Jonny Gomes made a memorable cameo at the White House two years ago, but he won’t have the chance for an encore.
Gomes, who currently is a free agent, signed with the Kansas City Royals in August 2015. The Royals, of course, went on to win the World Series, and they’ll celebrate that achievement Thursday with a trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
But unfortunately for Gomes, he won’t be part of the festivities. Kansas City only is bringing players who were on the team the whole 2015 season or made the postseason roster, and the 35-year-old veteran, who played in just 12 regular-season games for the Royals, did neither.
Anyone who remembers what Gomes wore to the White House in 2014 after the Boston Red Sox’s 2013 World Series title knows he is a very patriotic man. So, when he found out he wouldn’t be heading to the nation’s capital, he understandably was crushed.
“I’ve been sent down. I’ve been non-tendered, whatever,” Gomes said, via FOXSports.com. “But this is probably the worst news of my professional baseball career.”
That’s the answer of a man who really wants to meet Barack Obama one last time before the President leaves office.
If it’s any consolation for Gomes, he wasn’t the only guy who got snubbed, as the White House’s restrictions on travel parties for team visits also includes longtime staffers and high-ranking front office executives.
As for Gomes’ American flag blazer, it looks like it will have to stay in retirement.
Thumbnail photo via Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports
