Pedro Gomez, an ESPN reporter since 2003 and one of the country’s leading baseball journalists, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday. He was 58.
Gomez, who was based in Phoenix, covered baseball for SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight and other ESPN studio programs, live events and radio. During his 35-year career, he has covered more than 25 World Series and more than 20 All-Star games.
“We are shocked and saddened to learn that our friend and colleague Pedro Gomez has passed away,” said Jimmy Pitaro, chairman, ESPN and Sports Content. “Pedro was an elite journalist at the highest level and his professional achievements are widely recognized. More importantly, Pedro was a friendly, dear friend to us all. Our hearts go out to Pedro’s family and everyone who loves him in this extraordinary difficult time. “
Gomez is survived by his wife, Sandra; boys, Rio and Dante; and daughter, Sierra.
“Pedro was much more than a media personality,” his family said in a statement. “He was a father, loving husband, loyal friend, coach and mentor. He was the greatest believer in us all and his children.”
Gomez’s son Rio is a pitcher in the Boston Red Sox organization.
The son of Cuban parents who moved to Miami shortly before his birth, Gomez was part of the network’s special 2016 coverage when the Tampa Bay Rays faced the Cuban national team in Havana. On that trip, he returned his father and brother’s ashes to the family home. He also discussed an American men’s team for ESPN in Havana in 2008 and an exhibition match between the Baltimore Orioles and the Cuban national team in 1999.
In addition, he was an important part of the network’s coverage of Barry Bonds from 2005 to 2007, including the coverage of Bonds to pass Henry Aaron’s home record in 2007.
Gomez even played play-by-play for an ESPN baseball game in 2014. He said his favorite event was the game, Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series, when Chicago fan Steve Bartman reached out and tried to catch a dirty ball over Cubs. Outfielder Moises Alou in a playoff game against the Miami Marlins, who scored eight runs in the innings and forced a game 7 in the series.
Before joining ESPN, Gomez wrote for the Miami News, the San Diego Union, the San Jose Mercury News, the Miami Herald, and the Sacramento Bee – which specializes in baseball coverage – before becoming a columnist and national baseball writer at the Arizona Republic in 1997.
Among the teams he covered as a beat writer were the Oakland Athletics of Rickey Henderson, Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. Gomez once told journalist Jeff Pearlman that it was as if we were traveling with The [Rolling] Stones. ‘
He was an award-winning journalist, including an award-winning award from the Arizona Associated Press Managing Editors’ Association for “Discovering the Home I Never Knew” about his trip to Cuba in 1999.
Gomez was a native of Miami and attended Miami-Dade Community College, where he found his passion for journalism and the University of Miami.