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Sorry, a long thread:
Like so many others who were lucky enough to know Pedro Gomez, I’ve been searching for how to express the deep pain and sadness I’m feeling. 1
Like so many others who were lucky enough to know Pedro Gomez, I’ve been searching for how to express the deep pain and sadness I’m feeling. 1
You see the words everywhere, from family, friends, colleagues, fans, ballplayers, teams: gutted, reeling, shocked, saddened, crushed, devastated ... I don’t know, it’s as if we’re all trying to find some way to come to terms with something so completely, well, fucked. 2
The tributes are everywhere, as they should be, testaments to a truly beloved man: “He made everyone’s day a little better…one of the kindest people I’ve ever worked with…an absolutely beautiful guy…an amazing man that was respected in every locker room he ever walked into...3
…the best of us in every way…the best of the best as a person, journalist and proud father…a good and decent man, so proud of his family and his heritage.” Just search “Pedro Gomez” here, and you’ll find an endless outpouring of love+respect, evidence of a life lived so well.4
As several people have pointed out, the world would be a far better and more civil place if we all aspired to be even a bit more like Pedro. This we should all take to heart, now more than ever. 5
There are, of course, some beautiful stories being shared about what a fantastic friend Pedro was. In particular, I love these two, from @TJQuinnESPN, https://bit.ly/3oWtrCA , and @TimKeownESPN, https://bit.ly/2YVI52f . 6
But while all of this captures the wonder that was Pedro – and is certainly more important and defining than his work – I’ve been reflecting a lot on what Pedro taught (and teaches) us all about being a journalist. 7
Pedro was a total pro, somebody who knew exactly what his job was, who showed no fear or fealty when so many others around him were intimidated by the moment or cowed by powerful athletes. Pedro was no homer, he went after stories, good or bad. 8
Perhaps nothing speaks more to his ethic and credibility than that even as he did powerful work that sometimes shed a dark light on baseball, the outpouring of love for him has come from managers, players, owners, the league office, pretty much anyone connected to the sport. 9
That is no small feat, and Pedro pulled it off because he didn’t pretend to be somebody he wasn’t, he never played “The TV guy,” he worked his ass off, he developed source after source after source, he strove to understand people, and he loved what he did. 10
He LOVED his job and he LOVED people, and everyone was on equal footing in his world. If you’ve never been in a locker room or a clubhouse, you can’t really know the power held by managers and players, and the inequity that can create, especially with the media. 11
Pedro fought that, even if it meant putting himself in uncomfortable situations. This story from @hbryant42 has been making the rounds, and it’s just perfect Pedro: https://bit.ly/3p2P5Ft . As is this one from T.J.: https://bit.ly/3q3WRQH . 12
I saw a decent amount of Pedro in the mid-2000s, as the BALCO steroids saga was playing out. He, along with producer @MoynihanCharles, had the unenviable task of covering Barry Bonds’ uncomfortable pursuit of Hank Aaron’s career home run record. 13
Pedro became a story in his own right – the fearless ESPN reporter charged with chasing around the surly and steroid-fueled fraud; or, if you were a Bonds fan, the scummy, salacious hack trying to make a name for himself off the back of the Home Run King. 14
But Pedro didn’t care either way, he was neither: He embraced the task of asking difficult questions, of pressing Bonds, of chronicling it all, not because he wanted to draw attention to himself or become the story, but simply because it was his job. 15
He was on the Barry Bonds Beat, in all its complexity, and he leaned into it. He crushed it. There’s a journalism master class to be taught simply by taking the breadth of Pedro’s work on Bonds and unspooling it, day by day, report by report, question by question. 16
I admired Pedro for so, so many reasons, but none more so than for the way he went about his job.
Thank you, Petey. RIP.
Love you, Fain
Thank you, Petey. RIP.
Love you, Fain
