In 55 games last year, Chris Gomez batted .341. His OPS, for you fantasy GM?s, was an equally impressive .826.
He missed two months with a broken right hand, so it?s safe to say he would?ve likely come close to the 100-game level had he stayed healthy. Would he have contended for the batting title had he played every day? I?m guessing not, since prior to the 2006 season, he?d never batted .300.
The Orioles re-signed Gomez this week to a one-year deal worth less than $1 million, a bargain these days for someone with his versatility. He can play every infield position. He?s also DH-ed in the big leagues, and if there?s a surprise, it?s that he?s never played the outfield.
With the Orioles using other infielders in left last year, you?ve got to believe that Gomez would?ve held his own.
Utility players like Chris Gomez are an integral part of every successful team. At 35, he knows he?s in the home stretch of his career. That he opted to return to Baltimore says a lot about his affection for the city, inasmuch as there were likely contenders in the marketplace who would?ve offered as much or more than the Orioles, though perhaps not the playing time.
Looking at Gomez?s 2006 numbers, I can?t help but think of Billy Goodman. An Oriole in 1957, Goodman might be the best example of a “super-sub” in my lifetime. Billy, who passed away in 1984, batted an even .300 for his career, which spanned 16 seasons with the Red Sox, Orioles, White Sox and Houston Colt .45s. Only in one of those seasons did he play a single position ? in 1949, he only played first base.
In every other season, he was moved around the infield and the outfield, and it didn?t seem to affect his hitting one bit. In fact, in 1950, he won the American League batting championship, hitting .354 while playing every position but pitcher and catcher.
Goodman was a lefty-swinging singles hitter from North Carolina, and while he never actually won the award, he received significant vote totals for AL MVP during six seasons in which the Red Sox were also-rans for the pennant.
It?s not unusual to hear a player these days balk at playing a position other than the one he?s most comfortable at. I can understand the reluctance of a catcher or an infielder to take the outfield ? the perspective of the ball in flight is completely different, and there?s the slice factor in left and right field. Moving to first base seems like a pretty easy transition, but Mike Piazza couldn?t do it, among others.
Chris Gomez?s innate ability to adjust to any angle in the infield has served him well. Would he rather have one position to call his own? On that you can bet, but in the spirit of Billy Goodman, Gomez figured out a long time ago that he?d spend more time in the big leagues if he carried more than one glove in his equipment bag.
Phil Wood has covered baseball in the Washington/Baltimore market for more than 30 years. You can reach him at [email protected].
