The Six Degrees of Carlos Gomez: Brewers outfielder has impacted every division in baseball

Can you believe that it's already been five years since Carlos Gomez began robbing home runs, dyeing his beard pink and making Brewers fans literally weep with joy? The Brewers acquired the All-Star center fielder on Nov. 6, 2009. Since then, Gomez has created more than his fair share of memories for the Brewers and their loyal fans.

His home run trots (sprints?) have become a show of their own:

He's been so graceful on the basepaths:

And so understanding of his opponents' differing opinions:

He's also won a Gold Glove, made an All-Star Game, become much more conversational on topics like potassium and yachting, raised his career batting average by 50 points and made one lucky Brewers fan bawl her little eyes out.

But Gomez's relevance didn't start or end in Miller Park's outfield -- he's had a far-reaching impact on the chaos within MLB (and its standings) over the past half-decade.

In early 2008, the Mets were working toward being a force atop the NL East and were looking to bolster their rotation with some left-handed firepower. They found a match in then-Twins ace Johan Santana. Much to the delight of David Wright, the Mets acquired "the best pitcher in the game" for a haul of four prospects: Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey, Deolis Guerra ... and Carlos Gomez.

Less than two years later, the Twins sent Gomez to the Brewers for current Orioles shortstop (and 2014 Gold Glove-winner) J.J. Hardy.

That move didn't simply add a future All-Star and Gold Glove-winner to the Brew Crew's outfield, either -- it also freed up the shortstop position for then-Brewer Alicdes Escobar, whose increased playing time turned him into valuable trade asset. The Gomez trade also minimized the impact Lorenzo Cain could have in the outfield ...

... which then paved the way for the Brewers to send Escobar, Cain and pitching prospects Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress to the Royals for Zack Greinke and Yuniesky Betancourt. Escobar and Cain went on to be huge pieces of the 2014 Royals run. Similarly, Odorizzi was a huge piece of the deal that brought Big Game James Shields to the Royals for this season's impressive showing.

Basically, you can play "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon," but with Carlos Gomez and pretty much every team in Major League Baseball. He's been part of franchises in the NL East, AL Central and NL Central and directly impacted major acquisitions that affected the other three divisions (Greinke's trade to the Angels and subsequent signing with the Dodgers).

Quick, someone get to work on a screenplay for The Butterfly Effect 4: The Revenge of Carlos Gomez.