ESPN Reporter Pedro Gomez Died Quite Suddenly, Leaving Behind His Family

Most people knew Pedro Gomez best for his work at ESPN. Pedro spent more than 35 years covering baseball and had been with ESPN since 2003. As a reporter, he covered 25 World Series and more than 20 All-Star Games. Pedro's list of career accomplishments was long, and his many fans know a ton about the work he did on TV. Fans know less about Pedro's wife, though, or what he was like when he wasn't on camera. 

Because Pedro wasn't hugely famous, he and his family were allowed to live relatively quiet lives most of the time. Pedro was married to his wife Sandra, and the two of them had three children together. They had two sons, Rio and Dante, and a daughter, Sierra. Apparently, baseball runs in the family. Rio is currently a minor-league pitcher inside the Red Sox organization. 

The network announced Pedro's death on Feb. 7 but offered no cause of death with his announcement. He was only 58, so additional reporting is likely to be done to explain what led to the reporter's premature passing. 

Pedro was the son of Cuban refugees, and tributes began to come in almost immediately the news of his death on Super Bowl Sunday, one of ESPN's biggest days of the year. 

“We are shocked and saddened to learn that our friend and colleague Pedro Gomez has passed away,” chairman of ESPN and Sports Content James 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.” 

In addition to the official statement from the network, tributes to Pedro also began pouring in from fellow reporters who had gotten to know him through their work. 

"Devastating news about Pedro Gomez,” Jeremy Schapp, an ESPN colleague, wrote on Twitter. “Such a lovely, kindhearted, talented human being. So proud of his family.”

Before he joined the network in 2003, Pedro worked for 18 years as a baseball reporter at various print outlets, including for The Miami Herald, which was Pedro's hometown paper growing up. Throughout his career covering baseball, Pedro covered plenty of the sport's highlights, and also some of its most controversial moments in recent memory. 

Among those stories was his coverage of Barry Bonds' historic 2007 season, where he broke Hank Aaron's home run record even as he was coming under heavy suspicion for steroid use. Whether he was covering something outrageous or historic, Pedro's passion for sports was always clear. 

"From the time my kids were aware, they've known sports are an integral part of my life," Pedro said during a Father's Day profile in 2016. "In a way, they've had little choice in embracing sports."