Leo Gomez
Encyclopedia
Leonardo Gómez Vélez is a former professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues primarily as a 3rd baseman from 1990–1996. He currently manages the Aberdeen IronBirds
of the New York-Penn League.
in 1985 as an amateur free agent. He broke into professional baseball with the 1986 Bluefield Orioles
, batting .352/~.496/.693 in just 27 games. His average would have led the Appalachian League
had he played enough to qualify and despite missing over half the season, he still was only one home run behind the Bluefield leader. Even though Appy league managers got just a glance at Gómez, they rated him the #10 prospect in the circuit, tied with Geronimo Pena
.
Leo moved up to the Carolina League
in 1987. For the Hagerstown Suns
, Gómez won the batting title with a line of .326/~.440/.538 with 94 runs, 38 doubles, 19 homers, 110 RBI and 95 walks. He led the league in slugging percentage and doubles and tied Casey Webster for the RBI lead. Milt Harper edged him by five points for the OBP lead. In the Year of the Third Baseman in the Carolina League (according to Baseball America
, Gómez beat out Webster, Jeff King
and Hensley Meulens
for the All-Star spot at the hot corner, though Webster (who made the team at DH) won MVP honors and Meulens (who made the All-Stars as a utility man) was named top prospect. Gómez was picked as the second-best hope for the future.
At age 22, Gómez moved up to the AA Charlotte Knights
but only played 24 games (presumably he was injured most of the season) and hit .292/~.364/.382 with only one homer in 89 at-bats. His progress stunted, he returned to AA in 1989, returning to Hagerstown, which had moved up the ladder. The Puerto Rican infielder hit .281/~.400/.467 with 18 homers and a league-high 89 walks. His 78 RBI ranked second, he was fifth in homers and presumably in the top five in slugging and OBP as well. He made the Eastern League All-Star team at third base, his second minor league All-Star team in his only two full seasons of play.
Gómez spent most of the 1990 campaign with the Rochester Red Wings
. Leo hit .277/~.408/.537 with 26 homers, 97 runs, 89 walks and 97 RBI. He led the International League
in runs and RBI, was one walk behind the league leader (Jim Walewander) and tied for second in HR, seven behind leader Phil Plantier
. He again was among the OBP and slugging leaders. He was named to the All-Star team once again at third base for the third time in his three full seasons. In the AAA All-Star Game, Gómez hit 5th for the AL team, right behind Juan González. In his three full years in the minors, he had led his leagues in batting average, slugging percentage, walks, runs, RBI and doubles and had been second in OBP and homers.
As a result of Gómez's poor performance with Baltimore, he was let go at the end of the 1995 season. He signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs
in January 1996. Gómez rebounded to a .238/.344/.431 season (a 103 OPS+), with 17 HR's and 56 RBI. However, he was released in December.
in 1997. In his first season, he hit .315/.407/.559 with 21 HR's and 89 RBI, which earned him his first of two Best Nines. Gómez's success continued in the 1998 season, when he batted .274/.363/.493 with 26 HR's and 76 RBI.
In 1999, Gómez had his career best year in Japan, batting .297/.389/.570 with 36 HR's and 109 RBI, which earned him to another Best Nine squad. He was third in the Central League
in RBI that season. He slid to .289/.373/.507 with 25 HR's and 79 RBI in 2000.
Gómez was signed to a minor league contract by the Pittsburgh Pirates
in 2001, but didn't play very much that spring, and was let go by the Pirates. As a result, he re-signed with the Dragons, where he batted .306/.398/.546 with 19 HR's and 61 RBI. During his final year with Chunichi in 2002, he batted .267/.344/.502 with 16 circuit clouts and 43 RBI. In his last two years in the NPB, Gómez was plagued by knee injuries. Overall Leo hit .293/.382/.532 in Japan, with 153 home runs. For years he was probably the Dragons' top power threat, leading the club three times and finishing second to Takeshi Yamasaki twice (once trailing by a single homer). Only in his last year did he not finish in the club's top two and his rate of one every 15.4 AB still led Chunichi's regulars.
Overall, Leo Gómez hit over 300 homers as a pro baseball player.
Aberdeen IronBirds
The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. The IronBirds play in the New York - Penn League and are based in Aberdeen, Maryland, which is in Harford County....
of the New York-Penn League.
Minor leagues
Gómez was signed by the Baltimore OriolesBaltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
in 1985 as an amateur free agent. He broke into professional baseball with the 1986 Bluefield Orioles
Bluefield Orioles
The Bluefield Blue Jays are a minor league baseball team of the Rookie Appalachian League representing the twin cities of Bluefield, West Virginia, and Bluefield, Virginia. Beginning in 2011, Bluefield will be affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The team plays their home games at Bowen Field, a...
, batting .352/~.496/.693 in just 27 games. His average would have led the Appalachian League
Appalachian League
The Appalachian League is a Rookie-class minor league that began play in 1937 with one year of inactivity in 1956. From 1937 to 1962, it was a Class D League. Teams are located in the Appalachian regions of Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee...
had he played enough to qualify and despite missing over half the season, he still was only one home run behind the Bluefield leader. Even though Appy league managers got just a glance at Gómez, they rated him the #10 prospect in the circuit, tied with Geronimo Pena
Geronimo Pena
Gerónimo Peña Martínez , is a retired professional baseball player who played second base in the major leagues from 1990-1996....
.
