Remember Who You Are: What Pedro Gomez Showed Us About Baseball and Life

(Hardback)

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Pedro Gomez of ESPN was a beloved figure in baseball. His death from sudden cardiac arrest on Feb. 7, 2021, unleashed an outpouring of heartfelt tributes. He was 58, both a hard-nosed reporter and a smiling ambassador of the sport. These 62 personal essays soar beyond sports to delve into life lessons.

Pedro, a proud Cuban American, was known for his dramatic reporting from Havana. Fully and fluidly bilingual, he did as much as anyone to bridge the wide gap that had existed between U.S.-born players and the Latin Americans now so important to the games vitality and future growth. He was also a family man who loved to talk about his three children, Sierra, Dante and Rio, a Boston Red Sox prospect. Pedro was universally known as a smiling presence who brought out the best in people. His humanity and generosity of spirit shaped countless lives, including one of his ESPN bosses, Rob King, who was so moved by Pedros advice to himRemember who you arethat he printed up the words and posted them on the wall of his office in Bristol. King is one of a diverse collection of contributors whose personal essays turn Pedros shocking death into an occasion to reflect on the deeper truths of life we too often overlook. Part The Pride of Havana and part Tuesdays With Morrie, part The Tender Bar and part Ball Four, this is the rare essay collection that reads like a novel, full of achingly honest emotion and painful insights, a book about friendship, a book about standing for something, a book about joy and love.

Former New York Times writer Jack Curry writes about Pedros passion for live music, and former Sports Illustrated writer Tim Kurkjian brings alive spring-training basketball games with executives like Sandy Anderson and Billy Beane and Pedro right in the mix. Detroit manager AJ Hinch and formers Texas manager Ron Washington both reveal that in their darkest hours Pedro gave them some of the best advice of their lives.

Hall of Famers Dennis Eckersley, Tony La Russa, Peter Gammons, Ross Newhan, Tracy Ringolsby and Dan Shaughnessy are among the contributors. So are likely future Hall of Famers Max Scherzer and Dusty Baker. Pulitzer-Prize-winning Washington Post war correspondent Steve Fainaru, award-winning writers from Howard Bryant and Mike Barnicle to Tim Keown, Ken Rosenthal and Dave Sheinin also contribute. Rounding out the mix are current and former ESPN stars including Rachel Nichols, Shelley M. Smith, Peter Gammons, Bob Ley and Keith Olbermann.

This is a book to rekindle in any lapsed fan a love of going to the ballpark, but its also a wakeup call that transcends sports. To any journalist, worn down by the demands of a punishing job, to anyone anywhere, pummeled by pandemic times and the dark mood of the country in recent years, these essays will light a spark to seize every opportunity to make a difference, in your work and in the lives of people who matter to you.

Reviews

Advance praise for Remember Who You Are

Pedro Gomez was as kind as he was talented. I can think of no one else in the industry who would have inspired this many heartfelt essays by this diverse a group of writers, ballplayers, coaches, and front office executives. Everyone loved and respected him. And while he left this earth way too soon, his legacy will live on through his children and in the pages of this book. --Molly Knight, Author, The Best Team Money Can Buy

The words in this collection share a common source--while they were crafted with the head, they originated from the heart. The Gomez Rules are the Commandments for those who cover the game. All who have lived the baseball life should have followed all at some point. They should be etched in tablet.--Broadcaster Ted Robinson

Remember Who You Are pulls together heartfelt and eloquent tributes to a man who was more than just America's foremost baseball journalist, more than just an embodiment of the American dream, but a bona fide inspiration whose high standards, confident authenticity and inquisitive spirit should be a model for us all. --Congressman Eric Swalwell

Reading Remember Who You Are took me on a journey from the day I met Pedro, a smiling young scribe who was my new coworker, who grew into a legend. These tributes not only reveal a man who was beloved by virtually all who knew him, but also paint a vivid picture of our sports media tribe--the laughs, the camaraderie, the adventure, the challenges. At the center of so much of it, smiling and including all of us, was Pedro. We will miss him so. --Ann Killion, Award-winning San Francisco Chronicle columnist

"If the measure of a man is how much he is loved by others, these essays confirm that Pedro Gomez holds the Triple Crown. He's a Hall of Famer forever. --Michael Badalucco, Emmy Award-winning actor