Marco Gonzales Bio: Early Life, MLB, Wife & Net Worth

This article was last updated by on

Baseball is one of the most-watched sports globally, and not many can make it big in the industry.

It takes a lot of time, energy, and devotion for an athlete to leave their mark as a strong contender there. Marco Elias Gonzales, aka Marco Gonzales one of those few names who has aspired high as a baseball pitcher.

To point out, he is a professional baseball pitcher who plays for the Seattle Mariners of MLB. He used to play for the St. Louis Cardinals, too, in the MLB. 

In like manner, Gonzales was bound to be a baseball pitcher. He used to pitch for his college team, Gonzaga Bulldogs, since his early days of adulthood.

Marco Gonzales
Marco Gonzales

Gonzales is a young veteran who has learned to evolve quickly in the baseball world. Moreover, he has bagged many awards and recognitions in his name from his high school days to the present date.

He is an All-Star for the 2014 Texas League Mid-Season and much more, which are yet to be disclosed in this article.

We shall discover all about him from his career-high phases to the breakthroughs he is facing in his time. Just stay still and read till the end.

But before that, below, here is the table that lists all the quirky facts about the pitcher “Marco Gonzales.”

Marco Gonzales |Quick Facts

Name Marco Elias Gonzales
Birth Date February 16, 1992
Birth Place Fort Collins, Colorado
Nick Name Marco Gonzales, Gonzo
Religion Not known
Nationality American
Ethnicity Tribe
Education Rocky Mountain High School, Gonzaga University
Horoscope Aquarius
Father’s Name Frank Gonzales
Mother’s Name Gina Gonzales
Siblings Alex Gonzales
Age 32 years old
Height 1.85 m (6 feet 0.6 inches)
Weight 88 kg (194 lbs)
Jersey no. 13
Hair Color Dark Brown
Eye Color Black
Playstyle  Batting and Throws: Left
Build Athlete
Married Monika Gonzales
Children No kids as of 2021
Position Pitcher
Profession MLB Player
Net Worth $30 million
Salary $75,00,000 as an average salary
Currently Plays for Seattle Mariners
League MLB
Active Since 2013- present
Social Media Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
Merch CD
Last Update March, 2024

Marco Gonzales | Early Life

Marco Gonzales was born on February 16, 1992, to his parents Frank Gonzales and Gina Gonzales, in Fort Collins, Colorado. He has a sibling, too, named Alex.

Talking about his father, Frank, was a baseball player at La Junta High School in La Junta, Colorado, where he led his team to a state championship in the 1980s.

Later, he played college baseball at  Colorado State University. The Detroit Tigers drafted him in the 16th round in 1989. He went on playing for the minor leagues for about ten years.

young Marco Gonzales
As a youngin

Frank also was a determined coach for the  Colorado Rockies’ Class A minor-league club.

Marco’s mother, Gina, is a firefighter, and Alex is a baseball player for Gonzales’ alma mater, Rocky Mountain High School.

Growing up under the company of an athlete and firefighter, Marco always knew his goals. He also stood a Colorado Rockies fan. He was completely trained and coached by his father, and his mother was always a support system for him.

Marco Gonzales | High School Career

Gonzales schooled at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, Colorado. He aced the baseball practice in all four years. He was entitled All-Colorado and All-Front Range in his sophomore, junior, and senior years.

Marco Gonzales high school days
High School Days

Additionally, he has also titled the Colorado High School Baseball Player of the Year as a senior player.

He made an 11–0 won-loss record with a  2.20 ERA, 87 strikeouts in 54 innings. He also scored .486 at-bats, with seven home runs and 36 runs batted in.

Marco participated in the Class 5A state championship game for Rocky Mountain and won the title for all four years in his high school career.

Marco Gonzales | Collegiate Career

The  Colorado Rockies drafted Gonzales in the 29th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft when he was eighteen years old.

That was quite an early start to his career. But, there was something inaccurate in the offer that the Rockies made to him.

As a result, Gonzales did not sign the deal with the Rockies and rather opted for playing college baseball at Gonzaga University for the Bulldogs.

