Luis Gonzalez had a surprise waiting for him when he pulled into the Chase Field players' parking lot Sunday morning.
His parking space had a ``For Rent'' sign on it.
That's how the ballpark grounds crew decided to welcome Gonzalez, an accomplished practical joker, on the last day of his eight-year run with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
``It was kind of a good joke for me to have coming to the ballpark,'' Gonzalez said. ``It kind of lightened me up when I finally got here.''
It turned out to be only the first of many tributes on an emotional, bittersweet day for the slugging left fielder, who was told by the club last month that it would not pick up his US$10 million contract option for 2007.
The 39-year-old Gonzalez, who vowed to play elsewhere next season, spent his remaining Arizona home games signing autographs, posing for photos with fans and hearing loud ovations every time he came to the plate.
But nothing prepared him for the outpouring of affection Sunday. The game drew a paid crowd of 48,946, the largest regular-season crowd in team history.
One placard in left field read, ``Forever Mr. November,'' a nod to Gonzalez's role in the Diamondbacks' victory over the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the World Series, which came on Nov. 4, 2001.
His winning bloop single off closer Mariano Rivera delivered the state's only major sports championship. The tangible evidence of that hit _ the World Series trophy _ sat on a table behind home plate during a post-game ceremony for Gonzalez and Craig Counsell, another member of the 2001 team who played his final game for the club.
Counsell, whose scrappy play endeared him to fans, hit his fourth home run of the season in the fourth inning. ``Honestly, after I hit the home run, I figured 'Hey, man, that's good enough,' `` Counsell said. ``Those things are so rare for me, and to do it on a day like today, what else could I ask for?''
Gonzalez thanked the fans in remarks that he intentionally kept brief.
``I didn't want to cry,'' Gonzalez said. ``There's no crying in baseball.''
Gonzalez said he violated that unwritten rule several times Sunday.
``There was a lot of tear-jerkers,'' Gonzalez said. ``There were times when I was just so overwhelmed by stuff.''
Gonzalez, who went 0-for-4, leaves Arizona with 547 career doubles, 20th on the career list. He's the franchise leader in nearly every significant category, including home runs (224), RBIs (774), and his .298 career batting average is best among players with more than 400 games. He played 1,194 games for the Diamondbacks.
``Gonzo's the man here, and he always will be,'' manager Bob Melvin said.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
