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At the age of 29 while majoring in sports medicine, Lancers pitcher and third baseman Daniel Gomez is playing in his second season as a member of the PCC baseball team.

Gomez was recently chosen to the 2013 California Community College Baseball Coaches Association’s All-State Academic Team as one of 18 players selected throughout California’s community college baseball teams.

He is regarded as a leader and mature player by Head Coach Evan O’Meara, as stated in the Lancers’ baseball season preview.

“He’s a terrific student and is kind of the elder statesman on the ball club,” said Coach O’Meara.

Having graduated South Pasadena High School in 2001, his path to PCC was influenced by multiple factors over time, including being a coach of the SPHS baseball team.

“I’d been coaching for five years. I kind of always felt like I could still throw and hit well. After high school, I just gave up playing and played only Sunday leagues with my brother,” said Gomez.

His brother, Nick Gomez, was the pitching coach last season for the PCC baseball team. Nick was very influential in getting Daniel to play for the Lancers.

“I guess last year the team had people who were ineligible and injured, so he asked me if I wanted to play,” said Daniel Gomez. “I thought I would give it a shot.”

He is now teammates with one of the players he coached at SPHS, freshman catcher Corey Richards.

“It was 2008, which was my sophomore year in high school. At the time, I wasn’t very mature or responsible,” said Richards. “Being my coach and now as my teammate, he keeps me in check and I’m glad to have him on my team.”

In 21 games during the 2012 season for the Lancers, Daniel Gomez had 20 hits in 74 at-bats while driving in seven runs. This season, Gomez is slated to be used more as a pitcher that can start games or come out of the bullpen.

“I’m kind of like a roving pitcher,” he said. “But I will do whatever the coaches tell me.”

For the 2013 season, Daniel noted that Coach O’Meara has gradually become a more influential figure to him.

“He didn’t have a lot of influence on me my first year since I didn’t know him at all, but coming back and seeing where this program was at and what he was teaching, it had influence on me because it includes a lot of things that I’m working out personally,” said Daniel. “What he preaches to his guys made me come back and love it again as a player.”

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