Jonny Gomes

Jonathan Johnson Gomes (born November 22, 1980) is an American professional baseball coach and former outfielder.

He is the minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB).

In May 1997, at the age of 16, he was a passenger in a car accident that killed his best friend, Adam Westcott.

Gomes, who was sitting next to Westcott in the back seat, was only slightly injured.

Gomes has Westcott's initials tattooed on his right biceps.

After graduating from high school in 1999, Gomes went to Santa Rosa Junior College, where he hit .127 with 23 strikeouts in 55 plate appearances.

He improved in his sophomore season, recording a .356 batting average with nine home runs.

Gomes was then selected in the 18th round of the 2001 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

While he was in the rookie leagues, he was certified to become a personal trainer.

His older brother, Joey Gomes, played in the minor and independent baseball leagues from 2002 to 2011.

Gomes suffered a heart attack on Christmas Eve in 2002, the result of a clogged artery, despite being in playing condition (he reported having 8% body fat at the time).

He ignored the symptoms for 27 hours, even sleeping through it one night, before going to the hospital after briefly blacking out and ceasing to breathe.

His doctors said he would not have survived a second night.

As a result of the heart attack, the Rays' team doctor had to keep nitroglycerin pills on hand in case Gomes suffered a second heart attack.

He played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, and Kansas City Royals from 2003 through 2015.

Gomes was born and raised in Petaluma, California.

He was an all-league player while attending Casa Grande High School in Petaluma.

Gomes made his major league debut on September 12, 2003.

He spent 2004 going back and forth between the Triple-A Durham Bulls and Tampa Bay.

He told an MLB.com interviewer that when he was relegated back to Durham after a brief early stint in Tampa Bay in May 2005, he resolved that he would put up such an offensive onslaught that the Major League team would "get sick of looking at his face on the Tropicana Field scoreboard when the top Minor League performers were shown."

He would have a .321 batting average with 14 home runs and 46 runs batted in (RBIs) in 45 games with the Bulls before returning to the Devil Rays for good in July.

After his return to Tampa Bay, Gomes became a starter for the club and became one of the club's most important players.

On July 30, he became the first player in the franchise's history to hit three home runs in a single game, against the Kansas City Royals.

For the year, Gomes hit 21 home runs in only 101 games and 348 at-bats.

Projected over a full season, Gomes could have hit over 35 home runs.

He became a fan favorite, and was known for his all-out hustle and long home runs; one went 474 feet and went over the Batter's Eye Restaurant behind the center field wall at Tropicana Field.

He finished 3rd in voting for the 2005 American League Rookie of the Year award.

Gomes was figured to play a prominent role in the continued rebuilding and long range plans of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

He started 2006 off by hitting a team-record 11 home runs in April.

He hit the catwalk rings of Tropicana Field twice during a series with the Toronto Blue Jays in May; one landed in the B ring and rolled off to be caught, while the other hit the C ring and was ruled a home run.

He struggled after his hot start, hitting nine home runs during the rest of the season and finishing with a .216 batting average.

He attributed most of his problems to an injured shoulder, which hindered his hitting and his usually aggressive baserunning.

He played through the injury until electing to have surgery on it in September.

In addition to rehabilitating his shoulder, Gomes said in an MLB.com article that he wanted to lose weight over the offseason.

He was listed at 205 pounds, but played the 2006 season weighing 250.

He also mentioned possibly playing first base in 2007 for the Devil Rays, who then had Carl Crawford, Rocco Baldelli, and Delmon Young in their outfield.

During the first two months of 2007, Gomes was not given much playing time and his batting average was down to .184 when he was sent down to Durham again on May 25.

He was recalled on June 14, and had an immediate impact as he saw increased playing time, though by the end of the season he again had tapered off.

He went on to finish the season with a .244 batting average with 17 home runs and 49 RBIs while drawing 39 walks in 348 at-bats.

He also compiled 126 strikeouts, a career high and his third straight season in which he had 100 or more strikeouts while playing in less than 120 games.