Married to Kristi...The couple has 3 children. Older brother Joey, also an OF, was drafted by TB in 2002 and played 5 minor league seasons in the Rays and Padres systems. Graduated from Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, CA where he earned all-league honors...Had his No. 1 baseball jersey retired as part of the ceremonies on Jonny Gomes Day on 2/11/06. Attended Santa Rosa Junior College. Has the tattoo "AW" on his right bicep in honor of Adam Westcott, a childhood friend who was killed in a car accident that he was also involved in. Commemorated the 2013 season with a tattoo depicting the World Series trophy, the Boston Strong logo, and a duckboat from the championship parade. Has worn "707" on his glove and shoes to honor his hometown of Petaluma (area code 707).
2014
In his 12th Major League season, opened the year with the Boston Red Sox and played in 78 games before being traded to the Oakland Athletics as a part of a three-player trade (also RHP Jon Lester in exchange for OF Yoenis Cespedes) on 7/31...Posted identical batting averages for each club with a .234 average (64-for-273). Went 49-for-209 for BOS and 15-for-64 for OAK...Played in 105 total games, including 71 starts between left field and designated hitter. Made 84 total appearances in left field with 59 starts. Also made 11 appearances, including eight starts, in right field...Appeared with OAK during the Wild Card game as a defensive replacement in left field...Batted .276 (47-for-170) with four doubles, four home runs and 24 RBI vs. right-handed pitchers compared to a .165 (17-for-103) average vs. left-handed pitchers...Had a season high three hits on 5/20 vs. TOR and 6/22 at OAK...Went 4-for-10 (.400) with 13 RBI in bases loaded situations...Batted .284 (19-for-67) with four home runs and 17 RBI over a 24-game span, 4/11-5/20.
2013
In 1st season with the Red Sox, led the club with 65 starts in LF and 30 PA as a pinch-hitter (T-1st in AL). Totaled 76 starts for the Sox, including 65 in LF (98 G overall), 9 as DH (10 G), and 2 in RF (4 G)...64 of last 67 starts were in LF, including each of his last 35. Hit .346 (28-for-81) with runners in scoring position, including a .375 mark (15-for-40) with 23 RBI in RISP situations beginning on 8/1...Went 4-for-8 (.500) with 11 RBI when batting with the bases loaded. Hit 4 homers in the pinch, tied with ATL's Evan Gattis for the MLB lead and most in a season by an AL player since MIN's Matthew LeCroy in 2004 (4)...His 4 PH HR tied for 2nd most by a Red Sox in a single season (also Del Wilber in 1953), 1 shy of Joe Cronin's club/AL record (5 in 1943). Reached safely in 15 of 30 plate appearances as PH, batting .286 (6-for-21) with a double, the 4 homers, 7 RBI, 7 walks, and 2 HBP...Led the AL (T-2nd in MLB) with 5 XBH in the pinch and T-3rd in AL with 7 PH RBI. Consecutive homers on 6/18 vs. TB (G2) and 7/3 vs. SD were both walk-off shots. In his final 70 games (235 PA) beginning 6/6, posted a .284 AVG/.357 OBP/.490 SLG for an .848 OPS. Had OBP's over .340 in April (.353), July (.356), August (.346), and September (.400)...Hit over .300 in both June (.304) and September (.340)...His .340 mark (17-for-50) in September led the Sox and was 7th in the AL. Hit .236 (38-for-161) with 10 doubles, 8 homers, and 27 RBI against left-handers compared to a .258 AVG (39-for-151) with 7 doubles, 5 homers, and 25 RBI against righties. Beginning 6/6, had a .282 AVG/.364 OBP/.495 SLG line against left-handed pitching, including a .326 AVG/.388 OBP/.581 SLG line off southpaws beginning 8/16. 