CHRIS GOMEZ

6/16/71; '92 3rd (Detroit); Long Beach State Univ.
R/R; 6-1, 185

Level
BA
OBP
SA
AB
2B
3B
HR
BB
K
SB
CS
1992 AA (Det)
.268
.337
.359
220
13
2
1
20
34
1
3
1993 AL (Det)
.250
.304
.320
128
7
1
0
9
17
2
2
1993 AAA (Det)
.245
.308
.303
277
12
2
0
23
37
6
2
1994 AL (Det)
.257
.336
.402
296
19
0
8
33
64
5
3
1995 AL (Det)
.223
.292
.355
431
20
2
11
41
96
4
1
1996 AL (Det)
.242
.340
.305
128
5
0
1
18
20
1
1
1996 NL (SD)
.262
.349
.345
328
16
1
3
39
64
2
2
1997 NL (SD)
.253
.326
.326
522
19
2
5
53
114
5
8
1998 NL (SD)
.267
.346
.379
449
32
3
4
51
87
1
3
1999 NL (SD)
.252
.331
.308
234
8
1
1
27
49
1
2
1999 AAA (SD)
.333
.400
.370
27
1
0
0
2
6
0
0
2000 NL (SD)
.222
.306
.222
54
0
0
0
7
5
0
0
2001 NL (SD)
.187
.244
.214
112
3
0
0
9
14
1
0
2001 AL (TB)
.302
.332
.513
189
16
0
8
8
24
3
0
2001 AAA (TB)
.300
.333
.450
40
3
0
1
11
5
1
1
2001 A+ (TB)
.301
.375
.505
93
5
1
4
2
4
1
0
2002 AL (TB)
.265
.305
.410
461
31
3
10
21
58
1
2
2003 AL (Minn)
.251
.279
.354
175
9
3
1
7
13
2
1
2004 AL (Tor)
.282
.337
.346
341
11
1
3
28
41
3
2
2005 AL (Balt)
.279
.359
.342
219
11
0
1
27
17
2
1
2006 AL (Balt)
.341
.387
.439
132
7
0
2
7
11
1
2
2006 AA (Balt)
.250
.294
.313
16
1
0
0
1
3
0
0
2006 A- (Balt)
.333
.333
.333
3
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
2007 AL (Balt)
.302
.339
.391
169
10
1
1
10
20
1
2
2007 AL (Cleve)
.283
.278
.321
53
2
0
0
0
6
0
0
2008 NL
.273
.322
.333
183
8
0
1
13
30
0
0

Gomez was a weak-hitting shortstop for nearly a decade.  Coinciding with his move back to the AL in 2001, he started hitting better and has continued doing so.  He generally has good BB/K ratios, but not much power.  He's usually hit better against LHPs than RHPs, but not by a lot  He's played all the IF positions during his career.  Up until his stint in Baltimore he played mostly SS, but with the Orioles he played 1B more than any other position, and also backed up at 3B.  His defensive stats show he still has decent range.

The Pirates signed Gomez to a one-year, $1M contract to serve as a UT player.  They stated a number of times that he would back up at the infield corners.  After they signed Doug Mientkiewicz, however, they stated that Gomez would play a lot at SS in spring training, evidently in preparation for the possibility that he would serve as the backup in the middle with Mientkiewicz as the corner backup.  That would have made for a much better bench, because Gomez is a decent hitter for a middle infielder but has no business playing in the corners.  When Luis Rivas had a good spring, however, the team appeared to go back to plan A, with Gomez as a corner backup and Rivas as the middle infield backup.  The arrangement proved to be a bad one, as Jack Wilson missed nearly two months at the beginning of the season and the team found itself without a viable shortstop.  Gomez proved to lack the range to play there any more, while Rivas had no experience at short and couldn't handle the position, either, and also couldn't hit.  When Brian Bixler struggled offensively and defensively, the Pirates were left with three players who were all unable to fill the position.  Gomez ended up appearing mainly in pinch-hitting and late-inning double-switch roles, and didn't have the bat for them.  As a PH, he posted a measly .535 OPS.  He became a free agent again after the World Series and hopefully won't return.

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