Brewers: Carlos Gomez To Reportedly Retire As A Brewer

The Milwaukee Brewers got several productive seasons out of veteran outfielder Carlos Gomez. It appears his career is coming to an end.

During the 2010-2015 seasons, Carlos Gomez was a mainstay in centerfield in Miller Park, and it made him one of the most beloved Milwaukee Brewers players of the decade.

According to reports, the 13-year big league career for Gomez is coming to a close.

Per Bob Nightengale and Hector Gomez, Carlos Gomez is retiring and wishes to retire as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Carlos Gomez’s Career In Milwaukee

Gomez spent six years in Milwaukee, first coming to the Brewers in 2010 in a trade with the Minnesota Twins that sent shortstop J.J. Hardy to the Twin Cities. Hardy was a fan favorite in his own right, so Gomez had a lot to live up to.

Gomez didn’t really turn into a full time player until 2012, taking a back seat to Nyjer Morgan in 2011. He really broke out in 2013 and continued his success in 2014. In both seasons, he hit .284 with an OPS over .830 and hit 24 and 23 home runs, respectively.

An always energetic player, Gomez electrified the home crowd with numerous home run robberies, big swings, swagger, and many, many stolen bases.

Milwaukee was the only team that he spent more than two seasons with in his career. It was also the place he put up the best numbers of his career. He hit .267/.325/.452 with 122 doubles, 25 triples, 87 home runs, and 152 stolen bases in those six seasons.

Gomez made the NL All Star team twice, in 2013 and 2014, earned MVP votes in both years, and won a Gold Glove in 2013. He was the last Brewers player to win a Gold Glove prior to Lorenzo Cain winning it this past season.

The Carlos Gomez Legacy

Obviously, Gomez will go down as one of the better defensive center fielders in franchise history. He robbed numerous home runs, and ran down fly balls like nobody else. His speed was electrifying and it not only led to many diving catches, but stolen bases as well.

Gomez took plenty of liberties on the base paths, sometimes to the ire of manager Ron Roenicke, but he was successful more often than not.

He will forever be remembered as the winning run in Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS, scoring on Nyjer Morgan’s single to centerfield to send the Brewers to the NLCS. Let’s watch that video one more time to warm the hearts.

Ah, good times.

Gomez will also always be remembered for his fire and competitiveness, which sometimes led to some fights. He took on the entirety of the Pittsburgh Pirates at one point, and famously hit a home run in Atlanta that caused Brian McCann to stand in front of home plate and prevent Gomez from touching it.

But perhaps the enduring legacy that Gomez will leave in Milwaukee is how he left Milwaukee in 2015. As we all remember, the Brewers were planning to trade Gomez to the Mets, but at the last minute the Mets backed out due to a “hip issue” and nixed the deal. That will come back to bite the Mets later.

That led to Gomez getting traded the next day to the Houston Astros, along with Mike Fiers, for a package including Brett Phillips (traded for Mike Moustakas), Domingo Santana (traded for Ben Gamel and Noah Zavolas), Adrian Houser, and Josh Hader. None have had a bigger impact than Hader.

Gomez gave us plenty of exciting moments over the years, and played the game harder than anyone else. No one could ever accuse Gomez of not giving everything he had to the game.

I think I speak for all Brewers fans when I say that we wish Gomez well in his retirement and are thankful for the six years that he gave us.

Hopefully we can get confirmation of Gomez signing a one-day contract with the Brewers to retire with them and further details about an on-field ceremony in the near future.