Chance meeting sent ZooKeeper from catcher to pitcher

ASHEBORO — Perhaps losing a wager can have the best possible outcome. It certainly seemed to be that way for Asheboro ZooKeepers’ pitcher Carlos Gomez.

Gomez grew up in Cartagena, Colombia, where he left school at age 13 to concentrate on baseball. He would spend seven hours a day working on the diamond and in the weight room.

“At the beginning, for my mom it was tough,” said the right-hander, who would take quizzes and tests on Saturdays with no classroom work whatsoever. “She would say ‘Why are you leaving school?’ For me, I was pursuing my dream so I didn’t understand the big deal it was to leave school. I was happy to just play baseball.”

Gomez said he loved being a catcher, but all that changed.

While playing for the Columbia National Team at age 15, an International scout saw plenty of talent in Gomez, but at a different position.

“There was a tryout with the Rangers of Texas and the International Director told me I reminded him of him because he said I was a really good catcher, but I couldn’t hit the ball,” Gomez said.

Gomez said he made a deal with the scout: If Gomez got two singles in a batting session, the scout would instantly sign Gomez to a contract. But if Gomez didn’t, he would have to go to the mound and throw a couple of pitches.

Gomez agreed.

“I got three at-bats and I missed fastballs three times in a row,” Gomez said.

A pitching career was born.

Gomez said he threw two pitches off the mound after losing the wager and threw one 88 mph and one 89 mph.

“In two weeks, I was throwing 90 and when I was 16, I was throwing 90-91,” he said. “I learned a splitter and that has become my strikeout pitch.”

In 2022, Gomez signed a contract with the San Francisco Giants, who assigned him to the Dominican Summer League. It was the middle of the year and Gomez threw 12 innings in the DSL. 

The second year, he threw 26 innings with 29 strikeouts and an ERA around 2.00. But an arm injury required Tommy John surgery in November of 2023 and his career was in flux.

“I was really frustrated and in 2024 I got released,” he said. “I wasn’t healthy. I didn’t complete my rehab with the Giants. They provided a plan for doing it in my home after I got released.”

Gomez admitted it was very difficult to hang out with his friends because they were signing baseball deals with various clubs and he wasn’t healthy at the time.

“My mom was pushing me to get an education,” he said.

Since the Giants had agreed to pay for his schooling when he signed his contract, Gomez looked for a place to play in the United States.

The brother of an assistant coach from Campbellsville University in Kentucky, who was a scout in Columbia, talked with the coaching staff and arrangements were made for Gomez to come to the United States for the first time and attend Campbellsville University.

“When I came here, I learned school is really important for my education and baseball, I was like more worried for classes than baseball,” Gomez said. “My classes became more important than baseball.”

He spent last year at Campbellsville as a redshirt freshman before deciding to transfer to USC-Aiken, where he will begin playing this fall.

“Before I went to the ZooKeepers, I talked with (Asheboro General Manager Kory Dunbar) and told him I wanted to play at a higher level in college,” Gomez said. “I had played in the lowest level of the minor league (DSL) and I just wanted to play and get my degree. USC-Aiken is a good school.”

Gomez has been a key part of the Coastal Plain League season for the ZooKeepers. He started out as the team’s closer, recording five saves with an ERA under 2.00 and more strikeouts than innings pitched.

“He commands the strike zone, he has a devastating splitter and he’s pitched at a high level,” Asheboro manager Jamey May said. “He throws 91-93 and tops out at 94. The ball jumps out of his hand. He controls the running game. He just knows how to pitch. He’s not just a thrower.”

Gomez is now experiencing something new. The ZooKeepers have elevated him into the role of a starting pitcher. In his first-ever start prior to the CPL All-Star Game, Gomez threw four innings against Martinsville, allowing one run on one hit with eight strikeouts.

His efforts in the first half of the CPL season garnered him an all-star selection, where he threw one shutout inning with one strikeout as the West All-Stars, which featured seven ZooKeeper players, recorded a 9-3 win over the East All-Stars in Florence, SC.

“This was the closest experience I can remember to being in the minor leagues,” Gomez said. “I thought it was a really good experience for me. Especially after the surgery. 

“We (the seven All-Stars from Asheboro) all talked about representing Asheboro and we had to show why we were first in our division. It was a very competitive game. It was a level I felt was like Single A.”

As the ZooKeepers fight for a CPL title, Gomez will be a member of the starting pitching staff. His second start was at High Point late last week.

“Most of my life I have been a reliever and I started the summer as a reliever,” Gomez said. “Here at the ZooKeepers, I helped by closing games. Now starting, how do I organize my week? How can I handle the change?”

He started by changing his mental approach.

“Mindset before the game (is different),” Gomez said. “You have to prepare your body for more pitches. (There is a difference) in how you throw in the bullpen. As a reliever, you are using all your energy in one inning. As a starter, you have to throw four or five innings. Basically, now I focus inning by inning. I worry about the inning I am throwing in.”

After his first start of his career against Martinsville, Gomez said his arm felt the difference.

“I was sore the next game, really sore, but I was happy because I kept my velo the entire game to 92-93,” he said. “I was expecting my velo to go down. In the fourth, I was expecting 89 or 90, but I kept my velo the entire game.” 

Gomez sent out a big thanks to his host family, John and Cathy Grey, and the entire Randolph County community for allowing him to continue his growth in the new culture and the sport this summer.

“I have enjoyed Asheboro, the fans have been supporting the team every day and the kids know my name,” Gomez said. “In my country, only scouts know your name, not the people. 

“My host family has been really good to me and they are very important to me. They are helping me with my language and I am very grateful. I feel home. Asheboro has been really good in terms of baseball and in terms of personal.”

Gomez said there were a number of people who have helped him through this journey and he would like to thank. His stepdad, Frank Terracina, his mom, Yaquelin Acuña, and his girlfriend, Valentina Rhenals, have been there every step of the way.

“Their support has meant everything to me during this journey,” Gomez said.

May said he has been just as impressed with Gomez as Gomez has been with Asheboro.

“The on-field stuff, I don’t even have to mention that. The fact that he’s so mature. It’s almost like having a pitching coach on the field,” May said. “He helps the younger guys. He’s a great teammate and a great dude to be around. He’s played at a higher level of baseball than most of these guys and he’s happy to share with them anything that can help them get there. When he’s done playing, he’s not only going to be a coach, but a great coach.”

With the way he’s throwing the baseball, that may not be for a very long time.