Gomez was originally drafted by the
California Angels in 1989 in the 37th round of the amateur draft, but he turned down the contract. He was not drafted until June 1, 1992, when he was signed by
Detroit in the 3rd round of the amateur draft. His contract was purchased from the Triple-A
Toledo Mud Hens on July 19, 1993, and he made his big league debut that night against the
Minnesota Twins. His first major league
hit was a
triple on July 22 off
Kansas City Royals pitcher Frank DiPino. He started in 23 games at
shortstop and 17 at
second base that year. After the season, Tigers news broadcasters elected him the
Rookie of the Year. 1994 was Gomez's first full major league season. He was on the
Topps All-Rookie team at shortstop. 27 of his 76 hits were
extra base hits. His first multi-homer game was on May 7 against the
Mariners. Gomez finished the year with a .257
batting average, 8
home runs, and 53
RBI. In 1995, Gomez hit career highs in home runs with 11,
runs with 49, hits with 96,
doubles with 20, as well as 41
walks. He ranked 4th on the team in RBI, hits, and doubles. In 123 games, Gomez only made 15
errors. Gomez started out the 1996 season with the Tigers, but was traded along with
catcher John Flaherty to the
San Diego Padres for catcher
Brad Ausmus, shortstop
Andújar Cedeño, and minor leaguer Russ Spears. Gomez finished the year with a .252 average, 4 home runs and 45 RBI. He batted .253 with 5 home runs and 54 RBI, and also
swiped 5 bases, in 1997. Gomez was the shortstop for the National league champion Padres in 1998. In the
1998 World Series he batted .364 as the Padres went on to lose the series to the
New York Yankees. After the 2004 season, Gomez was signed by the Baltimore Orioles. However, they did not protect him for the
Rule 5 draft, and he was selected by the
Philadelphia Phillies. When the team found out
Plácido Polanco was remaining with them, they allowed the Orioles to buy him back. On August 9, 2007, he was claimed off waivers by the
Cleveland Indians. On December 4, 2007, he signed with the
Pittsburgh Pirates. On January 9, 2009, Gomez signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles, and was given a non-roster invitation to
spring training. However, he did not make the team and was released on April 1. On January 31, 2010 Gomez officially retired from MLB. Gomez's -1.4 career
wins above replacement (according to
Baseball-Reference) is the worst among all fielders to play at least 1,500 career games. Gomez founded and was the head coach of varsity baseball at
Pacifica Christian High School from 2021 until 2024, when he stepped down to assist
Beau Amaral, the son of major league player Rich Amaral. ==See also==