08, 2010-12) and started Opening Day on 4/1 at NYY as DH, his 3rd Opening Day start (also as DH for TB in 2006 and as LF for CIN in 2011)...Was BOS' 1st Opening Day starter at DH other than David Ortiz since Jeremy Giambi in 2003. Reached in all 4 PA on 4/16 at CLE, going 1-for-1 with 3 BB. Knocked 4th career grand slam (off Pedro Hernandez) and tallied a season-high 5 RBI on 5/8 vs. MIN. Delivered the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run with a 10th-inning sac fly on 5/17 at MIN. Hit game-tying sac fly in the 6th inning 5/25 vs. CLE and threw out potential run at the plate in the 3rd inning. Walked and scored the 1st of 2 runs on Jacoby Ellsbury's walk-off double in the 9th on 5/26 vs. CLE. Hit .333 (27-for-81) with 8 doubles, 5 homers, and 15 RBI in 23 games from 6/6-7/21...Posted a .617 SLG in that time, the 5th-best mark in the AL during that stretch (min. 50 PA). Hit safely in 11 straight starts from 6/23-7/21 (.311, 14-for-45, 6 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI), tied for the longest such streak of his career, also 9/14-26/10 while with CIN. Hit a walk-off 2-run homer in the 2nd game of 6/18 doubleheader vs. TB off Joel Peralta...Was 3rd career walk-off homer, 1st since 4/8/10 for CIN vs. STL...Was 3rd career homer off Peralta, all of which provided the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run in the 8th inning or later (also 5/5/12 and 8/24/12 for OAK vs. TB). Snapped a 5-5 tie in the 7th inning with a bases-loaded, pinch-hit single in a 7-5 win over TOR on 6/28. Had 2 streaks of 4 straight games with an extra-base hit: 6/30-7/4 (3 2B, HR) and 8/5-8 (2 2B, 2 HR)...His only longer streak was 6 straight games with an XBH from 5/12-18/10 while with CIN. Hit a pinch-hit, walk-off HR to lead off the 9th inning on 7/3 vs. SD off Luke Gregerson...Was the 8th pinch-hit walk-off homer in franchise history (his 1st career walk-off in the pinch) and just the 2nd in the past 18 seasons beginning in 1996 (also Jarrod Saltalamacchia on 5/26/12 vs. TB). Ejected 7/14 at OAK by home plate umpire Todd Tichenor following a 9th-inning strikeout...Was his 3rd career ejection and 1st since 2008. Doubled and homered on 7/19 vs. NYY for his only multi-XBH game of the year. Tallied an unassisted double play in LF in the top of the 15th of a 5-4 win vs. SEA...Caught a line drive in LF and doubled the runner off 2B. Had a 14-game on-base streak from 8/5-27, tied for the longest of his career in a single season (4/3-18/06)...Hit .244 (11-for-45), with a .375 OBP, 3 doubles, 3 homers, 15 RBI, 8 runs, and 10 walks in that stretch. Started 11 games in the postseason, all in LF, with BOS going 10-1 in those contests…Appeared in 15 of the team's 16 postseason games (all but ALCS G1) and hit .167 (7-for-42) with 2 doubles, 1 homer, 5 RBI, 5 walks, and 8 runs…Appeared in 4 ALDS contests (2 starts) against TB…Drove in the Red Sox' 1st 2 runs of the DS with a 4th-inning double to tie Game 1 and came around to score the go-ahead run on Stephen Drew's single… Played in 5 ALCS contests against DET (4 starts)…Scored walk-off winning run in the 9th inning of ALCS Game 2 vs. DET on Jarrod Saltalamacchia's base hit after leading off the inning with an infield single…Singled with 2 out in the 5th inning of Game 3 in DET to break up Justin Verlander's no-hit bid…Doubled to lead off the bottom of the 7th inning in Game 6 in Boston and was plated by Shane Victorino's series-clinching grand slam 4 batters later… Made 5 starts and played in all 6 World Series games against STL…Knocked a game-winning 3-run HR in the 6th inning in Game 4 in STL, his 1st career postseason homer, to snap an 0-for-9 slide to open the World Series...Was the 8th Red Sox with a home run for 1st career WS hit…Reached safely in each of his 1st 3 PA of Game 6 in Boston (single, HBP, BB) and scored twice in the 6-1 Series-clinching win.
