Carlos Argelis Gómez Peña, nicknamed Go-Go, (; born December 4, 1985) is a Dominican former professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...
. He played for the
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
,
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...
,
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
,
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
,
Texas Rangers and
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...
. Gómez is a two-time
MLB All-Star and a
Gold Glove Award
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual Fielding (baseball), fielding performances. It is awar ...
winner.
Professional career
Minor leagues
At just 16 years of age, Gómez signed with the
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
as an international free agent on July 27, 2002. Along with
Fernando Martínez, Gómez was considered a
five-tool prospect and one of their top
outfield
The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area.
In bat and ball games
...
prospects. While they were teammates, Mets
shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...
José Reyes, who led the
National League
National League often refers to:
*National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada
*National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
in
stolen bases
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out a ...
and
triples
TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...
for multiple seasons, said that Gómez was faster than he was. In fact, Gómez routinely would beat him in foot races during spring training.
In 2006, Gómez played for the Double-A
Binghamton Mets of the
Eastern League and was the co-winner of the Sterling Award. He finished second in the league with 41 stolen bases and fifth with eight triples. He batted .281 (121-for-430) with 53 runs scored, 24 doubles, seven
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
s, and 48
runs batted in
A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...
(RBI) in 120 games.
Gómez started the 2007 season with the Triple-A
New Orleans Zephyrs
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz
* New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013
* New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...
. He led the
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
(PCL) with 17 stolen bases by the second week of May. In 36 games, Gómez hit .286 (40-for-140) with 24
runs scored, eight
doubles, two
triples
TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...
, and two home runs and 13 RBI.
New York Mets
Gómez made his major league debut with the Mets on May 13, 2007. At 21 years and 205 days old, he became the youngest player in the
National League
National League often refers to:
*National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada
*National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
. Gómez went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base, helping the Mets to a 9–1 win over the
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
. On June 10, he hit his first major league home run, a three-run home run off
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
pitcher
Jason Grilli. In his first MLB season, Gómez played in 58 games and hit .232 with two home runs and 12 RBIs in 139 at bats.
Minnesota Twins
When pitcher
Johan Santana of the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...
became available via trade, the Mets traded Gómez and
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
s
Deolis Guerra,
Philip Humber and
Kevin Mulvey
Kevin John Mulvey (born May 26, 1985) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the Minnesota Twins and Arizona Diamondbacks in 2009 and 2010, and is the current head baseball coach at Villanova University.
Early l ...
to the Twins to acquire him on January 29, 2008. Gómez became the starting
center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...
for the Twins, following
Torii Hunter
Torii Kedar Hunter (; born July 18, 1975) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and right fielder. Hunter currently serves as Special Assistant to Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian. He played in Major League ...
's signing with the
Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...
. He won a three-way race for center field in 2008, beating out prospects
Denard Span and
Jason Pridie. Gómez's 40-yard dash time was clocked at 4.29. Twins manager
Ron Gardenhire nicknamed Gómez "Go-Go" due to his last name and his blazing speed. With Gómez batting first, and
Alexi Casilla batting second, Gardenhire referred to the speedy duo as "Loose Cannon One" and "Loose Cannon Two."
On March 31, 2008, Gómez made his regular-season debut for the Twins, going 2-for-3 with a walk, two stolen bases and two runs as the Twins beat the Angels, 3–2. On April 11, 2008, Gómez hit his first career triple off
Yasuhiko Yabuta
is a Japanese former baseball pitcher.
Yabuta made his professional debut with the Marines in 1996, and spent 12 years with the organization. He competed in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and struck out Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, and ...
of the
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...
. On May 7, 2008, Gómez
hit for the cycle
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization ...
against the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
at
U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. He became the ninth major leaguer in history to hit for the reverse
natural cycle. He also became the third-youngest player to hit for the cycle in MLB history. Gómez finished the 2008 season batting .258 with seven home runs, 59 RBI, and 33 stolen bases in 153 games.
He led the major leagues with 30 bunt hits but was also picked off a major-league-leading 10 times. In addition defensively, he led all major league center fielders in errors, with eight.
During the 2009 season playing in 137 games, Gómez hit .229 with three home runs and 28 RBI.
On October 6, 2009, Gómez scored the winning run in the
2009 American League Central tie-breaker game on
Alexi Casilla's walk-off single, clinching the AL Central division title for the Twins. Gómez also saw his first postseason action, earning the starting position in center field for Game 2 of the
2009 American League Division Series against the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
. In that game, he went 0-for-4 with a walk and run scored in Minnesota's 4–3 loss. The Yankees would go on to sweep the Twins in three games, thus ending their season.
