On Sunday, Feb. 7, the sports world woke with heavy hearts as ESPN baseball reporter Pedro Gomez unexpectedly passed away at age 58. Pedro joined ESPN in April of 2003 as a reporter based in Phoenix, Az. He originally served as a correspondent for SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, and additional studio shows.

The baseball world reached out to Gomez’s family via social media such as Twitter and Instagram with their deepest condolences, former and current players, fellow reporters, and organizations as a whole. Many sharing their favorite pictures and memories with Gomez, some they will never forget.

Since Gomez began covering baseball, he is considered one of the most accomplished men in his industry to grace television in the past couple of decades. He has covered more than 25 World Series, 20 All-Star games and has won multiple awards for his work. One of the biggest accomplishments to Gomez’s name is he was able to become a member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. What this means is that at the end of every season. He was able to select which former players do and don’t get into the Hall of Fame.

According to ESPN broadcaster Rachel Nichols, says “those are just numbers.” She also went on to say he was “one of the funniest, kindest, sweetest, and most accomplished men to do what he did. When someone dies suddenly, it is such a shock, such a tragedy, it can be hard to see anything else. That is what it felt like last night when we got word of Pedro Gomez. Everything turns pitch black, and it is hard to breathe.” Nichols said.

Ken Rosenthal, an ESPN baseball reporter, was asked about his relationship with Pedro the next morning following his death. He said, “We were the same age, we came up at the same time with similar experiences, we stayed in touch over the years and when I saw that news come over Twitter last night, that was as crushing and deflating as anything I can remember in a long time. I love my job, I love coming to work, but it was tough coming in today.”

Pedro’s family released a statement following this tragedy saying, “Pedro was far more than a media personality. He was a dad, a loving husband, friend, coach and mentor. He was our everything.”