Published February 18, 2018 | 
Sunday Morning Chat returns in 2018, as former Marlins World Series hero Alex Gonzalez sat down with HSBN's Rick Duteau to talk baseball, coaching and the art of the double play . . .
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Published February 22, 2015 | 
Former Southridge and current Cleveland Indians star Yan Gomes concludes his Sunday Morning Chat with HSBN’s Rick Duteau…
Rick: You obviously play the most demanding position on a baseball field, what can you tell young catchers coming up is the most important thing they should be focused on as a catcher?
Yan Gomes: When you are young they focus on staying healthy. I guess if you want to play you have to stay healthy and take care of your body. But on the field as a catcher you know people don’t understand, like you said it is a very demanding role, but we need to understand that hitting isn’t always going to come for us. It’s not very easy, and you know it’s tough to juggle two things, and I know Terry has really stuck in my head that I need to worry about our pitching. So my main goal every day is just to worry about our defense; hitting is going to come. I know people really care about guys who can hit and once you’re a catcher you really need to focus on your pitching staffs and really worry about what you are doing behind the plate where you can control the pitcher.
Rick: Like many players down here in Miami, you grew up learning the sport in another country. You were taught the game from a Cuban friend of your father. Tell us about learning the game of baseball while many of your friends were likely focused on soccer.
Yan Gomes: That is true; we actually warmed up playing soccer, so there was still soccer going on there then. I mean Cuba is one of the main places for baseball, people know that. The biggest thing in learning baseball in Brazil from a Cuban coach is the discipline of baseball. That is what I think is really huge in Brazil is the discipline that they have. It is almost like a Cuban-style baseball with the coach that we had, but it was also a Japanese-style baseball. The Japanese population in Brazil is really big and that is mostly what our baseball teams consisted of, Japanese-Brazilian players. Like I say, it’s the discipline that we have of staying focused on our tasks. It’s a big focus factor in Brazil.
Rick: So you didn’t have too hard of a time getting baseball games in there with the Japanese population there now. Because I am picturing you as a kid with a baseball saying, ‘I don’t have anyone to play baseball with; everyone is playing soccer’.
Yan Gomes: Well I will tell you what, in school some of the friends that I had, they had no idea what I was doing. You know it’s funny, I still remember when I was a kid I would sit there and do some dry swings and mimic throwing and they had absolutely no idea what I was doing. But it was the culture of the community and I still love it to this day. I mean it was tough going around with our friends and them having no idea what I am doing.
Rick: Something tells me they know now.
Yan Gomes: They do, they do. Baseball has grown in Brazil, I can tell you that.
Rick: Last year you were a major player in helping the Brazilian national team qualify for the World Baseball Classic. Then after qualifying you chose to stay off the World Classic roster to concentrate on your Indians career. How hard was it to make that decision, and what factors went into making such a tough choice? 
Yan Gomes: It was tough because it was hard to tell the guys. I focused on explaining it to the main players of the team because I think they would send the message to the rest of the team. So I focused on telling Rienzo, Paulo Orlando, who is one of the older guys, and Barry Larkin, who was our Manager. There was a time when I had just gotten traded to the Indians and I needed to make an impact there. I needed to focus and establish myself in the big leagues. I mean, I had just made it to the big leagues so I wasn’t an established player yet, and I needed to make an impact. I felt I would have made a bigger impact if I had made an impact in my career first. I would have maybe had a bigger platform, I would have had a bigger say in things, and what really helped is that they understood. They understood that what I was doing with the Indians, it was mainly on my career what I could do. It was tough, I mean I still talk to my wife about it. When I was watching those games from spring training, and they are on at 4 o’clock in the morning, and I was up watching it and I was like, ‘Man, I wish I was there so bad’.
Rick: It is hard to want to be at two places at once, right?
Yan Gomes: Yes. But, you know, obviously the early part of my career right now has turned out well. It was a good decision. But that was one thing I didn’t want to have stuck in my mind that if something didn’t work out with the Indians I didn’t want to blame the WBC. I felt like I made the right decision and it was nice that a lot of people supported me.
Rick: Especially playing the position you are, the pitchers and catchers arrive earlier and there is so much more work in spring training for that. I am sure that position that you play made it even more of a necessity that this is the right decision to go to Cleveland instead.
Yan Gomes: Yeah, and there was a time when I was told that I was only going to play catcher. You know I came out with Toronto as the super utility guy.
Rick: Yeah, you kind of played everywhere with them.
Yan Gomes: I played everywhere and the Indians told me that I would just play catcher, so I needed to figure a way to just focus on that.
Rick: It worked out pretty well; you had a great year for Cleveland. You won a Silver Slugger Award. Does that validate the decision that you made?