Milwaukee Brewers
On November 6, 2009, Gómez was traded to the
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
in exchange for
J. J. Hardy and $250,000.
In 2011, Gómez led all NL outfielders in
range factor, at 2.97, and tied for the NL lead in fielding percentage for outfielders, at 1.000. On July 20, 2011, Gómez fractured his collarbone when he made a diving catch in shallow center field but returned for the rest of the season in September. During the 2011 postseason, Gómez hit .357, with a home run and 2 RBI.
In 2012, Gómez started the season platooning with
Nyjer Morgan and
Norichika Aoki in center field, but eventually Gómez got more starting playing time. Gómez ended up having one of the best seasons of his major league career at that point with career highs in a .260 batting average, .305 on-base percentage, 19 home runs, and 37 stolen bases in the 2012 season.
Prior to the 2013 season, Gómez signed a three-year, $24 million extension with the Brewers.
Gómez started the 2013 season as the Brewers' starting center fielder, though he struggled early, batting only .162 after the first couple of weeks.
But since then, Gómez went on a tear, getting three hits in each of the next three games, raising his average back up to .300 just a week later.
Gómez was named National League Player of the Week for his efforts, the third time he had won the award. Gómez was also named to his first All-Star team.
Mariano Rivera
Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian Americans, Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and " ...
retired him to end the eighth inning in his last All-Star Game. On September 26, Gómez was suspended for one game
for his role in an on-field altercation during a game a day prior against the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
. In that game, Gómez hit a home run, while trotting around the bases, he shouted at Braves pitcher
Paul Maholm for apparently throwing at Gómez in an earlier game. As Gómez reached home plate, Braves catcher
Brian McCann deliberately stood between Gómez and home plate, blocking him, which sparked a brief brawl between the two teams.
Gómez's 2013 season was the best of his major league career, attaining career highs in practically every offensive category: a .284 batting average, .338 on-base percentage, 27 doubles, 10 triples, 24 home runs, 80 runs scored, 73 RBI, and 40 stolen bases in 147 games.
He led the National League in
power-speed number (30.0).
Gómez had a spectacular season defensively as well, leading the league in defensive putouts, as well as taking away at least four potential home runs.
Gómez finished third in the National League in Wins Above Replacement (WAR). He also won the NL
Gold Glove Award
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual Fielding (baseball), fielding performances. It is awar ...
for center field, becoming the first Brewer to win the award since
Robin Yount
Robin R. Yount (; born September 16, 1955), nicknamed "the Kid" and "Rockin' Robin", is an American former professional baseball player. He spent his entire 20-year career in Major League Baseball as a shortstop and center fielder for the Milwauk ...
in 1982.
Gómez began 2014 as Milwaukee's starting center fielder and leadoff hitter. In April, Gómez got into an altercation in a game against the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
. In that particular game, Gómez hit a deep fly ball that he initially thought was a home run. As a result, he flipped his bat out of his hand, something he was known to do when hitting a home run. The ball ended up hitting the outfield wall, though Gómez still ended up at third base with a triple, Pirates pitcher
Gerrit Cole confronted Gómez about showing off. The two began to argue, and as the two were separated, Pirates player
Travis Snider confronted Gómez as well, causing Gómez to throw punches at Snider, igniting a brief brawl in which Snider got hit in the eye by Gómez' teammate,
Martin Maldonado. Gómez was suspended for three games. He initially appealed the suspension, but dropped it after suffering a minor back injury, using the time for the suspension to rest his back. Upon his return, Gómez was moved to the clean-up spot in the Brewers batting order, due to an injury to
Aramis Ramírez. Gómez had another solid season in 2014, batting .284 with 23 home runs, 73 RBI, 95 runs scored, and 34 stolen bases in 148 games, though he was also caught stealing a career-high 12 times.
He again led the National League in
power-speed number (27.4).
He was second in the major leagues in
hit by pitch
In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provide ...
, with 19.
Houston Astros
On July 30, 2015, the Brewers traded Gómez and
Mike Fiers to the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
for
Brett Phillips,
Domingo Santana
Domingo Alberto Santana (born August 5, 1992) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, M ...
,
Josh Hader
Joshua Ronald Hader (born April 7, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres. Hader is a five-time Ma ...
