Pedro Gomez, a pillar of ESPN’s coverage of Major League Baseball for much of the past two decades, who went from the newspaper sports department to millions of television screens, died Sunday at his home in Phoenix, ESPN and his family said . He was 58.
The network gave no cause of death, leading to the death of Mr. Gomez announced late Sunday night.
“We are shocked and saddened to learn that our friend and colleague Pedro Gomez has passed away,” James Pitaro, chairman of ESPN and Sports Content, said in a statement. ‘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 all of us. Our hearts go out to Pedro’s family and everyone who loves him in this extraordinary difficult time. ”
Tributes to mr. Gomez, a son of Cuban refugees, has poured in from journalism and professional sports, including several baseball franchises. Mr. Gomez’s son Rio Gomez plays for the Salem Red Sox, a minor league subsidiary of the Boston Red Sox.
“Devastating news about Pedro Gomez,” Jeremy Schaap, the veteran sports reporter and an ESPN colleague, said on Twitter. ‘Such a sweet, kind, talented man. So proud of his family. ”
Jason La Canfora, who covers the National Football League for CBS Sports, said on Twitter that he looked up at Mr. Gomez.
“I was blessed to meet Pedro Gomez as a young reporter in college, and was also blessed to be able to call him a friend,” he said. La Canfora wrote. “He represented the best of us as journalists and people.”
Mr. Gomez joined ESPN in April 2003 after 18 years as a baseball beats writer and columnist, including for The Miami Herald in his native South Florida, San Jose Mercury News, Sacramento Bee and the Republic of Arizona.
During his career, he discussed 25 World Series and 22 All-Star Games, according to an ESPN biography, which states that he attended the University of Miami and majored in journalism.
Mr. Gomez has also written some of the worst episodes of the national pastime. In 2007, there was Barry Bonds who surpassed Hank Aaron’s home record under a cloud of suspicion over steroid use. There was also the case that Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman deflected a nasty ball during Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series, which the then Florida Marlins won.
In 2016, Mr. Gomez and his son Rio profiled by ESPN for a Father’s Day function. That same year, he traveled to Cuba to report on an exhibition match between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team, the first time a Major League Baseball club had visited there in about two decades.
“Completely surreal towards those of us Cubans and / or Cuban Americans,” Mr. Gomez said on Twitter at that point.
ESPN took the ashes of his father and brother back to his family’s homeland during the trip.
Mr. Gomez was a member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and a voting member for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In addition to his son Rio, he is survived by his wife, Sandra Gomez; another son, Dante; and a daughter, Sierra.