You can take Jonny Gomes out of Boston. But you can’t take Boston out of Jonny Gomes.
Gomes returned to JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla., on Tuesday as his Atlanta Braves played the Boston Red Sox in Grapefruit League action. He used the trip to reconnect with former teammates, as it’s clear Boston still holds a special place in the former Red Sox outfielder’s heart.
“It was such a unique bond. So many things have to go right to get in the playoffs, never mind win the World Series,” Gomes said, according to The Boston Globe, while looking back on the Red Sox’s 2013 championship season. “I’m still tight with other teams I went to the playoffs with. You go through things to create that atmosphere where you can do something special.
“But what we went through in 2013, it seems like winning the World Series was fourth on the list of amazing things that happened. I couldn’t erase Boston from my memory if I wanted to. It’ll always be part of me.”
Gomes, now with his sixth organization, was traded by the Red Sox to the Oakland Athletics along with Jon Lester at last year’s Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline. The 34-year-old signed with the Braves as a free agent over the offseason.
According to Gomes, he never had an opportunity to properly say goodbye to many of his Red Sox teammates, as Boston didn’t have a game the day he was traded to the A’s. But the unique circumstances did nothing to cloud his memories of a very special season-plus with the Sox.
“That we were able to set that (2013) World Series trophy within feet of where that (Boston Marathon) explosion was, I think it’ll be just as powerful eight or 10 years from now,” Gomes said Tuesday, according to The Globe. “Man, just to be able to speed up history and speed up the recovery was pretty remarkable.”
Gomes appeared in just 194 games with the Red Sox. He didn’t post huge numbers or earn a massive salary with the club. But the charismatic outfielder undoubtedly was a key character in an unforgettable time in Red Sox — and Boston — history.
A new uniform doesn’t change that.
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