Gonzales participated in the collegiate summer baseball for the Saskatoon Yellow Jackets of the Western Canadian Baseball league. He also played for the Wenatchee AppleSox of the West Coast League.

Marco Gonzales with his mother
With his mother

Gonzales accomplished his freshman year at Gonzaga with an 11–2 won-loss record and 2.57 ERA. He was also entitled to West Coast Conference (WCC) co-Player of the Year and co-Freshman of the Year, alongside Kris Bryant.

Coming to his sophomore year, he completed the season with an  8–2 won-loss record and 1.55 ERA. This time, he was titled to WCC Pitcher of the Year and an All-American. 

He also participated for the  Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League in the collegiate summer baseball.

Gonzales won the most valuable player of the Netherlands tournament when he played for the United States national collegiate baseball team in tournaments in Cuba and the Netherlands.

Gonzales led his team to record a .311 average, two home runs, and 26 RBI as a junior year player.

Furthermore, he received Co-West Coast Conference Player of the Year honors. He was the first runner-up for the Golden Spikes Award.

He took the John Olerud Award in 2013, which is awarded annually to the best two-way player of the season by the College Baseball Foundation.

Marco Gonzales | Professional Career

Minor Leagues

The St. Louis Cardinals drafted him with the 19th overall pick in the  2013 MLB draft, then signed a deal with Cardinals worth  $1.85 million. Baseball America ranked him #28 in their Top 500 promising players.

Gonzales started playing for the minor leagues; the Cardinals placed him to the Gulf Coast League Cardinals in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League. 

He was then moved to Plam Beach of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League. His performance between the two teams went like a 2.70 ERA with 18 hits and eight walks (WHIP) while striking out 23.

Gonzales played for the  Springfield Cardinals of the Class AA Texas League in May 2014.  The Cardinals ranked him the #4 prospect in their squad. He was titled to the 2014 All-Star Futures Game at Target Field in Minneapolis.

St Louis Cardinals

2014

Gonzales grabbed his major league debut as the starter against the Rockies, as he was replaced for injured Jaime García, where he missed five earned runs and seven hits, with one home run in five innings. 

He led his squad to win the game with a 9-6 score and became the second rookie player to make his debut without playing at the Triple-A level. The first was  Cliff Politte in April 1998.

In his second game for the Cardinals, he lost a battle to the  San Francisco Giants. After that, the Cardinals placed him to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds on July 7 and called him back to play against the Chicago Cubs.  Eventually, they won against the Cubs.

Gonzales snatched his third win in MLB against the Rockies on September 14. He also appeared for the playoffs.

He scored three total scoreless innings in the National League Division Series (NLDS) against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Gonzales was also held for pitching another three innings against the Giants in the National League Championship Series (NLCS). And later, he went on winning the Minor League Pitcher of the Year title in the Cardinals group.

2015-2017

2015 did not turn out to be a good season for him. As he suffered a shoulder injury and could only start 13  games and 64 innings with Memphis. Baseball America rated him as the #5 prospect in the Cardinals’ system.

He was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in 2016 Gonzales had to undergo Tommy John surgery to recover the injury. Sadly, his ranking falls to #7 in Cardinal’s organization.

Gonzales made his first start in the major leagues since September 1, 2015, when he was asked to play against the Milwaukee Brewers in 2017.

Seattle Mariners

2017-2019

The Cardinals waived Gonzales to the Seattle Mariners for Tyler O’Neill. He played against the Kansas City Royals and scored 4 innings, allowing 5 earned runs on 7 hits, a walk, and 5 strikeouts.

Gonzales acquired a spot on the Mariners’ 2018 Opening Day roster and notched 4th in the starting rotation.

He tried playing exceptionally well against the Kansas City Royals, scoring a 3–4 record with 5.23 ERA in 10 starts. However, he conquered his first full season, starting a career-high 29 games with the Mariners.

Marco Gonzales
Marco Gonzales

Gonzales was again rewarded with the Mariners’ Opening Day starter for their opening series in Japan. He led his team against the Oakland Athletics and won the game, scoring 6 innings and allowing 4 runs on 7 hits, 1 walk, and 4 strikeouts.

