Gomez was a pile of trouble to start out his Milwaukee Brewers career, but when the coaches finally let the leash loose, he took off like we all had hoped when the Crew swapped JJ Hardy for the troubled centerfielder.
So to celebrate what he meant to us when he was a Brewer and his return to Milwaukee, here are MY top 5 Carlos Gomez moments.
5. The Walk-off Run
This moment is truly Nyjer Morgan's, but it's one of my favorite Brewers moments of all times and Carlos Gomez was a huge part of it. Gomez was the second batter of the inning, singled to get on base and stole second, as he does. Morgan did the rest and drove him in, and the stadium was literally shaking with joy. I'll never forget hugging my family members in the club section, then turning around to Bill Schroeder, who was in a suite, and screaming, "Pound it!"
It may be Nyjer Morgan's hit, but that 10th inning walk-off was a lot of Gomez.
4. The Tall's Hill Snag
2013 might be the best defensive season the Brewers will ever get out of a center fielder, and this list has two of Gomez's amazing plays. Jason Castro nailed this ball, and most center fielders don't get within a foot. Gomez, going up a hill, has to adjust to make the over the shoulder catch. Who does that!? Gomez.
3. The Gomez Fight
Fights in baseball are never great, but this one I was fully behind Gomez. Gomez said recently that he always has fun and doesn't mean to disrespect anyone. In this play, Gomez bat flips and watches the baseball soar out of the stadium. It's Gomez, it's what he does. Every Braves player got mad. ALL of them, the douchiest being the king of douches: Brian McCann.
Why I loved it? Gomez is defending his right to have fun. He really didn't do anything wrong. He wrecked a Paul Maholm pitch (in 2013 who didn't?) and watched that sucker fly. Gomez defended his right to do so and I loved that he didn't take any crap from a bunch of cocky old-schoolers who demand an invisible rule book to be followed to its invisible t.
2. "Kiwis have three times as much potassium as bananas."
This is clearly not something that happened on the baseball diamond, but when I think of Gomez this is the type of stuff I imagine. It came out of a Sports Illustrated interview. While doing a feature on Gomez, Ryan Braun revealed that after signing a big contract in Milwaukee the center fielder was Googling "Things rich people talk about."
It's hysterical, it's random and it's amazing. That is everything that is Carlos Gomez off the field.
1. THE Game Saving Catch
Carlos Gomez has enough game-saving catches that we probably have forgotten more than we remember, but this one was special. At Miller Park, the 9th inning and K-Rod was up for the save. Reds were down 3-4 with Joey Votto at the plate and a runner on first. As K-Rod does, he threw a pitch that was hammered deep and to center, and as GoGo does, he sprinted to the wall, timed the fly ball and caught that S.O.B. I remember jumping out of my seat with joy and amazement. I'll never forget Votto telling the umps to check the glove for the ball and Gomez batting the the glove to show what he just did. Gomez jumped with joy, he smiled as big as he possibly could and was cocky as hell. It was everything that makes Gomez a great baseball player and enjoyable to watch.
I miss Carlos Gomez. He's everything I want in a baseball player and I am so excited that he's back in Milwaukee -- even if it's just for 3 games.
Did I miss one of your top GoGo moments? Tell us in the comments!
-Brad
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