Women In Baseball
Baseball America|September 01 2017

JESSICA MENDOZA wants to be a role model, but she also wants to be one of the best baseball analysts in the business.

Carroll Rogers Walton
Women In Baseball

Jessica Mendoza, 36, is the first woman to serve as a regular analyst on a national baseball broadcast, on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. The native of Camarillo, Calif., was a four time All-American outfielder for Stanford’s softball team and a two-time Olympian, winning the gold medal in 2004. She broke ground in the Sunday Night Baseball booth in August 2015 before taking a regular seat there in 2016. Mendoza discussed her path to the booth and her role as a pioneer for women in baseball with CARROLL ROGERS WALTON. 

Q Did you have any dreams of broadcasting early on?

A I grew up with Vin Scully; that was the voice of our home, with the Dodgers. But my brain never went to TV. It was definitely sports-focused. I wanted to play . . . I remember telling everyone, “I’m going to be Brett Butler; I’m going to be this leadoff, quick contact guy, in pro baseball.” Finally someone like a teacher said, “Oh no, men play Major League Baseball, not women.” And I was crushed because that’s really what my dream was. I literally could picture myself in the batter’s box in Dodger Stadium someday.

Q How did broadcasting eventually enter the picture?

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ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

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