Tag: jeremi gonzalez

Geremi Gonzalez’ body to be exhumed

A very odd story is coming out of Venezuela in which former MLB pitcher Geremi Gonzalez’ body will be exhumed as part of an investigation.  Prosecutors are trying to determine if he was struck by lightning as originally thought or if he was a victim of a fatal robbery.

Authorities determined that Gonzalez, 33, died instantly when he was hit by lightning at a beach in May 2008. Investigators ruled out homicide after an autopsy blamed "an electric shock produced by natural causes."

Doubts surfaced, however, after a friend notified the family that some of Gonzalez’s belongings were being offered for sale, including a gold chain he was wearing when he died, federal police commissioner Cesar Gomez told Diario Panorama.

Nice detective work by the family friend. 

Gonzalez debuted with the Cubs in 1997 with a 11-9 record.  He came in ninth in the Rookie of the Year voting that year.  For his career, he was 30-35 with a 4.93 ERA. 

JEREMI GONZALEZ STRUCK BY LIGHTNING

A sad note, former Cub pitcher, Jeremi Gonzalez was killed on May 25th in Venezuela when he was struck by lightning. Jeremi was 11-9 in 1997 & 7-7 in 1998, before being out of MLB for nearly five years due to three surgeries and a variety of injuries.

In 2003, he was rewarded by Tampa Bay with the Out of Nowhere Award. Gonzalez ended up being the Rays’ most consistent pitcher, despite his 6–11 record. He allowed three runs or fewer in 17 starts, but received the lowest run support of any AL East starter. He was known as Jeremi Gonzalez until he was traded to the Brewers in 2006, at which time he informed the team of the proper spelling of his name.

At the time of his passing, Geremi Gonzalez was only 33 years old.