around. Through baseball Gonzalez and Sandoval formed a lasting friendship. As children they played on opposing little league teams and later they played together competing in national traveling tournaments. Now as adults, they are frequently teammates in Mexico.

In 2004, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim drafted Sandoval in the 8th round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft to play third base. By 2006 he had not made it further than class-A ball for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and there his numbers were average at best. He hit only .258 and 5 home runs in a park that is typically a hitter’s paradise.

That off-season, Sandoval played winter ball for the MazatlanVenados in Mexico. Joining him on that team was his life-long friend Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez noticed that Sandoval lacked focus. Sandoval recalled, “At that point in my life, I was partying a lot and living the dream. I had everything I wanted but it was in a completely different way.”

It was then that Gonzalez sat Sandoval down for a conversation about Sandoval’s goals. According Sandoval, Gonzalez told him, “You should be in the big leagues right now. There is no possible way that I made it to the big leagues before you did. What’s going on your life? What are you doing?”

Sandoval said, “I had no answers.” Adrian just laid it out there. “You can’t be [partying] all the time. It is OK to go out every once in a while, but your job comes first and if you really want to make it to the big leagues, you have to commit.”

Sandoval knew Adrian was right. As a kid he was better ball player than Gonzalez. Sandoval said, “Believe it or not when we were kids, Adrian was a bench player.” Sandoval then recalled a period when Gonzalez made major improvements. “We lost communication for a couple of years and then in high school, he was destroying the league and I was like, ‘Is this the same guy? What’s going on?’ We saw that his work ethic is just unbelievable, the way he works out and how much time that he puts into the sport.”

The two talked about personal goals and the commitments that Sandoval would have to make to realize his goals. Gonzales told him, “You have to workout every single day, you have to practice every single day, and it is not just a matter of whenever you feel like it.”

Sandoval said, “After that long conversation, I called my wife back home and I was pretty disappointed in myself. But I was glad that we had that conversation and it really turned my life around.”

Sandoval took Gonzalez’s advice and put it to action. Sandoval explained, “The results were measurable. I went from that one year in Rancho to hitting .305 in AA and doubling my homers. It was like wow! I wish I had done this a while ago.”

Soon others started following Sandoval’s lead. He said, “A lot of players around me saw that I changed. They asked me, ‘What did I do?’ I started talking to a lot of people and just the way that Adrian laid it for me, I laid it out there for them, and now they are pretty much in the same shoes.”

For Sandoval those shoes means that he is on the verge of making the big leagues. Now Sandoval is playing for the AAA Salt Lake Bees and is on the Angels 40-man roster. Last fall Sandoval saw his first big league action when the Angels expanded their roster.

When asked about Sandoval, Gonzalez said, “I think his mind is in the right place. Hopefully the opportunity comes for him to play every day in the big leagues, because he has proven that he can play up here.”

Gonzalez should know. The two of them have played on teams together three times since the winter of 2006. Twice on the Venados, who won the league title last winter earning the right to play in the Caribbean World Series, and on Team Mexico for the World Baseball Classic.

Looking back on the conversation that he had with Sandoval, Gonzalez said his motivation came from being a person that cares for Sandoval. “I have know him since I was a kid and I have always wanted the best for him.” He went on to say, “It was nice that he could take the little advice that I gave him and use it for his own good.”

However, Gonzalez does not take all the credit for Sandoval’s transformation. Like Gonzalez’s relationship with his wife Betsy, Gonzalez believes that Sandoval’s relationship with his wife Jenny has been the key to Sandoval’s success. Gonzalez said, “I think that the fact that he is married to a great gal always helps.”

Sandoval agreed. “I play baseball for my family and now she is my family other than my parents and siblings. She means the world to me and I want to be the best person that I can be to make her proud and make sure that everything I am doing is for our family.” Sandoval also credits Jenny for helping him eat healthy by preparing quality meals for them. Jenny is also an athlete as she was a star tennis player for USD.

For Gonzalez, taking time out for others does not stop with those that he is personally close to. Gonzalez and his wife Betsy created The Adrian and Betsy Gonzalez Foundation to empower underprivileged youth. Gonzalez explains, “My wife and I care for kids in the community and we want to do everything that we can so they can have a bright future. The foundation itself goes to help underprivileged youth in athletics, academics, and health throughout the Tijuana and San Diego area.” If you would like to help the Adrian and Betsy Gonzalez empower youth in our community please contact Leslie Harrington: (619) 235-2300.

In all the lives that Adrian Gonzalez has touched in a positive way, he still does not see himself as a role model. He explained, “More than anything, it is not me trying to be a role model. It’s me trying to be a disciple for Christ and do what he asks of me to do.”