2012
Set a career high with a .377 OBP in 99 games for the AL-West Champion A's.
Led the majors with a .480 AVG (12-for-25) with 2 outs and RISP, the best mark in the American League in 17
years since Rickey Henderson's .486 clip with the A's in 1995 (min. 25 PA)...Hit .311 (19-for-61) with RISP and
.306 with runners on base (38-for-124).
On the road, led the AL with a .409 OBP, .578 SLG, and .987 OPS (min. 150 PA)...Hit 11 of his 18 home runs
and drove in 29 of his 47 RBI on the road.
Hit 18 HR, the 5th-highest single-season total in A's history among players with fewer than 100 games played,
and 4th most in 2012 among major leaguers with fewer than 100 games...8 of his homers gave the A's the lead.
Homered once every 15.5 AB, 2nd-best ratio of his career (14.05 AB/HR in 2009) and 10th best in AL (min. 300 PA).
Went 7.57 PA per walk (44 BB/333 PA overall)...Only David Ortiz, Mike Napoli, Jose Bautista, and Adam Dunn
had both a higher walk rate and home run rate (min. 300 PA).
Made 58 of his 74 starts against left-handed pitching...Hit .299 (49-for-164) vs. lefties with 11 homers, tied
for 9th most in the AL...All 10 doubles also came vs. lefties and his 21 extra-base hits off southpaws tied for 8th
in the circuit...Also ranked among AL leaders vs. lefties in OBP (5th, .413), OPS (7th, .974), and SLG (10th, .561).
Was 12-for-25 (.480) when putting the 1st pitch in play, which ranked 5th in the AL.
Hit at a .326 clip (30-for-92) with 6 home runs in 26 starts batting 2nd...Also started games in the 4th (21),
5th (15), 6th (10), and 7th (2) spots in the order.
Started a team-high 46 games at DH, 25 in LF, and 3 in RF.
Tied for 3rd in the AL with 4 walks in the pinch.
Homered in 1st game as an Athletic on 3/29 vs. SEA in Tokyo...Went deep for each of 1st 3 hits with OAK,
becoming the 1st player in A's history to hit a home run for each of his 1st 3 hits in a season.
Hit by a Jonathan Broxton pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12th inning on 4/11 vs. KC to force
in the winning run in the A's 5-4 victory...Was the A's 1st walk-off win of the season and his 2nd career walk-off
HBP (also 8/21/11 vs. PHI)...Marked his 5th career walk-off RBI (2 HR, 1 BB) and 3rd walk-off HBP in OAK history...Hit safely in a season-high 7 consecutive games from 5/4-12 (.391, 9-for-23).
Batted .333 (10-for-30) over 14 games during Interleague Play.
Knocked game-winning, pinch-hit 2-run HR in the 7th inning on 6/16 vs. SD, his 3rd career pinch-hit homer.
Posted a .404 OBP after the All-Star break, 5th best in the American League...Hit .295 (39-for-132) with 10
home runs and 26 RBI in 44 games after the break.
Connected for 3rd career grand slam 7/13 at MIN off Francisco Liriano...Finished that game with 5 RBI, his 3rd
career game of 5 or more RBI, 1st since career-high 6 on 6/12/10 vs. KC.
Homered in 3 straight games 8/7-12, the 2nd time he has done that in his career (also, 4/22-25/06)...Finished
August with 5 home runs and 10 RBI in 12 games.
POSTSEASON: Pinch-hit in the 8th inning of the A's series-ending ALDS Game 5 loss vs. DET and flied out.
