RIP Pedro Gomez

[playthrough]

Thanks for posting that. I didn't know Pedro Gomez, but that thread gave me a sense of him as a person. This to me was an example of where twitter can shine.

Sticking up for a young scribe while telling Tony LaRussa off is as good as it gets for me. RIP, Pedro.

 

[swingline]

From Derrick Goold's chat today:

"Baseball is less today. There's a hole. There's heartbreak.

A great storyteller, and a greater person. You have probably seen the outpouring of compliments and grief from his peers. Not too long ago, as I had those drives all around the country from city to city Cardinals series to series, Pedro was one of the baseball writers who would call to help me pass the time. We swapped stories about TLR as I drove through Arkansas. When I was a young baseball writer, there were plenty of people telling me how I couldn't be one, wouldn't last as one, didn't belong as one, had no place in the press box, and so on, and then there were people like Pedro who told me why I could be a baseball writer, why it was worth chasing and trying, and how to do it.

And I'm not alone. One of the reason Pedro means so so much to baseball writers is because so many of us can point to the person he mentored, the moment he stood up, the story he told -- the way he contributed to each of us, and our friends.

He was one of the 13 reporters to go to Havana and Cuba in December 2015 on what MLB called a "goodwill" tour. It was an emotional trip for him, and still he was there to help many of us, give us background, negotiate what we could not. As you can imagine, the Wi-Fi was tricky but we knew of a hotel that had a floor with a strong single. With Pedro in the lead, we found a way to create a bureau setup in that floor -- like a newsroom. Were we could all work and trust that we could file our stories, or send back photos.

Our flight out of Havana was delayed by hours -- and it was unclear if it would ever come that day, honestly -- and while we waited Pedro and I spoke about the trip, what it meant to us, what it meant to him (his parents left Cuba shortly before he was born), and what it meant for the future."

 

[HanSenSE]

Kudoboard for Pedro Gomez | Kudoboard

 

[HanSenSE]

Couple of reactions from Northern California where, as you can imagine, everyone who worked with him when he was covering the A's for the Sacramento Bee and Mercury-News are devastated.

 

[goalmouth]

I remember Gomez from the Bonds HR chase. Having to cover the guy for that long and his demeanor never changed.

Also, that Howard Bryant thread shows what a jerk LaRussa is, which is unfortunately SOP for MLB.

 

[tapintoamerica]

I remember Gomez from the Bonds HR chase. Having to cover the guy for that long and his demeanor never changed.

Also, that Howard Bryant thread shows what a jerk LaRussa is, which is unfortunately SOP for MLB.

True on all counts. I was in LaRussa's office in a ballpark that no longer exists when he picked up a stapler and threw it at the wall. I think he was aiming for the wall rather than at me. It sounds like Pedro Gomez would have defended me if that had been necessary.

 

[swingline]

Goold's podcast with Pedro, from 2015 in Havana:

Best Podcast in Baseball: A conversation with ESPN's Pedro Gomez in Cuba (2015)

 

[User 149557]

True on all counts. I was in LaRussa's office in a ballpark that no longer exists when he picked up a stapler and threw it at the wall. I think he was aiming for the wall rather than at me. It sounds like Pedro Gomez would have defended me if that had been necessary.

“That’s a Swingline 747, an American classic, show some ******* respect.” - Me right before Tony LaRussa would’ve murdered me with his bare hands

 

[DanOregon]

Figured LaRussa would have called someone else in to throw the thing.

 

[UNCGrad]

Bet that stapler was juiced all to hell, and LaRussa didn't, uh, know...

 

[HanSenSE]

Pedro Gomez Foundation launched to support journalism scholarships

 

[micropolitan guy]

True on all counts. I was in LaRussa's office in a ballpark that no longer exists when he picked up a stapler and threw it at the wall. I think he was aiming for the wall rather than at me. It sounds like Pedro Gomez would have defended me if that had been necessary.

He probably missed the wall too. As I remember, as a player, Tony LaRussa couldn't hit anything.

I always love what Jim Palmer said to Earl Weaver, that the only thing Weaver knew about pitching was, he couldn't hit it.

 

[swingline]

I always love what Jim Palmer said to Earl Weaver, that the only thing Weaver knew about pitching was, he couldn't hit it.

I think that’s pretty universal. Supposedly that’s what Gibson told McCarver.

 

[micropolitan guy]

I think that’s pretty universal. Supposedly that’s what Gibson told McCarver.

Well McCarver was a .271 lifetime hitter and hit .320 at 35 years of age. Obviously Gibson was just busting his chops because TM could hit a little bit.

 

[Batman]

Figured LaRussa would have called someone else in to throw the thing.

Now I have this image in my head of LaRussa tapping his left arm to call someone in from the PR department.

 

[swingline]

And then a righty to throw the next stapler.

 

[HanSenSE]

 

[HanSenSE]

Not sure why I feel compelled to post these memorials, but I do.

 

[MileHigh]

I love the class moves by teams that do this.

 

[HanSenSE]

I love the class moves by teams that do this.

The Giants dedicated a page to him in their media guide, as well as a second page to departing beat writers Henry Schulman and Chris Haft.