Leo moved up to the Carolina League
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
in 1987. For the Hagerstown Suns
Hagerstown Suns
The Hagerstown Suns are a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland, United States. They play in Municipal Stadium, which was opened in 1930 and seats 4,600 fans....
, Gómez won the batting title with a line of .326/~.440/.538 with 94 runs, 38 doubles, 19 homers, 110 RBI and 95 walks. He led the league in slugging percentage and doubles and tied Casey Webster for the RBI lead. Milt Harper edged him by five points for the OBP lead. In the Year of the Third Baseman in the Carolina League (according to Baseball America
Baseball America
Baseball America is a magazine which covers baseball at every level, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in high school, college, Japan, and the minor leagues. It is currently published in the form of a bi-weekly newspaper, five annual reference book titles, a weekly podcast, and a...
, Gómez beat out Webster, Jeff King
Jeff King (baseball)
Jeffrey Wayne King is a former professional baseball player who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals.-Career:...
and Hensley Meulens
Hensley Meulens
Hensley Filemon Acasio Meulens is a former professional baseball player and current hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants. He played from to in Major League Baseball, Nippon Professional Baseball, and the Korea Baseball Organization...
for the All-Star spot at the hot corner, though Webster (who made the team at DH) won MVP honors and Meulens (who made the All-Stars as a utility man) was named top prospect. Gómez was picked as the second-best hope for the future.
At age 22, Gómez moved up to the AA Charlotte Knights
Charlotte Knights
The Charlotte Knights are a minor league baseball team representing Charlotte, North Carolina. The team, which plays in the International League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox of the American League...
but only played 24 games (presumably he was injured most of the season) and hit .292/~.364/.382 with only one homer in 89 at-bats. His progress stunted, he returned to AA in 1989, returning to Hagerstown, which had moved up the ladder. The Puerto Rican infielder hit .281/~.400/.467 with 18 homers and a league-high 89 walks. His 78 RBI ranked second, he was fifth in homers and presumably in the top five in slugging and OBP as well. He made the Eastern League All-Star team at third base, his second minor league All-Star team in his only two full seasons of play.
Gómez spent most of the 1990 campaign with the Rochester Red Wings
Rochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings are a minor league baseball team based in Rochester, New York. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins major-league club. The Red Wings play in Frontier Field, located in downtown Rochester.The Red Wings were an...
. Leo hit .277/~.408/.537 with 26 homers, 97 runs, 89 walks and 97 RBI. He led the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
in runs and RBI, was one walk behind the league leader (Jim Walewander) and tied for second in HR, seven behind leader Phil Plantier
Phil Plantier
Phillip Alan Plantier is a former Major League Baseball player who played in the major leagues primarily as an outfielder from -. Plantier is most often remembered for his rookie season performance....
. He again was among the OBP and slugging leaders. He was named to the All-Star team once again at third base for the third time in his three full seasons. In the AAA All-Star Game, Gómez hit 5th for the AL team, right behind Juan González. In his three full years in the minors, he had led his leagues in batting average, slugging percentage, walks, runs, RBI and doubles and had been second in OBP and homers.
In the majors
That earned him a September call-up to the majors in 1990, where he batted .231/.362/.231 with no homers and one RBI. In 1991, Gómez became the Orioles' everyday third baseman though he spent June back in Rochester (.257/~.359/.495), batting .233/.302/.409 for the O's with 16 HR's and 45 RBI in 118 games. He had a very good year in 1992 when he batted .265/.356/.425 (116 OPS+) with 17 HR's and 64 RBI. In 1993, he fell to .197/.295/.348 (71 OPS+) with 10 HR's and 25 RBI. During the strike year of 1994, Gómez was having an excellent year, batting .274/.336/.502 (a 117 OPS+) with 15 HR's and 56 RBI. In Gómez's final year in Baltimore, 1995, he fell to .236/.336/.370 with only 4 HR's and 12 RBI.As a result of Gómez's poor performance with Baltimore, he was let go at the end of the 1995 season. He signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
in January 1996. Gómez rebounded to a .238/.344/.431 season (a 103 OPS+), with 17 HR's and 56 RBI. However, he was released in December.
Japan
Gómez signed with the Chunichi DragonsChunichi Dragons
The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:...
in 1997. In his first season, he hit .315/.407/.559 with 21 HR's and 89 RBI, which earned him his first of two Best Nines. Gómez's success continued in the 1998 season, when he batted .274/.363/.493 with 26 HR's and 76 RBI.
In 1999, Gómez had his career best year in Japan, batting .297/.389/.570 with 36 HR's and 109 RBI, which earned him to another Best Nine squad. He was third in the Central League
Central League
The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League...
in RBI that season. He slid to .289/.373/.507 with 25 HR's and 79 RBI in 2000.
Gómez was signed to a minor league contract by the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
in 2001, but didn't play very much that spring, and was let go by the Pirates. As a result, he re-signed with the Dragons, where he batted .306/.398/.546 with 19 HR's and 61 RBI. During his final year with Chunichi in 2002, he batted .267/.344/.502 with 16 circuit clouts and 43 RBI. In his last two years in the NPB, Gómez was plagued by knee injuries. Overall Leo hit .293/.382/.532 in Japan, with 153 home runs. For years he was probably the Dragons' top power threat, leading the club three times and finishing second to Takeshi Yamasaki twice (once trailing by a single homer). Only in his last year did he not finish in the club's top two and his rate of one every 15.4 AB still led Chunichi's regulars.
Overall, Leo Gómez hit over 300 homers as a pro baseball player.