2011
Began the season with Cincinnati and was batting .211 with 11 home runs and 31 RBI in 77 games when
he was traded to Washington July 26...hit .204 with three home runs and 12 RBI in 43 games with the
Nationals for a .209 batting average, 14 home runs and 43 RBI in 120 games overall...the games played
were the second highest total of his nine-year career to his 148 games in 2010...batted .311 (28-for-90)
against left-handed pitching compared to .167 (37-for-221) against right-handers...his career splits are
.281 (216-for-770) against lefties, .224 (357-for-1597) against righties...hit .163 with runners in scoring
position, including .089 with RISP and two outs...went 0-for-28 with five walks, a sacrifice fly (.147
on-base percentage) and two RBI as a pinch hitter...those are the most hitless at bats by a pinch hitter
in one season since at least 1974...the previous high was 27 by Jim Holt with Minnesota and Oakland
in 1974...is a .139 (14-for-101) career hitter in the pinch...connected for seven of his 14 home runs
in 43 games at Great American Ballpark...had a .208 batting average or lower in every month of the
season except June when he batted .320...hit .281 against National League West teams compared to
.190 against all other teams...batted .250 over the first six innings of a game, .135 from the seventh
inning on...started 68 games in left field and five in right field...also hit .179 in eight starts at designated
hitter...had his best success from the six spot in the order where he batted .277 in 33 games.
CINCINNATI: Was the Reds' Opening Day starter in left field March 31 and went 0-for-3 against Milwaukee...did draw a walk and reached base safely via hit or walk in each of his first 11 games...hit
.273 with a .479 on-base percentage, three home runs and 10 RBI over that span...walked in each of his
first eight games (12 walks total), which was the longest streak of his career...it matched the longest
season-opening streak by a Cincinnati Red since at least 1919 (Willie Greene, 1998)...had a seasonbest
five-game hitting streak from April 9-13 (7-for-18, .389)...had his ninth career multi-homer game
April 16 against Pittsburgh when he went deep twice...added another home run the next day against the
Pirates and hit six of his 14 home runs in his first 14 games...was batting .261 at the conclusion of play
April 17...then went 10-for-85 (.118) over his next 29 contests from April 18 to May 26, lowering his
average nearly 100 points to .168...matched his career-high with four hits May 28 at Atlanta...drove in a
season-high four runs June 6 against Chicago (NL)...that began a 14-game stretch where he batted .368
with four home runs and 11 RBI...walked eight times for a .490 on-base percentage...started the month
of July by going 3-for-27 (.111) over his first 12 games...was traded to Washington July 26 for minor
league pitcher Chris Manno and minor league first baseman Bill Rhinehart.
WASHINGTON: Hit .320 over his first 10 games with the Nationals...capped the streak by homering
in consecutive games Aug. 7 at Colorado and Aug. 9 at Chicago (NL)...had two RBI Aug. 18 in a 3-1
win over his former team, Cincinnati...that began a streak of five consecutive games with an RBI...
including Aug. 21 against Philadelphia when he was hit by a Brad Lidge pitch with the bases loaded in
the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the Nationals to a 5-4 win...went 1-for-12 over an 11-game stretch
from Aug. 27 to Sept. 8.
2010
Established career highs in apps (148), at bats (511), runs (77), hits (136), doubles (24) and
RBI (86)...the Reds led the National League in going first to third on base hits, and Gomes did it a team-high
14 times to rank among the Major League individual leaders (Elvis Andrus 1st w/ 18)...while the Reds battled
for a division title, in his last 16g of the season hit .323 (20-62, 2hr, 9rbi), including a career-high 11-game
hitting streak (9/14-9/26) that ranked as the second-longest by a Reds batter in 2010...among all National
League batters was third-hardest to double up...ranked eighth in the NL in hitting with RISP (.338) and T3rd in
sacrifice flies (9)...led the Reds with 126 starts in LF and 74 starts batting fifth in the order...had his best month
in May, when he was a candidate for NL Player of the Month after hitting .364 with 5hr and 22rbi...that month
ranked among the league leaders in hitting (2nd), slugging (.636, 2nd) and RBI (T2nd)...in the ninth inning of
the 2-1 win on 4/8 vs StL hit his second career walkoff HR (off Jason Motte)...in the 15-6 win on 5/28 vs Hou
tied his career high with 4 hits but with 2 singles, a triple and homer fell a double short of the cycle...on 6/12
vs KC hit a pair of 3-run HR to produce a career-high 6rbi, the most in a game by a Reds batter all season...
his 4 walks and 4 runs scored on 8/8 at Chi were the most in a game by a Reds batter all season, though Joey
Votto also scored 4 runs in that 11-4 win...on 7/28 at Mil produced a run-scoring double off Kameron Loe for
his 300th career RBI...on 8/25 at SF recorded the 100th homer of his career (solo off Madison Bumgarner)...
was the Reds' recipient of the MLB Players Alumni Association's Heart and Hustle Award for his passion for
the game...started in LF in Games 1 and 3 of the National League Division Series vs the Phillies.
