Adrian Gonzalez can hit. He fields his position about as well as anybody in the majors. And the 29-year-old’s day-to-day approach appears to be beyond reproach.

So, what can’t Gonzalez do?

“I’ve got to tell you, he’s the slowest player I’ve ever seen,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona recently on The Big Show when talking about his fist baseman. “He’s Doug Mirabelli slow.”

The fact that Gonzalez is slow-footed is hardly a revelation. Asked recently at what point of his life his speed had maxed out, he said, “Probably when I was 7 years old. I’ve always been slow.”

Teams securing the services of Gonzalez have always understood that his lack of speed has consistently been part of the package. But when you also have the other attributes that the lefty hitter possesses, suddenly swiftness doesn’t seem like a priority.

“I definitely knew speed wasn’t going to be part of his game, but I knew he would be smart enough not to run into outs,” said current Red Sox scout David Finley, who worked for the Marlins when Florida drafted Gonzalez out of Eastlake (CA) High. “I did think when he swiped the base earlier this season he might ask for the bag.”

Still, there he was Sunday afternoon, claiming his 1,000th major league hit with, of all things, a triple. 

It was Gonzalez’ third three-bagger of the season, tying a career high, and set off a mild round of trash talk between a teammate on the other end of the speed spectrum, Jacoby Ellsbury.

“I was telling Jacoby, ‘I have more triples than you do. What’s going on?’” the first baseman said following his team’s 12-3 win over the Brewers at Fenway Park. “He just said, ‘Hey, you’re faster than me.’”

Gonzalez will be the first to concur with Francona’s assessment that the reality is few players in the big leagues are slower than he is. But all that has done is offer another example of the Red Sox’ No. 3 hitter’s unique approach to the game.

Gonzalez is a slow baserunner, but that doesn’t mean he is a bad baserunner.

“I’m really slow so I make sure I don’t make dumb outs,” he explained. “If there are any doubts, I stay back. 

“Baserunning is all about instincts. You have to know where guys are playing, where the defense is, how the ball is coming off the bat, and then you make adjustments. When you’re not fast, everything is slower so you can make better decisions.”

The statistics offer proof that Gonzalez has taken the proper approach. In the last four seasons he has been thrown out at second, third or home a total of just five times.

It also should be noted that Gonzalez is second in the majors in hits (106), with his other contenders (Jose Reyes, Starlin Castro, Michael Young, Asdrubal Cabrera, Hunter Pence, Ellsbury) all having a semblance of speed mixed into their game. (Interestingly enough, Gonzalez has five infield hits this season, just one fewer than Ellsbury.)

As for stolen bases, he is wise enough not to even try. He hasn’t been caught since Colorado’s Yorvit Torrealba nabbed him trying to swipe third on May 31, 2009. But, then again, there has been only one attempt since then, coming when he kicked off his Red Sox career by stealing second on Opening Day in Texas.

“I stole six in Double-A one year, but that was just because the manager [Eric Fox] was really aggressive and said, ‘Hey, they’re not paying attention to you so you can go,’” Gonzalez remembered. “Then I got to Triple-A, I was doing the same thing and I started getting thrown out. The manager said, ‘You better make sure you’re standing on the base before you think about going.’”

So, even with another triple under his belt, how would Gonzalez describe his approach to whirling around the basepaths?

“I’m cautious,” he said.

That’s good enough for the Red Sox.