Between the unbelievable turnaround, the players defined by their style of beard and the late-inning heroics that never seem to go out of style, the 2013 Red Sox season has been filled with unforgettable memories, but there’s one postseason series that Jonny Gomes will never fail to remember, and he’s got the film to prove it.
“I don’t think there is a single moment from this ALCS I will forget,” Gomes said in an ESPN.com diary entry. “After Game 6 we got to celebrate going to the World Series. I put on the army helmet again and this time I put a small video camera onto it. I wanted to record some footage for myself. … I don’t think there is a right or wrong way to celebrate. I’ve obviously had some antics up my sleeve and you saw it again.”
Those “antics” have become customary Jonny Gomes, but his wild personality has only added to the cast of characters in the clubhouse. Whether they’re pounding their chests around the bases or tugging at each other’s beards in the dugout, it is obvious that this is a group that wants to see their teammates thrive. Their chemistry on and off the diamond has led them to the Fall Classic and Gomes hopes that the culture they’ve created latches on with other teams in baseball.
“Being in the World Series with this group of guys is pretty special because of what we stand for, how we play the game, and for the relationships we have inside our team,” Gomes writes. “I think it’s something that not only we want to work by winning a World Series, but we want to start a trend with other organizations and general managers.
“We want them to see that building a team with players who are hungry to win and work hard and who have each other’s backs is what they should pay attention to because it’s worked for us.”
In addition to being a close-knit group, the Sox’ gritty and passionate approach has catapulted them past the Rays and Tigers, and Gomes sees no reason to fix what isn’t broken, even as the competition gets stiffer.
“The best approach our team can take in facing the Cardinals? I don’t think we have to change anything. We’d be 100 percent happy winning this thing with the 2013 approach that we’ve had. I think we’d be very upset if we changed things in the World Series.”