2009
Was a non-roster invitee to Spring Training but finished the season ranked T3rd among Reds
batters with 20 HR in just 281 AB...began the season at Louisville...joined the Reds on 5/22, when Darnell McDonald was designated for assignment...when promoted led Louisville in apps, hits, HR, RBI and runs scored...finished the season in Cin...for the Reds made 75 starts (33gs in LF, 33 GS in RF, 9 GS at DH)...vs
LHP hit .307 (31-101, 5 HR, 19 RBI)...led the club with 34 starts batting sixth in the order...served as the Reds' designated hitter in all 9 interleague road games (11-32, .344, 3 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 5 BB, 5 R)...recorded 12 2-hit games and five 3-hit games...on 8/13 vs Wsh produced a career-high 5rbi and hit 3 homers for the second
time in his career (7/30/05 vs KC)...his 12 total bases were the most by a Reds batter in a game all season...became the 24th Reds player to hit 3 homers in a game (29th time)...produced his other multi-homer game on 7/27 vs SD...in the 12-inning of the 4-2 win at Wsh on 6/10 snapped the 2-2 tie with a pinch-hit, RBI-double off JasononBergmann...in the eighth inning of the 5-3 win on 7/19 vs Mil snapped the 3-3 tie with a 2-run HR
off Seth McClung...was the club's nominee for the Hutch Award, presented each year to the Major League player who best exemplifies the honor, courage and dedication of former Reds manager Fred Hutchinson...on 12/12 became a free agent when he was not tendered a contract for the 2010 season...on 2/22 was resigned to a one-year contract through 2010 with an option 2011.
2008
Began the season with the Rays...on 8/5 was optioned to Class AAA Durham and spent the rest of the minor league season there...was recalled on 9/13 and spent the rest of the year with TB...for the Rays ade 17 starts in RF, 4 starts in LF and 24 starts at DH...played those
same positions at Durham...on 4/7 at NYY hit his 60th career HR, tying Greg Vaughn's club record for a righthanded batter...broke the mark
on 5/1 at Bal...was hit by a pitch 7 times, extending his club record to 35 career HBP...on 6/28 at Pit produced the second pinch-hit homer
of his career, a solo shot off Damaso Marte on the 15th pitch...was the longest plate appearance preceding a homer since Mtl's Terrmel Sledge
homered on the 16th pitch from Atl's Antonio Alfonseca on 7/7/04...no Rays batter had ever homered in a longer plate appearance...on 6/5 at Bos was ejected for his participation in an on-field incident that also involved TB's James Shields and Bos' Coco Crisp...2 days later began serving a 5-game suspension for his actions...also missed a game on 4/4 while serving a 1-game suspension for his participation in a spring training incident involved NYY's Shelley Duncan...on 4/5 at NYY tied his career-high
with a season-best 4 RBI...on 1/19/09 was signed by the Reds to a Minor League contract.
2007
Twenty-six year-old spent virtually the entire
season with the Rays, minus a three-week stay
at AAA Durham ...
Was 3rd on the club in homers behind Carlos
Peña (46) and B.J. Upton (24) ...
Owns the 5th-most homers in club history with
58 behind Aubrey Huff (128), Fred McGriff (99),
Carl Crawford (62) and Greg Vaughn (60) ...
Started just 14 of the first 48 games (19 appearances)
until being optioned to Durham on May
28 when Akinori Iwamura was reinstated off the
DL ...
