Jonny Gomes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Tampa Bay Rays — No. 31 | |
| Designated hitter | |
| Born: November 22, 1980 | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| September 12, 2003 for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through May 28, 2008) |
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| Batting average | .241 |
| Home runs | 62 |
| Runs batted in | 174 |
| Teams | |
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Jonathan "Jonny" Johnson Gomes (born November 22, 1980, in San Francisco, California) is a current designated hitter and right fielder in Major League Baseball. Gomes currently plays for the Tampa Bay Rays.
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[edit] Early years
Gomes was born in San Francisco, California and was raised in nearby Petaluma, California. He was an all-league at Casa Grande High School in his hometown of Petaluma. In May 1997, while in high school, he was a backseat passenger in a car accident that killed his best friend, also in the backseat. After graduating in 1999, he went to Santa Rosa Junior College before being selected in the 18th round of the 2001 MLB Draft by the Devil Rays. While he was in the rookie leagues, he was certified to become a personal trainer. His older brother, Joey Gomes, currently plays for the Newark Bears. The family name "Gomes" is Portuguese in ancestry.[1]
Gomes suffered a heart attack on Christmas Eve, 2002, the result of a clogged artery, despite being in playing condition (he reported having 8% body fat at the time). He ignored the symptoms for 27 hours, even sleeping through it one night, before going to the hospital after he briefly blacked out and stopped breathing. His doctors said he would not have survived sleeping through it a second night. As a result of the heart attack, the team doctor of the Devil Rays has to keep nitroglycerin pills on-hand in case he has another one.[2]
[edit] MLB career
Gomes made his major league debut on September 12, 2003. He spent 2004 back and forth between the Triple-A Durham Bulls and Tampa Bay. He told an MLB.com interviewer that, when he was relegated back to Durham after a brief early stint in Tampa Bay in May 2005, he resolved that he would put up such an offensive onslaught that the Major League team would "get sick of looking at his face on the Tropicana Field scoreboard when the top Minor League performers were shown." He would have a .321 batting average with 14 HR and 46 RBI in 45 games with the Bulls before returning to the Rays for good in July[3].
After his return to Tampa Bay, Gomes became a starter for the club and has become one of the club's most important players. On July 30, he became the first Rays player to hit three home runs in a single game, against the Kansas City Royals. For the year, Gomes hit 21 home runs in only 101 games and 348 at bats. Projected over a full season, Gomes could have hit over 35 home runs. He became a fan favorite, and was known for his all out hustle and long home runs; one went 474 feet and went over the Batter's Eye Restaurant behind the center field wall at Tropicana Field. He finished 3rd in voting for the 2005 American League Rookie of the Year award. On July 20, 2005, Jonny hit 3 Home Runs in one game, becoming the first, and to this day the only, Ray player to hit 3 in one game.
Gomes figures to play a prominent role in the continued rebuilding and long range plans of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He started 2006 off with a bang by hitting a Rays-record 11 home runs in April. He hit the catwalk rings of Tropicana Field twice during a series with the Toronto Blue Jays in May; one landed in the B ring and rolled off to be caught, while the other hit the C ring and was ruled a home run (see the link to Tropicana Field for its ground rules). He struggled after his hot start, hitting nine home runs during the rest of the season and finishing with a .216 batting average. He attributed most of his problems to an injured shoulder, which hindered his hitting and his usually aggressive baserunning; he played through the injury until electing to have surgery on it in September. In addition to rehabilitating his shoulder, Gomes said in an MLB.com article that he wanted to lose weight over the offseason; he was listed at 205 pounds but played the 2006 season weighing 250. He also mentioned possibly playing first base in 2007 for the Devil Rays, who then had Carl Crawford, Rocco Baldelli, and Delmon Young in their outfield. [1]
On Mother's Day, May 14, 2006, Gomes was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a pink bat to benefit the Breast Cancer Foundation. Other Devil Rays hitters who used pink bats in 2006 included Greg Norton, Carl Crawford, Toby Hall, Damon Hollins, and Tomas Perez. [2]
During the first two months of 2007, Gomes was not given much playing time, and his BA was down to .184 when he was sent down to Durham again on May 25. He was recalled on June 14, and had an immediate impact as he saw increased playing time, though by the end of the season he again had tapered off. He went on to finish the season with a .244 batting average with 17 home runs and 49 RBIs while drawing 39 walks in 348 at-bats. He also compiled 126 strikeouts, a career high and his third straight season in which he had 100 or more strikeouts while playing in less than 120 games.
Gomes currently holds the Tampa Bay Rays club record for most hit by pitches, a total of 28. He achieved the team record when he was hit in the leg by Josh Beckett of the Boston Red Sox for his 26th on July 5, 2007.
During spring training in 2008, on March 12, Gomes rushed to the defense of Akinori Iwamura when the latter was spiked by Shelley Duncan of the New York Yankees. Gomes immediately rushed in from Right Field, flinging himself into Duncan as he was beginning to stand up. This emptied both teams' benches, as players and coaches ran onto the field. He was ejected, as well as Duncan and two Yankees coaches. Due to his actions, he was suspended by the MLB for two games, effective at the start of the season.[3] Gomes commented that his actions were simply coming to the defense of his teammate, saying "I was taught in T-ball all the way up, to always protect a teammate's back. I just acted how I act. I wasn't really trying to get a shot in on him. I probably could have done a lot of things worse. But it is a baseball field and there's fans and kids watching. I just had to let him know that's not going to fly."[4]
In the third game of a series against the Boston Red Sox on June 5, 2008, Gomes was involved in a bench clearing brawl after Coco Crisp charged the mound as a result of being hit by a pitch. Replays of the incident show Gomes throwing punches at Crisp after he was already on the ground under several other Rays players. [4]. He was suspended for five games due to his role in the altercation.
[edit] Trivia
- Jonny Gomes has an AW tatoo that stands for Adam Westscott, his childhood friend who died in a car crash that also involved Jonny.
- He has a 707 on his glove and cleats that is the area code for his hometown, Petaluma, California.
[edit] References
- ^ Distinguished Americans & Canadians of Portuguese Descent. Retrieved on 2008-01-09.
- ^ It gives Gomes scare, but heart not an issue. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
- ^ Gomes large and in charge: Slugger lives life to the fullest after overcoming adversity, MLB.com, May 3, 2006
- ^ http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/comments/we-have-a-rivalry/
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
