Welcome to another edition of Slanted Sabr from LastWordOnSports.Com. My Name is Joshua Woody and I have a confession – Carlos Gomez is quickly becoming one of my favorite players in the game today. It seems like ages ago that he was a weak hitting second baseman for the Minnesota Twins. Now Gomez has evolved into one of the best players in the game and also one of the games biggest lighting rods.
The date was Tuesday October 6th 2009, Carlos Gomez’s Minnesota Twins were playing the Detroit Tigers in game 163 of the regular season. A tiebreaker game that determined the winner of the American League Central and also filled the final playoff spot that year. Gomez was standing on second base in the bottom half of the 12th inning when Alexi Casila singled to left field allowing Gomez to score the winning run in walk off fashion off then Tiger closer, Fernando Rodney. Watching Gomez celebrate like he had just hit the World Series winning homer was sickening as a Tiger fan, but it was at that moment I knew that Carlos Gomez was just beginning to define his career, and rub people the wrong way in the process.
Fast forward to current day, April 14th 2014. Carlos Gomez has his Milwaukee Brewers in first place of the National League Central and possessing the best overall record in baseball. Gomez is off to a fantastic start, beginning the season slashing to the tune of .373/.411/.706 with 10 runs scored, nine RBI, four home runs and a stolen base for good measure all while playing gold glove level defense and being the spark plug and the leader for a resurgent Brewers team.
It seems fitting that the Brewers are reaping the rewards of Carlos Gomez after the Twins seemed to dumb his game down and not allow him to be himself. The Twins viewed Gomez as a platoon player while the Brewers saw way deeper than that and gave him the ultimate chance to show off every one of his skills. And he has all five. In 2013 , Gomez finished ninth in the National League MVP Voting despite leading the National League in WAR at 8.9. Which just shows how terrible the voters are at doing their job, but that is for another time and rant blog. Gomez finished 2013 at .284/.338/.506. He also posted wicked high secondary numbers, piling up a very hefty 130 wRC+ and a .506 wOBA. He scored 80 runs, drove in 73, swiped 40 bags and hit 24 home runs. Most of this damage was done while the Brewers were missing their best player, Ryan Braun due to suspension.
That is all the good stuff about Carlos Gomez, very few will say anything negative about the numbers and the impact he provides on the field, however he seems to rub people the wrong way. Just ask Brian McCann. I mean really who will ever forget this classic moment ? http://mlb.si.com/2013/09/25/brewers-carlos-gomez-braves-brian-mccann-brawl . Pretty funny on both sides and while I’m not saying Gomez was in the right here, it was just basically Gomez being Gomez. No Big Deal. He apologized as soon as the game was over on Twitter and fans still crucify him for it. Hey its not like he was lying about doing PED’s right?.
At least it didn’t take him long to correct his mistake, his first home run in 2014 was followed by the quickest trot around the bases you will ever see, http://wapc.mlb.com/cutfour/2014/04/01/70655368/watch-carlos-gomez-hit-a-home-run-and-sprint-around-the-bases , and maybe a little head bop taunt around second base but again, that is just Gomez being Gomez. At least he is not channeling his inner David Ortiz and making a sandwich and root beer float while rounding the bases at 1:30 clip.
Say what you want about his antics on the base pads, one thing is for sure , his Brewer teammates absolutely adore the way he plays the game, that was made very evident recently with these comments.
“That energy is infectious,” Brewers slugger Ryan Braun said. “He has so much fun playing the game. He’s so much fun in the locker room every day. He lets his personality shine, and he’s a lot of fun to be around.” Braun also praised Carlos for his tenacious defense, “It’s amazing, It’s a gift.”
Brewers starting pitcher Kyle Lohse chimed in with the following, “He’s like a big kid , in a good sense.” Lohse said. “He enjoys being one of the best at what he does.” And on having Gomez behind him when Lohse is on the mound, “He reminds me so much of when I came up with the Twins, having Torii Hunter out there, He’s not afraid to do whatever it takes to catch the ball. As a pitcher, you appreciate that so much.”
Pretty high praise from two very established MLB players on the behalf of Gomez. Carlos reminds me very much of Terrell Owens. Remember when Owens was catching touchdowns, taunting, dancing and making a show of it every time he could ? I certainly do, I never thought Owens was trying to show people up, he just simply was letting you know that he was better than you at that very moment. Carlos Gomez is in the same mold. And just like I used to say about Owens , if defenders don’t like what happens after the touchdown catch, than prevent him from scoring the touchdown. Very similar with Gomez. As a pitcher, if you don’t like what happens after he gets on base, well simply Don’t let him get on base.
But as for my personal interest in this situation, I hope Carlos Gomez continues to be Carlos Gomez because he is easily one of the most electric and energetic players in the game today, and Lord knows we could use a little bit more character in the game of baseball today.
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