Was batting .184 with 1 HR and 5 RBI at the
time ...
Returned to the Rays on June 14 when B.J.
Upton was DL'd and started 81 of the season's
remaining 99 games ...
Hit .254 his 2nd tour (76-299) with 16 HR and
44 RBI ...
As an outfielder: .279 (50-179), 12 HR, 30 RBI
As the designated hitter: .216 (35-162), 5 HR,
19 RBI ...
Hit a pair of balls off the catwalks this season:
tripled off the "B" ring Aug. 25 vs. Oakland and
homered off the "D" ring Sep 5 vs. Baltimore
(Brian Burres) ... has hit the catwalk 6 times over
the last two seasons, most of any player ...
The catwalk homer traveled 462 ft. (10th longest
in Tropicana Field history), his SECOND
longest of the year ... belted a 465 ft solo homer
off Toronto's Dustan McGowan off the *tbt Party
Deck facade in left field July 30, the 7th longest
homer in the park's history ... Jonny actually
owns 3 of the top 10 home run distances at the
Trop all-time ...
Belted his 2nd career grand slam Aug 7 at
Detroit (Jason Grilli) to tie game 6-6 in the
8th ... first slam was April 12, 2006 vs. Baltimore
(Sendy Rleal) ...
Had a pair of two-homer games on the season:
June 17 at Colorado, July 28 vs. Boston ... has 5
multi-homer games for his career ...
Had a pair of 4-hit games on the season, match-
ing his career best: July 8 at Kansas City and Sep
15 at Seattle ...
Hit everywhere in the lineup except cleanup ...
that included two games from the leadoff spot:
Aug 12 at Texas and Aug. 26 vs. Oakland
Was hit by a pitch 7 times this season and owns
a club-record 28 all-time ...
Struck out a career-high 126 times ... ended the
season with 44 strikeouts in his last 86 at-bats.
On April 25 at Los Angeles he made his first
outfield appearance since May 23, 2006 due to
a right shoulder injury ...
Batted nearly 100 points better vs. lefthanders
(.313) than righties (.218) ... for his career has hit
lefties much better than righties (.292 to .223).
Batted .378 (17-45) with 5 HR in interleague
action ... only Ty Wigginton (.386) was better
among Rays vs. the National League ...
Hit just .201 at Tropicana Field (compared to
.278 on the road), lowest home avg. among all
Rays with a minimum of 75 AB ... did hit 10 of his
17 home runs at Tropicana Field ...
Played in 13 games with the Bulls batting .302
(13-for-43) with two doubles, one home run and
seven RBI with 11 walks ...
Belted a team-high 4 HR in spring training, just
one off the AL lead.
2006
In his first full major league campaign, was bothered most of the season by a right shoulder
injury that forced him to miss the last 37 games of the year... Didn't play after Aug 21 and
underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on Sep 5 to repair an impingement and reduce
fraying of the rotator cuff...The surgery was performed by Dr. Tim Kremchek in Cincinnati, OH...Belted 11 HR's in April setting a club record for any month...was the 2nd most homers in
the majors behind Albert Pujols (14) and was the fastest American Leaguer to 11 HR since
Jermaine Dye with KC in 2000...Became the 13th player all-time, 6th American Leaguer, to hit
11 or more HR's in April...However, finished with 20 homers, fewest among the 13 players who hit 11 in April...Hit only 9 the rest of the season (303 ABs) and one after July 19 (85 ABs)...Hit his 20th and final home run of the season on July 29 at Yankee Stadium off TJ Beam.
2005
Finished 3rd in the BBWAA Rookie of the
Year voting...Compiled 39 points in the
5-3-1 points system...Only two Rays
rookies have ever had more points in the
Rookie of the Year balloting...Rolando
Arrojo received 61 points in 1998 when
he finished 2nd to Oakland's Ben Grieve...
Rocco Baldelli tallied 51 points in 2003,
finishing 3rd to Kansas City's Angel Berroa and New York's Hideki Matsui...
