Pedro Gomez, a mainstay of ESPN’s Major League Baseball coverage for the past two decades, who moved from the newspaper’s sports section to millions of television screens, died at his Phoenix home on Sunday, ESPN and his family said. He was 58 years old.
No cause of death was provided by the network, which announced Gomez’s death on Sunday night.
“We are shocked and sad to learn that our friend and colleague Pedro Gomez passed away,” said James Pitaro, president of ESPN and Sports Content, in a statement. “Pedro was an elite journalist at the highest level and his professional achievements are universally recognized. Most importantly, Pedro was a kind and dear friend to all of us. Our hearts are with the family of Pedro and all who love him in this extraordinarily difficult time. “
Homage to Mr. Gomez, son of Cuban refugees, arrived from journalism and professional sports, including from various baseball franchises. Gomez’s son, Rio Gomez, plays for Salem Red Sox, a Boston Red Sox secondary league affiliate.
“Devastating news about Pedro Gomez,” Jeremy Schaap, the veteran sports reporter and ESPN colleague, said on Twitter. “Such a lovely, kind and talented human being. So proud of your family. “
Jason La Canfora, who covers the CBS Sports National Football League, said on Twitter that he admired Mr. Gomez.
“I was fortunate enough to meet Pedro Gomez as a young reporter in college, and even more blessed to be able to call him a friend,” wrote Mr. La Canfora. “He represented the best of us, as journalists and human beings.”
Mr. Gomez joined ESPN in April 2003 after spending 18 years as a baseball hit writer and columnist, including for The Miami Herald in South Florida, San Jose Mercury News, Sacramento Bee and Arizona Republic.
During his career, he covered 25 World Series and 22 All-Star Games, according to an ESPN biography, which says he attended the University of Miami and majored in journalism.
Gomez also narrated some of the most sordid episodes in the national pastime. In 2007, Barry Bonds surpassed Hank Aaron’s home run record under a cloud of suspicion about steroid use. There was also the case of Chicago Cubs supporter Steve Bartman, who deflected a foul ball during Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series, which then Florida Marlins won.
In 2016, Gomez and his son Rio were profiled by ESPN for a feature film on Father’s Day. In the same year, he traveled to Cuba to report on an exhibition game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team, the first time that a Major League Baseball club had visited him in about two decades.
“Completely surreal for us Cubans and / or Cuban Americans”, Mr. Gomez said on Twitter at the time.
During the trip, Gomez took his father and brother’s ashes to his family’s homeland, ESPN recalls.
Mr. Gomez was a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America and a voting member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In addition to his son Rio, he leaves his wife, Sandra Gomez; another son, Dante; and a daughter, Sierra.