Yan Gomes: Um, sure. I mean, in a way all is coming together because I guess now I can praise that decision that it was good that I decided to stay. But I think it is the support man, I really felt the support that everyone showed with the decision. I mean, I still keep in touch with guys and I was staying in Brazil and they don’t even talk about that anymore. You know they don’t talk about the fact that I didn’t go, because I was able to establish myself in the big leagues. I think they understood that and you know I credit them. I mean the Silver Slug award is…. I guess it is a way of thanking them for supporting me. I worked hard to get to where I am and it was a nice little way to show them I appreciate their support.
Rick: It almost makes it a little more of a reward when you do things like that, because it’s like you are doing it for the entire nation of Brazil.
Yan Gomes: Yeah, and that’s the thing that I hoped my younger brother would realize is that we are both from Brazil, we were born there and he would realize it later that we are not just playing for ourselves, we are playing for something bigger. You know, God has such an amazing plan for us and I think that mine is to show that Brazil is here. We are here to grow as a nation and it is amazing to see the support that they have for me. It really is. I get messages every day how much I mean to them. They see me on TV and they don’t really know the person that I am. I try my best to do that, I try my best to show it to them who I am, so it’s nice.
Rick: Speaking of your brother Juan, it is pretty awesome to have a brother following your path toward the major leagues. I hear he is in the same organization as you. What is that like?
Yan Gomes: Yeah, I will tell you what man, last year when he got drafted, I remember exactly where we were playing. I want to say it was a midday game in Texas and I am walking in to our clubhouse and the first thing I go to check my phone to see if my wife or anybody had texted me, and I look and there is a Sportscenter update that says Juan Gomes drafted by the Cleveland Indians, brother of Yan Gomes. I am getting chills right now; it was a really emotional day for all of us. I know how hard he has worked and he has also had a tough go, and he blames himself a lot for it. He knows he didn’t give himself the best chance, but I think he has got a really great opportunity coming now and he is taking full advantage of it. I mean, it’s exciting. It’s exciting and not many brothers get to say that, and I hope he makes it to the big leagues and we can be the first Brazilian brothers on the same team. 
Brothers and fellow Cleveland Indians teammates Juan and Yan Gomes.
Published February 15, 2015 | 
Sunday morning chat is back in 2015, and HSBN has a treat in week one! Cleveland Indians catcher Yan Gomes is quickly becoming one of the hottest rising stars in the game. Before he was a Major League star, Gomes played his high school ball locally first at Miami Palmetto and then at Miami Southridge.
With pitchers and catchers close to reporting for Spring Training, Yan spent some time with HSBN senior writer Rick Duteau to talk about life in the big leagues, playing for “Tito” Francona, and his high school days. Today we bring you Part I of this Sunday Morning Chat. Enjoy!
Rick: We are going to get started. Yan, tell us a little bit about your experience on here playing at Miami Southridge.
Yan Gomes: Well before Southridge, going to South Ridge started, I played my first year at Palmetto. My freshman year was at Palmetto High School. I played there and, in a way I felt like many families were moving so I needed to go to a different school and Southridge just happened to be a huge blessing to me. You know, I go there and the baseball program was really going well and I just fell in right there. Fred Burnside and Eddie Doscow really helped me out and all the coaching staff, so it was great. It was a fun time, though. We had a really good team, a lot of talent playing there so it was a big time in my career, the path to my career.
Rick: Do you keep in touch with either of those coaches?
Yan Gomes: I do try to keep in touch as much as I can with some of the players but it’s kind of tough, we all have different schedules and busy lifestyles. I do keep in touch with Doscow. I have lost touch with Burnside. You know, he’s a South Dade guy now, so…
Rick: You took a very interesting path to the major leagues, one we feel players down here need to know about: your signing at the University of Tennessee. You got drafted in the 39th round by the Red Sox, turned the offer down and attended Barry University. Did you realize the risk you were taking at that time, to leave a top D1 program, turning down a major league team in order to come to play at Barry?
Yan Gomes: Um, I did. I did and you know things at Tennessee in a way weren’t working out. I felt like I had a better opportunity if I went somewhere else. I mean, no hard feelings with Tennessee, I still love it there. I live there. But, I knew I had to make a change, I knew I had to decide something and Barry came to me. Me and a buddy of mine, Danny Lima, who played at Florida Christian, he ended up deciding to go to Barry and I knew I had to make a big impact because, nothing against the Division II schools, but I knew going from a Division I to a Division II, maybe people thought that I couldn’t cut it in Division I. So I tried to go down, but it was a hard task to fill. You know we had to set a limit at home, so that was nice, but I had to really show that I could play. I ended up having a really good year and I thank the coaches there so much, like every day. It ended up working out. I think that is God’s way of showing that you just stick to His plan and not try to take control of it and it’s going to go well.
Rick: After having the big success at Barry, you again were drafted, this time in the 10th round by Toronto. What was that feeling like knowing that again you had a chance to chase your dream?
