Christopher Cory Gomez (born June 16, 1971) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

. He bats and throws right-handed.

College career

He played park league baseball in Lakewood for Mike Fahey. After playing baseball at Lakewood High School in

Lakewood, California Lakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 82,496 at the 2020 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west, northwest and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on t ...

Gomez originally went to college at

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. LMU enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, making it the largest Catholic university on the west coast of the ...

, but transferred to Long Beach State and played baseball there in 1992. He was a selection for the All-America Team while at Long Beach State.

Professional career

Gomez was originally drafted by the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

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 Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

in the 3rd round of the amateur draft. His contract was purchased from the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

on July 19, 1993, and he made his big league debut that night against the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

. His first major league hit was a

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * I ...

on July 22 off

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Frank DiPino. He started in 23 games at

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

and 17 at

second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...

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 The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...

All-Rookie team at shortstop. 27 of his 76 hits were

extra base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire ano ...

s. His first multi-homer game was on May 7 against the Mariners. Gomez finished the year with a .257

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, 8

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, and 53 RBI. In 1995, Gomez hit career highs in home runs with 11,

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

s with 49, hits with 96,

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

s with 20, as well as 41

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

s. He ranked 4th on the team in RBI, hits, and doubles. In 123 games, Gomez only made 15

error An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

s. Gomez started out the 1996 season with the Tigers, but was traded along with

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

John Flaherty to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

for catcher

Brad Ausmus Bradley David Ausmus (; born April 14, 1969) is an American former professional baseball player, manager and current coach. He is the bench coach for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). In his 18-year MLB playing career, Ausmus ...

, shortstop

Andújar Cedeño Andújar Cedeño Donastorg (August 21, 1969 – October 28, 2000) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) shortstop who played from 1990 to 1996. Born in La Romana, Dominican Republic, he played for the Houston Astros from 1990 to 1994, the San Diego ...

, 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 The 1998 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1998 season. The 94th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the National ...

he batted .364 as the Padres went on to lose the series to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. After the 2004 season, Gomez was signed by the Baltimore Orioles. However, they did not protect him for the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

, and he was selected by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

. When the team found out

Plácido Polanco Plácido Enrique Polanco (; born October 10, 1975) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins. He was ...

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 The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. On December 4, 2007, he signed with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. On January 9, 2009, Gomez signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles, and was given a non-roster invitation to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. However, he did not make the team and was released on April 1. On January 31, 2010 Gomez officially retired from MLB.Orioles trim roster to 26
/ref> Gomez's -1.4 career wins above replacement (according to

Baseball-Reference Baseball Reference is a baseball statistics database maintained by Sports Reference. The site provides career statistics for Major League Baseball (MLB) players and teams as well as records, MLB draft history, and sabermetrics. History Founde ...

) is the worst among all fielders to play at least 1,500 career games.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Chris 1971 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Los Angeles Cleveland Indians players Detroit Tigers players Durham Bulls players Long Beach State Dirtbags baseball players Major League Baseball infielders Minnesota Twins players Pittsburgh Pirates players Portland Beavers players San Diego Padres players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Toledo Mud Hens players Toronto Blue Jays players Baseball players at the 1991 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in baseball Lakewood High School (California) alumni Baseball players from Lakewood, California Goodwill Games medalists in baseball Baseball players at the 1990 Goodwill Games

College career

Professional career

See also

References

External links