01-25-2011, 02:42 PM
10 things you don't know about Jonny Gomes
By Jason Williams • Enquirer contributor • January 24, 2011
![[Image: bilde?Site=AB&Date=20110124&...mp;title=0]](http://cmsimg.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=AB&Date=20110124&Category=SPT04&ArtNo=101250341&Ref=AR&Profile=1062&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0)
The Enquirer/Jamie Rockwell
1. He was born in Petaluma, Calif.; not in San Francisco as some websites report. Of the 1,975 major leaguers born in California, Gomes is the only player born in Petaluma (pop. 55,000), which is home to the annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest and formerly hosted the world arm-wrestling championships for more than 50 years.
2. In kindergarten, Gomes decided he wasn't an average Johnny. He struggled to write "h" so he decided to drop it from his first name.
3. Gomes was a thrill-seeker growing up. He spent a lot of time riding motocross and BMX bikes, snowboarding, wakeboarding and surfing. He hasn't done any of that since signing his first professional baseball contract on June 13, 2001.
4. Gomes has never forgotten where he's from. He has Petaluma's area code, 707, inscribed on his glove and shoes, and for years, Gomes has annually sponsored nine youth baseball teams in his hometown.
5. His older brother, Joey, was an outfielder for the independent-league Schaumburg (Ill.) Flyers last season. Joey is a youth hitting instructor in his offseason, and works with several of the kids who play on the teams Jonny sponsors.
6. Gomes has a framed photo of him and President Obama in his home memorabilia room. The photo was taken when Obama was campaigning in Tampa, Fla., in October 2008. Gomes, who played for Tampa Bay then, says the photo is his most prized non-baseball memorabilia.
7. When he was 18, Gomes borrowed a 17-year-old friend's birth certificate so he could play summer-league ball because he claims he wasn't good enough to play in the 18-year-old league. (It worked, he says.)
8. Like Babe Ruth, Gomes has hit three home runs in a regular-season game twice in his career.
9. After playing junior college ball, Gomes had to decide between two contracts in 2001 - one from Tampa Bay as the organization's 18th-round draft pick; the other from the Marines.
10. On June 28, 2008, he hit a home run on the 15th pitch of the at-bat, establishing a Tampa Bay record for longest plate appearance with a homer.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110...onny-Gomes
By Jason Williams • Enquirer contributor • January 24, 2011
The Enquirer/Jamie Rockwell
1. He was born in Petaluma, Calif.; not in San Francisco as some websites report. Of the 1,975 major leaguers born in California, Gomes is the only player born in Petaluma (pop. 55,000), which is home to the annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest and formerly hosted the world arm-wrestling championships for more than 50 years.
2. In kindergarten, Gomes decided he wasn't an average Johnny. He struggled to write "h" so he decided to drop it from his first name.
3. Gomes was a thrill-seeker growing up. He spent a lot of time riding motocross and BMX bikes, snowboarding, wakeboarding and surfing. He hasn't done any of that since signing his first professional baseball contract on June 13, 2001.
4. Gomes has never forgotten where he's from. He has Petaluma's area code, 707, inscribed on his glove and shoes, and for years, Gomes has annually sponsored nine youth baseball teams in his hometown.
5. His older brother, Joey, was an outfielder for the independent-league Schaumburg (Ill.) Flyers last season. Joey is a youth hitting instructor in his offseason, and works with several of the kids who play on the teams Jonny sponsors.
6. Gomes has a framed photo of him and President Obama in his home memorabilia room. The photo was taken when Obama was campaigning in Tampa, Fla., in October 2008. Gomes, who played for Tampa Bay then, says the photo is his most prized non-baseball memorabilia.
7. When he was 18, Gomes borrowed a 17-year-old friend's birth certificate so he could play summer-league ball because he claims he wasn't good enough to play in the 18-year-old league. (It worked, he says.)
8. Like Babe Ruth, Gomes has hit three home runs in a regular-season game twice in his career.
9. After playing junior college ball, Gomes had to decide between two contracts in 2001 - one from Tampa Bay as the organization's 18th-round draft pick; the other from the Marines.
10. On June 28, 2008, he hit a home run on the 15th pitch of the at-bat, establishing a Tampa Bay record for longest plate appearance with a homer.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110...onny-Gomes