[4][5] After graduating from high school in 1999, Gomes went to Santa Rosa Junior College, where he hit .127 with 23 strikeouts in 55 plate appearances.

[6] Gomes suffered a heart attack on Christmas Eve in 2002, the result of a clogged artery, despite being in playing condition (he reported having 8% body fat at the time).

[10] He told an MLB.com interviewer that when he was relegated back to Durham after a brief early stint in Tampa Bay in May 2005, he resolved that he would put up such an offensive onslaught that the Major League team would "get sick of looking at his face on the Tropicana Field scoreboard when the top Minor League performers were shown."

On July 30, he became the first player in the franchise's history to hit three home runs in a single game, against the Kansas City Royals.

[10] Gomes was figured to play a prominent role in the continued rebuilding and long range plans of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

[12] He struggled after his hot start, hitting nine home runs during the rest of the season and finishing with a .216 batting average.

He also mentioned possibly playing first base in 2007 for the Devil Rays, who then had Carl Crawford, Rocco Baldelli, and Delmon Young in their outfield.

[10] During spring training in 2008, on March 12, Gomes rushed to the defense of Akinori Iwamura when the latter was spiked by Shelley Duncan of the New York Yankees.

"[15] In the third game of a series against the Boston Red Sox on June 5, 2008, Gomes was involved in a bench clearing brawl after Coco Crisp charged the mound as a result of, among other events, being hit by a pitch.

Replays of the incident show Gomes throwing punches at Crisp as he was already being shoved to the ground by several other Rays players.

[22] Gomes was traded to the Washington Nationals for outfielder Bill Rhinehart and pitcher Chris Manno on July 26, 2011.

[24] Gomes had a good season with the team, hitting .262/.377/.491 with 18 home runs and 47 RBI in 99 games split mostly between designated hitter and left field.

During the ALDS and ALCS, the Red Sox were 6-0 when Gomes started in left field (hit .200 with two RBIs and 6 runs scored during this stretch).

In Game 4 of the 2013 World Series, Gomes broke a 0-for-9 slide by hitting a 387-foot, three-run home run to help the Red Sox take the lead.

He was not in the original lineup for that game but was added during batting practice after Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino was scratched due to back pain.

[26] On July 31, 2014, Gomes, along with pitcher Jon Lester, were traded to the Oakland Athletics for Yoenis Céspedes and a competitive balance draft pick in 2015.

The bobble head was part of a promotional giveaway before the Braves' July 21, 2015, game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

When a reporter for the local Fox Sports station asked Gomes for an opinion on the bobble head, he respond with, "I definitely wasn't at the meeting when this was decided, but I'll take it."

[30] On August 31, 2015, Gomes was traded to the Kansas City Royals for minor league infielder Luis Valenzuela.

He has also sponsored a total of nine Little League Teams in his home town of Petaluma, California during his years in professional baseball.

While in Arizona for spring training with the Reds, Gomes visited a local middle school classroom for the Extra Innings Foundation where he shared his journey on how he has reached his goal and inspired youth to go after their dreams.

[39] He has also served as color commentator with play-by-play announcer Dave O'Brien for some Red Sox games in July and August.