Yan Gomes: In playing terms, it is a dream come true. You know, I got drafted in the 39th round the year before but, it was a sign that I wasn’t ready. You know, God was telling me that I wasn’t ready to do it. I wasn’t mature enough, obviously because I had that tendency. But, I think, the time that I had at Barry, I really grew, and once I got drafted, in my mind I knew that I was ready. And, it was such an unbelievable opportunity and I know that if we talked to my parents about it right now that they will still cry about it the day that I was drafted. It was just exciting, really excitement. I was so ready to get out there and get everything going, and then that path that I took, and I knew it wasn’t easy, but it helped me. 
Rick: Tell us what you would tell high school players today, many of whom will go through the same roller coaster ride along the way that you have experienced.
Yan Gomes: Stick to your goals, man. Get yourself the mindset that you never want to settle at one place. Even though I was transferring from Tennessee to Barry, I wasn’t just happy to be there. My ultimate goal was to be successful, whatever I was doing, and that’s the same thing throughout the minor leagues. You know, I always had the biggest thing in my mind was that I always feel like there was someone working harder than me and in my mind, it doesn’t settle well. I try to get everything that I can, every day and go to sleep knowing that I worked hard that day.
Rick: Coaches love all that.
Yan Gomes: I mean, it was engraved in my mind, probably from the way my parents raised me. It was, back to the kids, it was more the focus part. There’s a lot of distractions when you get to money and you want to enjoy that lifestyle but, you know, all that lifestyle you live at now, it’s going to be so much more fun when you are in the Major Leagues. I can vouch for that because you get a lot of better places, but it’s a big thing, going through the transitions through the minor leagues. A lot of distractions come around and, I think once you set your goal on making it to the Major Leagues, and not just settling in one place, I think, to me, in my mind, is good advice.
Rick: Not many people know this but, you are the first Brazilian born player ever in the major leagues. How much pride do you take in that, and how much does that mean to Brazil?
Yan Gomes: Honestly, at first, I had no idea. I had no idea what was going on and it wasn’t even in my mind that I had made it, because it was still going through my mind that way once I got to AAA. There was talk about it and it came up a little more, and I got called up and still to this day that is one moment that gives me chills to even think about it. You know, I get to Toronto and it just happens to be another country, too, that I get to get to play for. There was somebody holding a sign saying, “Welcome Gomes” with the Brazilian flag and it definitely hit me. It hit me that for such a huge country, even known for their athletics in soccer and all these other sports, I was the first one at probably the main sport in our country, compared to football and basketball, it was amazing and getting the calls coming in from family members and papers out in Brazil. It took me a while to realize what I had done. Again, it is a way of God showing that the blessings He has put in my life and what I do with Him now is what matters. I have a huge platform to show that Brazil is on the map and it is a humbling experience and I’m ready to kind of show that. And I thank everybody every day for it.
Rick: In July 2013 you had to face Andre Reinzo, the first ever Brazilian born pitcher in the majors. What was that experience like?
Yan Gomes: It’s funny, because I was actually just talking a couple of days ago with my buddies about it. And another guy that plays for a different team was saying that he watched that game. I was like, ‘What are you doing watching my game?’ He said that they were flying and they heard it was a big deal and it was happening. I mean, again, to have two players from the same country facing each other for the first time, I guess here obviously it doesn’t really mean that much because there are so many Americans playing, but for Brazil to have now two guys and how fast that happened. It’s amazing, you know, one year there’s one guy and the next year, there’s two guys. It’s growing and it’s funny because I still remember that day and I still talk to Reinzo about it. We both kind of stepped up and gave a little bit of a head nod and were like, ‘Alright, man, game on; we are playing against each other now’. I ended up getting a big hit the first at bat and it was such a little dribbler up the middle, but to the both of us, it was a historic moment for our country.
Rick: You have a bunch of relationships here in Miami, one being with Gabe here at South Florida Rehab and training center. Gabe, his staff, and his wife Yolanda have become heavily involved with High School Baseball Network and developing players down here in Miami. Tell me a little bit about that relationship.
Yan Gomes: I don’t think Gabe even knows how thankful I am for being introduced to him. It was in 2005, I ended up having, for a young kid, a heartbreaking injury, like the famous Tommy Johns surgery. I ended up blowing out my arm going into my senior year of high school and, man, that was tough. I was crying every day because I was in the midst of signing with Tennessee and I didn’t if my career was done. I had never been injured before and I was introduced to Gabe and it was almost like, I felt different. He took such control of my injury, he took control of my surgery and I was back to the same in 8-9 months, and that usually isn’t normal. I was playing that next summer after my surgery, and that wasn’t normal. It normally takes a full year or even more than that. I am so thankful for what they did for me. Still to this day we try and talk as much as we can and we are still good to go. For what they are doing for kids out here, it just shows what is in their heart and they really care about the sports down here in Miami. I am so thankful; I mean he has helped so much with my family. My parents are in sports; he has done so much for them. It just shows what is in their hearts and how much they care about the sport. That’s great. They need people like that out here. 
Yan with dear friend Gabe Carvajal, founder of HSBN's Miami-Dade sponsor South Florida Rehab, and Gomes' younger brother Juan.
