VIDEO: Checking in on Former Atlanta Braves: Jonny Gomes

Former Atlanta Braves: Jonny Gomes is Doing Jonny Gomes things in Japan

During the off-season, former Atlanta Brave Jonny Gomes, made an announcement that he would be leaving Major League Baseball.

His decision to peruse a dream to play in Japan surprised many in the baseball world. He explained his choice to join the Rakuten Eagles in an open letter to The Players Tribune.

The Players Tribune is a blogging site that gives the keyboard to the players and allows them to engage fans even deeper than Twitter or Instagram.

Like the MLB players, Japan also has its spring training. Gomes still has some pop, and it’s interesting to see him in a Japanese uniform, flipping bats, and trotting around the bases.

And the absence of his signature beard is also a little weird.

MLB.com’s Ben Cosman, found some clips of Gomes going yickety on Japan pitchers, and shared them in the site’s Cut4 feature.

There’s also this one, where it looks like he pretty much got all of the pitch.

Jonny Gomes may never be the everyday player he once may have been, but there’s no doubting he still has some left in the tank. I for one am happy to see him enjoying baseball in a very different setting and experiencing a culture that loves the game.

Gomes is one of the great personalities in baseball, and I hope his days in the Major Leagues are not over. Regardless of the team he is on, he’s always fun to watch.

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Who knows, maybe the Rakuten Eagles might let him get on the mound in a blowout one day.