Longtime ESPN correspondent and national baseball writer Pedro Gomez unexpectedly passed away Sunday at the age of 58. He leaves behind a wife, Sandra; sons Rio and Dante; and daughter Sierra.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are among the teams mourning the loss of Gomez. “The Dodgers are stunned and saddened to hear about the passing of Pedro Gomez. We are thinking of his family, friends and colleagues and offer our condolences during this difficult time,” the team said in a statement.
Numerous members of the Dodgers organization, past and present, have taken to social media to share memories of Gomez. Alex Wood, who recently signed with the San Francisco Giants, noted how kind Gomez was to him.
Pedro Gomez was one of the kindest and most genuine people you’d ever come across in our game. We were all better off for knowing him personally and professionally. My deepest condolences to his family. What a terrible loss for our baseball community.
— Alex Wood (@Awood45) February 8, 2021
Dodgers free agent Justin Turner recalled the many conversations he had with Gomez and how he always admired his perspective of the sport.
Wow this just hit hard. Always had great conversations and loved Pedro’s perspective on our game. #RIP https://t.co/i5LZGlC9WN
— Justin Turner (@redturn2) February 8, 2021
Dodgers organist Dieter Ruehle additionally retweeted a photo that Gomez shared during the 2018 National League Championship Series.
Very saddened to hear of the passing of Pedro Gomez. He’d always stop by the organ booth with that warm smile of his. Condolences to his family. https://t.co/FyVmFnD4bd
— Dieter Ruehle (@DieterRuehle) February 8, 2021
Gomez began his career as a writer for The Miami News in 1985 before moving out west. After a brief stint with The San Diego Union, he started covering the Oakland Athletics for the San Jose Mercury Times and Sacramento Bee.
In 2003, Gomez joined ESPN, where he made regular appearances on flagship programs such as “Baseball Tonight,” “Sunday Night Baseball” and “SportsCenter.” He was perhaps best known for his coverage of Barry Bonds in his pursuit of becoming MLB’s all-time home run leader.
Notable MLB deaths in 2021
Hope that 2021 would bring about better times has been washed away for the Dodgers and MLB. L.A. lost two icons this year in Tommy Lasorda and Don Sutton, while the league is still mourning the loss of Hank Aaron.
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