The Diamondbacks announced a number of hirings, title changes, and promotions throughout their organization today, including the news that Jonny Gomes will be the new hitting coach for the team’s rookie ball affiliate in the Arizona League. The move would seem to indicate that the 37-year-old Gomes has decided to call it a career after 13 seasons in the big leagues.
Gomes played for seven MLB teams from 2003-15, with his first six seasons spent in Tampa Bay. His first extended taste of Major League action resulted in a third-place finish in AL Rookie Of The Year voting in 2005, after he hit .282/.372/.534 with 21 homers over 407 plate appearances. While Gomes was rarely an everyday player during his career, he found plenty of regular playing time as a noted masher of left-handed pitching, posting a lifetime slash line of .273/.376/.479 against southpaws.
Beyond just his performance on the field, Gomes was well-known for his fiery personality and reputation as a clubhouse leader. During his final four seasons, he was sought out as a mentor for young A’s and Royals teams making postseason runs, and Gomes was one of the originators of the beard craze that defined the World Series-winning 2013 Red Sox.
Several notable names were included in the Diamondbacks’ list of baseball operations moves, including the promotion of Burke Badenhop to special assistant to the general manager. Badenhop, an eight-year MLB veteran, worked as an analyst in the D’Backs front office in 2017. The recently-retired Daniel Bard is also joining the organization in the newly-created Player Mentor role.
Meh
Didn’t Gomes get traded to the A’s in the cespedes swap?
Yes
Good hire. Should be able to teach young hitters a thing or two.
And how to hose over the Cardinals in big games… #NeverForget -__-
Yeah, teach them how to take 5 minutes to adjust all of your equipment in between pitches.
Can’t say a bad thing about Gomes. As a Bostonian, we owe ‘13 to many including him. Thanks for everything and enjoy your new role!
Miss him so much
Wouldn’t mind seeing him be a player coach
If he’s done, he’s going to start coaching at the lowest level. How it’s done.
Yep! Not like the managerial decision in the Bronx. That’s gonna blow over quicker than a fart in the wind!
Footage of Daniel Bard’s stint with the Mets:
link to media.giphy.com
you win
Burke Badenhop, my goodness, I feel old
It wasn’t that long ago that Bades was quite serviceable in his lone season in Boston. I wanted them to resign him but I guess he desired peach praline pie more.
Good hire, should be able to teach young kids a thing or two, like how to Gloat when you don’t produce or help the team or how to talk trash.
I will never forget him at the Royals World Series champs parade. #legendary
The Robert Horry of Baseball. Whatever roster he was on they always seemed to be in the playoffs year after year.
And he never played a single inning or out during that series. Just like Ryan dempster never threw a pitch in 2013 world series for the red Sox.
Dempster did throw a pitch in 2013, in fact he through several. He pitched a full inning
Love Gomes. One of the best personalities in the game over the last 10 years. Best of luck
They also hire new part time help in the concession stands…..
He always came off as an A hole to me. Glad he could stay in baseball after basically being a journeyman after Boston. Shame they never pronounced his name right. It’s gomez with an “s” like Jaime Garcia, its jaime with a j not haime with an h. and Jonathan villar. That’s just Millar with a “v”
It’s Gomes, like “Homes”. Jaime like “Hi-May” and Villar “Vee-Yar” or should they all just pronounce it your way because this is America and we speak American? Tool
It’s gomez with an s. But okay. Obviously the other ones I was joking.
It’s not “Go-Mess” it “GOHMZ”
Never said it was Go-Mess. It’s Gomez only when an s not a z.
Good for him. He’s one of my favorite players ever.