Led American League rookies in home runs
(21, tied with Oakland's Nick Swisher), slugging
(.534), on-base pct. (.372), triples (6) and hit
by pitches (a club record 14 times) and was 2nd
in batting (.282)...Set a club record for most
home runs by a rookie erasing the old mark of
12 set by Bubba Trammell in 1998...Was named to the Baseball America & Topps
all-rookie teams...Had 2 stints with the Devil Rays...Was up April 27-
May 10, then returned for good on June 13 (and
homered that night in Tampa Bay's 5-3 win over
MIL) when the Rays designated Alex Sanchez for
assignment...The Rays were 21-41 (.333) before he
arrived in June; 46-54 after (.460)...Started 91 of
100 games after his 2nd recall...For the season,
made 14 starts in LF, 34 in RF and 49 as the DH...Since 1980, only five major league rookies have
matched his totals in batting average, home runs,
on base pct. and slugging...
Batted .323 (30-93) with 5 homers and 19 RBI in 27 games against the Yankees and
Red Sox combined...Also batted .326 (46-141) with 8 homers and 26 RBI against teams that
went to the postseason...On Sep 6 at NY he threw out Jason Giambi at 2nd base and Bernie Williams at home in the
6th inning, tying a club record (also held by Rocco Baldelli)...On July 9 his 2-out, 2-run "walk-off" home run in the 9th inning off DET Troy Percival gave
the Rays a 5-4 win and snapped Tampa Bay's 10-game losing streak...It may go down as
the last pitch in Percival's career...At 474 ft, it was the 2nd longest homer in Tropicana Field
history...It was also only the 5th "walk-off" HR in the last 50 yrs to snap a losing streak of
10+ games...It was the 15th "walk-off" home run in Rays history...On July 30 vs. KC, he became the first Devil Ray ever to hit 3 HR in a single game (in the
team's 1,236th game) with his first career multi-homer game and set the club record with
12 total bases...He was the 20th rookie all-time to hit three HR in a game, first since Colorado's
Jose Ortiz vs. the Marlins Aug. 17, 2001...He became just the 2nd player in Tropicana Field
history to connect 3 times in a game (also Carlos Delgado Apr 4, 2001)...Hit a pair off Royals
starter Zack Greinke, who took the loss in the Rays' 7-3 victory, and then added the another
against KC closer Mike MacDougal in the eighth inning... Two weeks after his 3-homer game, he tied a major league record on Aug. 15 when he was
hit by three pitches in Tampa Bay's 5-2 loss to the New York Yankees...He was hit in the left
hand, wrist and elbow...In between, he hit his 16th homer of the season...The next day, his
bases loaded walk off Scott Proctor in the 11th inning gave the Rays a 4-3 "walk-off" win,
the second time in club history the Rays have won on a game-ending, bases loaded walk...
The only other occasion was Aug 5, 2000 when Miguel Cairo walked to beat the Orioles in
10 innings...Broke the Rays rookie home run record on Aug 8 when he homered off the Angels' Bartolo
Colon...It was the first of two he hit off the Angels' 20-game winner...During the Rays' 27-15 run between July 14 and Aug 28, he hit 11 home runs...In the Rays' 7-4 win on Sep 21, his 2-run triple off Mike Timlin with two outs in the 8th inning
drove in the game-tying and winning runs...The victory knocked the Rex Sox out of first
place for the first time in 65 days...They never had sole possession of first place again...On June 21, he and Damon Hollins became the first pair of rookie teammates to homer off
Randy Johnson in the same game...Hit his first major league home run off Toronto's Ted Lilly on April 26...Had a pinch-hit home run on Apr 30 at Baltimore off BJ Ryan, the only run the Rays scored
off the Oriole lefty all year...Hit 35 HR and 100 RBI combined between the Rays and AAA Durham...Had 6 HR in July and in Aug., tying for the club rookie mark for one month (also Damon Hollins in May)...Owns 103 career minor league home runs, 2nd-most in organization history behind Jared Sandberg's 113.
