Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch spoke to Pedro Gomez just three days before the longtime ESPN reporter passed away at the age of 58.
Hinch issued a statement in honor of Gomez on Monday, calling him “part of our baseball family.”
Gomez joined ESPN in 2003 as a reporter in Phoenix, having been a sports columnist and national baseball writer at The Arizona Republic since 1997.
He has also worked for the Sacramento Bee, San Jose Mercury News, The Miami Herald, San Diego Union and The Miami News. He was a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America and was a Baseball Hall of Fame voter.
Gomez spent part of his childhood in Detroit and grew up as a Tigers fan who listened to Ernie Harwell.
No cause of death was given.
Hinch’s statement issued by the Tigers is below.
” A unique part of our baseball family was lost with the passing of Pedro Gomez. It hit me hard yesterday, just like for so many who crossed paths with Pedey. Whether it was a professional conversation about the game or more likely a personal chat about our families, I always felt like Pedro was in my corner. I will miss our conversations, his perspective on life and his unwavering faith in connection. I’m forever grateful he called me Thursday to tell stories about the Tigers’ baseball, the art of driving, and his happiness for my new beginning. RIP, hermano. ”
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.