Jonny Gomes is that guy who scares everyone to death by predicting victories — but with Gomes, it always seems to end with champagne and an Army helmet.
As teammate Ryan Dempster tells it, Gomes has been predicting things since he joined the Red Sox, and Sunday night — when he found himself back in the starting lineup after Shane Victorino was scratched with injury — he was predicting success again.
When Gomes got the news that he would start, he headed into the Sox’ clubhouse bathroom and started smoothing his beard. He told his teammates he had gotten the call.
“Wow,” Dempster said, according to USA Today. “That’s cool.”
“Yep, this is my turn to shine,” Gomes responded.
Gomes, of course, cracked the game open and gave the Red Sox all the runs they’d need to win with a three-run homer in the top of the sixth. The blast continued his connection with Dempster, as it was the pitcher who collected his ball out in the Sox bullpen .
“I had my glove behind me, and when it was 2-2, I said, ‘Hey, man, I should probably grab my glove so I can catch the ball,’” Dempster recalls saying to Craig Breslow.
Sure enough, Gomes cranked it out, and Dempster snagged the ball. Dempster is hoping Gomes’ other predictions come true, too.
“When I first met him in spring training, I asked him, ‘So, how are you doing?’” Dempster recalls. “He said, ‘Hey, we’re one day closer to the parade.’ He told us all spring that we were going to the World Series.”
Shine up that Army helmet.