2004
Spent virtually the entire season at AAA Durham, his first extended playing time at that level...Was up with the Rays from May 18-27 and appeared in 5 games, 4 starts, all at DH collecting one hit in 14 at-bats...Recorded his first big league RBI with a 5th-inning single on May 20th against Boston...Was optioned back to Durham May 28 when the Rays recalled Fred McGriff...His 26 home runs were 6th in the International League and 2nd most in the organization to teammate Midre Cummings (27)...also the 7th highest total in organization history...Had three 2-HR games: April 10 at Columbus (Yankees), May 7 vs. Louisville (Cincinnati) and June 12 at Pawtucket (Boston)...Belted four home runs in the final seven games of the season, earning the IL's player-of-the-week award for the final week of the season...Hit safely in 18 of his last 19 games, batting .353 (24-68) to hike his avg. from a season-low .235 to a season-ending .256...Finished with a career-high 78 RBI...Was DL'd from April 22-May 5 with a right groin strain...was hitting .325 and leading the IL in
slugging at .944 when he was shelved.
2003
Joined the Devil Rays Sept. 12, 2003, following AAA Durham's International League
championship...Appeared in 8 games, 4 starts (all at DH) and collected a pair of hits in 15 AB...Made his major league debut Sept. 12 at Yankee Stadium...started at DH and went 2-for-3 with a double off David Wells...Became just the 3rd Ray to collect 2 hits in his major league debut, joining Jared Sandberg (2001) and Pete Laforest (also 2003)...Following the debut went hitless in his next 12 AB...Spent the bulk of the season at AA Orlando but also appeared in 5 games for Durham down the stretch heading into the playoffs...he batted a combined .251 (116/461) with 30 2B, 4 3B, 17 HR, 57 RBI, 55 BB, 153 SO and 23 SB in 125 games...Batted .389 (7-18) with 3 2B, a HR and 5 RBI for the Bulls in the postseason...Led Orlando with 56 RBI and his 17 HR were tied for 4th in the Southern League...Had three 2-HR games: April 14 vs. Huntsville (Brewers), May 13 at Jacksonville (Dodgers) and May 30 at home against Jacksonville...Made one start for the Rays in spring training (was summoned from minor league camp), March 27 at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater and homered off Brett Myers...also made a diving catch in left field as the Rays no-hit the Phillies, the first spring training no-hitter since Boston did it March 14, 2000...For the second straight year, he entered the season rated the Best Power Hitter in the Rays organization by Baseball America...Made 2 appearances (1 start) in the USA Olympic Qualifying Team Trials in the fall and went 1-for-4 with a homer...Played for the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League where he finished among the league leaders in home runs, doubles, runs scored, on-base percentage, slugging and extra-base hits.
2002
Named Class A Bakersfield Player of the Year in 2002, becoming just the 2nd Rays farm
hand to hit 30 home runs in one season (Scott McClain 34 in 1998 for Durham)...Visalia's Jorge Soto homered in his last at-bat of the regular season to wrestle the California League home run championship from him...He and his brother, Joey, the NY-Penn League HR champion, just missed becoming only the 2nd pair of brothers to win minor league HR crowns in the same season...The only occasion occurred in 1929 when brothers Ike and Dan Boone did it...Named to the California League All-Star team...Set Rays minor league record with 91 walks...Ranked 5th in all of minor league baseball in home runs, 2nd in hit by pitches (31), 3rd in strikeouts (173) and 5th at slugging (.574)...Led the CL in slugging, extra-base hits (63), runs scored (102) and total bases (256)...scored 2 or more runs 23 times.
2001
Named Appalachian League Most Valuable Player and Princeton Player of the Year in his
professional debut in 2001...also named to Baseball America's first-year player All-Star
team...Led the Appy League in home runs (16), on-base percentage (.442), slugging percentage
(.597), total bases (123) and finished 2nd with 44 RBI, extra-base hits (29) and runs
scored (58)...Had three two-home run games and a 6-RBI contest on June 29 including a grand slam vs.
Danville (Braves)...scored 4 runs Aug. 12 at Bristol (White Sox).