That's an opportunity that Gonzalez is certainly looking forward to, especially given the way September went last season, with the Sox going 7-20 and suffering a crushing defeat on the season's final night.
"We owe it to the fans to give them a better ending," Gonzalez said on ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning on Wednesday.
"It was pretty devastating the way it went down," he recalled. "It's something we'll keep in mind throughout the season. … We're gonna keep that as a focus and try to move forward from it and grow from it."
Following the September collapse, stories surfaced of a clubhouse full of discontent, a notion that Gonzalez denies. Instead, he says that it was just a lack of execution when things mattered most.
"It starts with players, management, everybody," he said. "You can't blame it on one person, on anything. The game has a way of not going your way. We played hard, but we didn't play good enough. It happens. … Baseball just didn't go our way."
Now, with spring training less than two weeks away, Gonzalez said that he's getting excited to report for duty, and he's looking forward to doing so under new manager Bobby Valentine. The All-Star first baseman talked about the conversations he's had already with Valentine, which have him excited to get to Fort Myers.
"The conversations, the things I really liked, is that we're gonna pay attention to a lot of detail and not just do things to do them, but to get something out of it," Gonzalez said. "Spring training is gonna be a little more lengthy and it's gonna go from there."
Gonzalez is looking to build on a successful first season with the Red Sox, as he enters his second year in Boston by embracing the city's excitement for the team.
"I feel it's a great town and a great place to be. People can look at it as pressure, but I look at it as motivation more than anything."
Hear the entire conversation by clicking here.
