Pedro Gomez, a 2003 ESPN reporter and one of the nation’s top baseball journalists, died suddenly on Sunday. He was 58 years old.
Gomez, based in Phoenix, covered baseball for SportsCenter, Tonight Baseball and other ESPN studio shows, live events and radio. During his 35-year career, he has covered over 25 world series and over 20 All-Star games.
“We are shocked and saddened to learn that our friend and colleague Pedro Gomez has died,” said Jimmy Pitaro, president of ESPN and Sports Content. “Pedro has been an elite journalist at the highest level and his professional achievements are universally recognized. Most importantly, Pedro has been a good and dear friend to all of us. Our hearts go out to Pedro’s family and all those who I love him in this extraordinarily difficult situation. time. “
Gomez is survived by his wife, Sandra, sons Rio and Dante and daughter Sierra.
“Pedro was much more than a media personality,” his family said in a statement. “He was a father, a loving husband, a loyal friend, a coach and a mentor. He was everything and the greatest believer in his children.”
The son of Cuban parents who came to Miami just before his birth, Gomez was part of the network’s historic coverage in 2016, when the Tampa Bay Rays faced the Cuban national team in Havana. He returned the ashes of his father and brother to the family home on that trip. He also covered a football game for the United States Havana men’s team in 2008 for ESPN and an exhibition game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Cuban team in 1999.
In addition, he was a vital part of covering the Barry Bonds network from 2005 to 2007, including covering bonds that were set to break Hank Aaron’s home record in 2007.
Gomez even talked about playing a game for an ESPN baseball game in 2014. He said his favorite event to cover was Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship, when Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman tried to catch a fouled Moises Alou, the chick’s outfielder, in a playoff game against the Miami Marlins, who scored eight rounds in the half and forced a Game 7 in the series.
Prior to joining ESPN, Gomez wrote for the Miami News, San Diego Union, San Jose Mercury News, Miami Herald and Sacramento Bee, specializing in baseball coverage, before becoming a national baseball columnist and writer for the Republic of Arizona. in 1997.
Among the teams he covered as a writer were Oakland Athletics, Rickey Henderson, José Canseco and Mark McGwire, among others. Gomez once told reporter Jeff Pearlman that it was like “I traveled with [Rolling] Stones “.
He was an award-winning journalist, including an award from the Associated Press Arizona Editors Association for “Discovering the House I Never Knew” on his 1999 trip to Cuba.
Gomez was born in Miami and attended Miami-Dade Community College, where he also found a passion for journalism at the University of Miami.