BOSTON — Jonny Gomes is penning a new chapter in his career.
Gomes, now a member of the Atlanta Braves, returned to Fenway Park on Monday for the first time since the Boston Red Sox traded the outfielder along with Jon Lester to the Oakland Athletics last July. The Red Sox treated Gomes to a video tribute on the center field big screen during Monday’s series opener, which the Braves won 4-2, but the 34-year-old is focused solely on helping his new team close the gap in the National League East.
“Unfortunately for them, I’m not here to give advice by any means,” Gomes said before Monday’s game of the Red Sox’s current struggles. “I have a lot of good friends in that clubhouse and on the staff, but I wear a different uniform now. I’m here hopefully to put two more losses in their loss column.
“The bonds that we built and the ring that we have says ‘2013 (World Series champions).’ It’s 2015.”
Gomes is a competitor. It’s what made him so popular in his year and a half in Boston. And it’s why the Braves signed him to a one-year, $4 million contract over the offseason while restructuring their roster. But while Gomes hopes to make the Red Sox’s life a living hell between the lines — something he did Monday by absolutely robbing Dustin Pedroia in left field — he still is using this week as an opportunity to catch up with some old friends, like Mike Napoli, whom he went to dinner with Sunday night.
“A lot of these guys, I hadn’t seen since I left,” Gomes said, sitting in the visitors’ dugout on a soggy night at Fenway. “There’s a lot of great people over there, so (it’s) just an opportunity to see them again.”
The Red Sox’s 2013 World Series win forever will be remembered as a special time in Boston history, in large because it helped the city heal in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings. Gomes was instrumental in the healing effort — both on and off the field — and he surely won’t forget all that happened that year, even while donning a new uniform and trying to defeat his old club.
“Had to go check on the finish line,” Gomes said of returning to Boston. “Really, I think that’s an American monument now. That climbs American history. Hundreds of years from now, people are going to check on that finish line.”
The Red Sox clearly have underachieved this season. The Braves, on the other hand, have overachieved. Gomes isn’t the sole reason for either development, but he definitely can relate to both situations, having experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows with Boston in 2013 and 2014.
“There is a tight bond over there and they are in a tough spot,” Gomes said of the Red Sox. “But at the end of the day, they are two series away from first (place). I don’t know how much panic is going on over there, but we are 3 1/2 (games) back (in the NL East) over here and I’m excited to be here.”
Gomes’ story will always be entertaining. The Boston chapter, which represents just a portion of his unfinished tale, was especially fascinating.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