, and
Adrian Houser. On October 6, Gómez hit a solo home run in the
AL Wild Card Game against the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
to put the Astros up 2–0 in the fourth inning, propelling them to a 3–0 win and a berth in the
ALDS.
In 2016, Gómez batted .210 with five home runs and 29 RBI in 85 games for the Astros.
On August 10, Gómez was
designated for assignment
Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...
by the Astros. He was later released on August 18.
Texas Rangers
Gómez signed a minor league contract with the
Texas Rangers on August 20, 2016, and was assigned to the
Round Rock Express
The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...
of the PCL. He was later promoted to the major leagues on August 25 and made his Rangers debut that night vs. the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...
. Gómez homered in his first plate appearance with the club in a 9–0 win. On August 31, he hit a grand slam off
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...
pitcher
Félix Hernández
Félix Abraham Hernández García (born April 8, 1986), nicknamed "King Félix", is a Venezuelan-American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners from 2005 through 2019. Hernánd ...
; having hit one against them earlier in the season while with the Astros, he became only the fourth player to hit two grand slams against the same opponent for two different teams (joining
Ray Boone
Raymond Otis Boone (July 27, 1923 – October 17, 2004) was an American professional baseball infielder and scout (sport), scout who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Primarily a third baseman and shortstop, he was a two-time American League ...
in 1953,
Mike Piazza in 1998, and
Ike Davis
Isaac Benjamin Davis (born March 22, 1987) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. From 2010 through 2016, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, and New York Ya ...
in 2014). Gómez finished the 2016 season with a batting average of .231, 13 home runs, 53 RBI, and 18 stolen bases in 118 combined games.
Gómez rebounded with Texas, finishing with a .284 average, eight home runs, and 24 RBI in 33 games for Texas.
On December 13, 2016, Gómez re-signed with the Rangers on a one-year, $11.5 million contract. On April 29, 2017, in a game against the Los Angeles Angels, Gómez hit for the cycle for the second time in his career as the Rangers won 6–3. He played in 105 games for the Rangers, batting .255 with 17 home runs and 51 RBI.
Tampa Bay Rays
On March 3, 2018, Gómez signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...
. The contract also had a provision for $500,000 in performances bonuses based on games played: $100,000 each for 80, 90, 100, 110 and 120. On April 22, Gómez hit his first career walk-off home run in an 8–6 win over one of Gómez's former teams, the Minnesota Twins. In May 2018, Gómez said in multiple interviews that he did not believe MLB's drug testing was random and that he believed the league targets older players and Latin players. He claimed to have been tested six or seven times within the season's first two months.
As translated by journalist Hector Gomez, Carlos Gómez said in Spanish: "Until they prove to me that it is random, I will not believe it. Because for me, it's not random...I have the greatest luck on my team, because they test me more than everyone else. I arrived now, three days after coming from the disabled list, and they are already testing me again."
Gomez ended the season hitting .208 (a career low)/.298/.336 with nine home runs and 32 RBI in 118 games.
He was
hit by pitch
In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provide ...
21 times, which led the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
.
Second stint with the Mets
On March 7, 2019, the Mets signed Gómez to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. On May 18, the Mets called up Gómez. Against the Nationals, on May 23, Gómez hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 8th to lead the Mets to a 6–4 win, his first as a Met in 12 years. Gómez was however, released on June 30. During his second stint, he batted .198/.278/.337 with three home runs and 10 RBI in 34 games.
Retirement
In January 2020, Gómez announced his retirement from professional baseball.
On September 24, 2021, he was inducted into the Milwaukee Brewers Wall of Honor, signing papers to officially retire as a Brewer.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
In baseball, completing hitting for the cycle, the cycle is the accomplishment of hit (baseball), hitting a single (baseball), single, a double (baseball), double, a triple (baseball), triple, and a home run in the same game. In terms of freque ...
References
External links
*
*
:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Carlos
1985 births
Living people
Águilas Cibaeñas players
Binghamton Mets players
Corpus Christi Hooks players
Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States
Gold Glove Award winners
Gulf Coast Mets players
Hagerstown Suns players
Houston Astros players
Kingsport Mets players
Leones del Escogido players
Major League Baseball center fielders
Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic
21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen
Minnesota Twins players
Milwaukee Brewers players
Nashville Sounds players
National League All-Stars
New Orleans Zephyrs players
New York Mets players
Round Rock Express players
St. Lucie Mets players
Tampa Bay Rays players
Texas Rangers players
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players
Syracuse Mets players
Sportspeople from Santiago Province (Dominican Republic)