Longtime ESPN baseball reporter Pedro Gomez died Sunday at 58 years old.
Gomez covered baseball for ESPN for more than 30 years, making regular reports and appearances on flagship programs like “Baseball Tonight,” “Sunday Night Baseball” and “SportsCenter.”
“We are shocked and saddened to learn that our friend and colleague Pedro Gomez has passed away,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “Pedro was an elite journalist at the highest level and his professional accomplishments are universally recognized. More importantly, Pedro was a kind, dear friend to us all. Our hearts are with Pedro’s family and all who love him at this extraordinarily difficult time.”
The sports network noted Gomez leaves behind a wife, Sandra; sons, Rio and Dante; and daughter, Sierra.
Rio Gomez is a pitcher in the Boston Red Sox farm system.
“Our hearts go out to the Gomez family,” the Red Sox said in a tweet on Sunday evening.
Pedro Gomez’s parents immigrated to Cuba before he was born, and he was part of the ESPN team covering a game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cuban national team in Havana in 2016. Gomez returned his father’s and brother’s ashes to the family home, the network reported.
He was based on the West Coast and was well known for his coverage of Barry Bonds’s pursuit of the career home run record from 2004 to 2007.
Condolences poured in for Gomez from around the baseball world on Sunday night.