Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez (November 26, 1908 – February 17, 1989) was an American professional baseball player.

A left-handed pitcher, Gomez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1930 and 1943 for the New York Yankees and the Washington Senators.

He managed a 1,000-acre ranch in Franklin Canyon where Lefty and his brothers would ride horses and became hired hands when they were children.

When he was 6 years old he attended the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco and watched the famous pilot Lincoln Beachy crash into the bay while trying to complete a stunt.

[2] Gomez started playing sandlot baseball for the Rodeo town team when he was only 13 years of age.

He caught the eyes of a scout for the San Francisco Seals, who told Lefty to reach back out when he put on some weight as he was 6 feet 2 inches (188 cm) but only 125 pounds (57 kg).

[2] Although his father was not a fan of continuing baseball, he went ahead and signed the contract for Lefty to play for the Seals at the 1928 spring training camp.

Coming into the 1931 season, Gomez had good pitching velocity, but the Yankees were concerned about the pitcher's slender frame of 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and 155 pounds (70 kg).

Following a common medical strategy of the time, the team had most of his teeth extracted; they also had him drink 3 US quarts (2,800 ml) of milk daily and gave him an unlimited meal allowance for road games.

In both 1934 and 1937, he won pitching's "Triple Crown" by leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts; he also led the AL both seasons in shutouts.

Among pitchers who made their MLB debuts from 1900 to 1950, only Lefty Grove, Christy Mathewson and Whitey Ford have both more victories and a higher winning percentage than Gomez.

"[5] In 1940, Gomez suffered an arm injury, which left him up for grabs by another team, but in 1941 he played fairly well, winning 15 and losing 5.

After the 1942 season ended, Gomez took a job as a dispatcher with the General Electric River Works, a defense plant in Lynn, Massachusetts, which only paid $40 a week.

He pitched just one game ― on May 30, 1943, allowing four hits, four runs and walking five men ― before pulling a shoulder muscle in the fifth inning and retiring from baseball.

Through the tabloids, she learned in December that Gomez was filing divorce papers in Mexico, charging incompatibility.

Being a devout Catholic, June refused a divorce but agreed to a formal separation, citing abandonment and cruel and inhuman treatment.

[14] In retirement, Gomez became a sought-after dinner speaker known for his humorous anecdotes about his playing days and the personalities he knew.

He was a bit of a screwball, nicknamed "El Goofo" or "Goofy Gomez"[1] (a likewise-alliterative counterpart to his contemporary, Dizzy Dean), and delighted in playing practical jokes on everyone from teammates to umpires.

On February 2, 1972, the Veterans Committee unanimously inducted Gomez into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, along with Giants outfielder Ross Youngs and former American League President Will Harridge.

Although he was honored with the plaque, his uniform #11 has not been retired, and has since been worn by several Yankees including Joe Page, Johnny Sain, Héctor López, Fred Stanley, Dwight Gooden, Chuck Knoblauch, Gary Sheffield, Doug Mientkiewicz, Brett Gardner, and now Anthony Volpe.