The 1998 Padres brought joy to the city of San Diego
Credit: AP Photo
Shortstop- Chris Gomez
Chris Gomez was a steady defender with the glove, and his defense had a calming effect on the Padres in 1998.
Most people would hesitate when asked who the shortstop was for the 1998 Padres. He just didn’t do much, other than his job.
The man was very serviceable at the position and played in the major leagues until 2008 when he retired at the age of 37. That’s a 16-year major league career for a player who was mainly a ghost on the field. By ghost, I mean, you never heard anything from him.
The Detroit Tigers drafted Gomez in the third round of the 1992 amateur draft. It took 13 months for Gomez to make his debut with the Tigers in July 1993 at the age of 22. Gomez played in 46 games and hit .250 for the Tigers. He would never play in the minors again, as he played in the next four seasons for the Tigers. As a Tiger in 301 games, Gomez hit .239 but showed an excellent glove that was worthy of starting every day.
On June 18, 1996, John Flaherty and Chris Gomez were traded to the San Diego Padres for Brad Ausmus, Andujar Cedeno, and Russ Spear. Gomez was immediately plugged into the shortstop position, and in 89 games, hit .262 for the Padres.
Gomez would go on to start 150 games in 1997 and 145 games in 1998 for the Padres. In 1998, Chris Gomez hit .267 with five homers and 54 RBIs. He also provided a 1.7 WAR for the Padres. In August 1998, Gomez led the Padres with a .308 batting average.
He was not flashy by any means, but Chris Gomez was stable at a position where you needed to make the easy play.
His range was nothing special, but if the ball was hit to Chris Gomez, more likely than not, he was going to be flawless in handling it. That is very underrated in the game these days. Chris Gomez has also been seen at many reunion functions for the 1998 Padres. He is a nice guy, and I recommend getting an autograph from him. He is very gracious.
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James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.