Early Years
Gomes was born and raised in Petaluma, California. He was an all-league at Casa Grande High School, coached by Dominique Wirtz, in his hometown of Petaluma. As a sixteen-year-old in May 1997, he was a passenger in a car accident that killed his best friend, Adam Westcott. Gomes, who was sitting next to Westcott in the back seat, was only slightly injured. Gomes has Westcott's initials tattooed on his right bicep.
After graduating in 1999, he went to Santa Rosa Junior College before being selected in the 18th round of the 2001 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. While he was in the rookie leagues, he was certified to become a personal trainer. His older brother, Joey Gomes, currently plays for the Edmonton Capitals, of the Golden Baseball League. The family name "Gomes" is Portuguese in ancestry.
Gomes suffered a heart attack on Christmas Eve 2002, the result of a clogged artery, despite being in playing condition (he reported having 8% body fat at the time). He ignored the symptoms for 27 hours, even sleeping through it one night, before going to the hospital after he briefly blacked out and stopped breathing. His doctors said he would not have survived a second night. As a result of the heart attack, the Rays' team doctor had to keep nitroglycerin pills on-hand in case Gomes suffered a second heart attack.
Read more about this topic: Jonny Gomes
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