2020

2020 remained a very short season for every player out there due to the coronavirus pandemic. Gonzales completed the season by appearing in 60 games, where he was named in the top 5  for wins and WHIP, top 20 for ERA.

Marco Gonzales | Awards

  • Gonzales received the Major League Baseball All-Star Futures Game in 2014.
  • He received the All-Star award in 2014, Texas League mid-season.
  • Gonzales was titled the Pitcher of the Texas League on June 15, 2014.
  • He was the St. Louis Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2014.
  • Gonzales won the St. Louis Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2014.
  • He won the Tournament Most Valuable Pitcher in 2014 in Netherland as an International Award.

Get to know about Andrew Cashner Bio.

Marco Gonzales | Personal Life

Moving to his personal life, Gonzales is happily married to his long-time girlfriend, Monica Gonzales. According to online sources, the duo met each other in the summer of 2010 in their high school. 

And eventually, they fell in love and exchanged the marital commitment on December 19, 2015, at Safeco Field.

Marco Gonzale with his wife
With his wife, Monica

The couple settled down in Seattle during the offseason. They attended Gonzaga together.  And later, Monica earned her sports marketing degree in the spring of 2014, whereas  Gonales got drafted in the 2013 MLB draft by the Cardinals.

Monica Gonzales
Monica Gonzales

Keeping their professional career asides, they don’t share any children. They are enjoying their life before entering the parenthood phase.

And yes, there are no such rumors about his ex-girlfriends or extramarital affairs. Together, they share a pure bond to date.

Social Work

Furthermore, besides their personal, professional lives, they have also come for a better cause.

It was recently reported that they have collaborated with Northwest Harvest,  the state’s leading hunger-relief agency, to help provide the needy ones with peanut butter sandwiches during the coronavirus pandemic.

The ultimate goal was to raise $40,000 to provide relief to the 400,000 children across their state. You can get to know more in detail about this by clicking on the link below.

Also, read about other baseball players Ryan Madson and Dakota Hudson.

Marco Gonzales | Net Worth

From being a young pitcher to battling a Tommy John Surgery, his path always remained an interesting and struggling one.

Of course, he had his hustles in life, but he proved himself the finest and best pitchers in the baseball industry.

Gonzales has recently extended his contract to a 4-year deal worth $30,000,000 with the Seattle Mariners. The very same contract also offers a $1,000,000 signing bonus, $30,000,000 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $7,500,000.

As per Sportrac, Gonzales will make a base salary of $5,000,000 while carrying a total salary of $5,250,000. Thus, we can assume that,

Marco Gonzales has an estimated net worth of $30 million as of 2024.

Marco Gonzales | Social Media Presence

Gonzales is equally available on each possible social networking website. He shares all about his family, friends, outdoor events, beautiful wife, sports events.

From his social media posts, we can assume that he enjoys lending an update about himself.

He is a jolly person, and he never lets his fandom get bored. Thus, if you are a true Gonzales fan and haven’t followed him yet, do give him a follow.

Instagram- @marcogonzales_  with 21k followers.
Twitter- @MarcoGonzales_ with 25.8k followers.
Facebook- Macro Gonzales

Anjali Gupta
Anjali Gupta

Anjali Gupta

Anjali Gupta is a passionate sports journalist with a deep love for athletics. Her dedication to the world of sports shines through in her writing, where she combines insightful analysis with compelling storytelling to engage readers.

Expertise:

Sports Journalism Athlete Profiles

Highlights

  • Anjali has a proven track record of delivering compelling stories and in-depth profiles of athletes from various disciplines.
  • Her ability to capture the essence of sporting events and the journeys of athletes sets her apart in the field of sports journalism.

Experience

Anjali's journey in sports journalism began with her fascination for athletes' stories and the thrill of competition. Over the years, she has cultivated her skills, delving into the intricacies of different sports and sharing the triumphs and struggles of athletes through her writing.

Related articles

Comments

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share article

Latest News