While those on the West Coast were gearing up for ESPN's Monday Night Baseball matchup between the Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals, many were unaware Jessica Mendoza was making history during the broadcast.
Mendoza, an ESPN reporter and analyst, became the first woman to call an ESPN MLB game as an in-booth analyst, according to SportsCenter's Twitter account.
Jessica Mendoza becomes the first woman to call an ESPN MLB game as an in-booth analyst. (via @jessmendoza) pic.twitter.com/3R0vjUictZ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 25, 2015
She joined Dave O'Brien and Dallas Braden during the broadcast on ESPN2 last night, but that wasn't the first time she made history doing something of that nature. She was also the first female broadcaster in the booth during the 2014 College World Series (also televised by ESPN). The former Olympic gold medalist (as a member of the USA softball team) spoke with Allure Magazine before last night's milestone.
"I just want to make sure I do a really good job," Mendoza said. "I'm assuming the average baseball viewer is going to notice and think, Okay, this is a female voice. I haven't heard this before. I want to come in and do my thing. I want to be who I am-I don't want to change that-but I want to make sure I am extra knowledgeable and prepared so I can maybe bring something extra. I'd love for someone listening to be like, 'Wow I didn't know that.'
And if there's any criticism about her presence in the booth, she doesn't care.
"First off, it's been really cool how supportive everyone has been so far. I have definitely heard everything good and bad you could hear from people, and it doesn't bother me. Because when it's something like a tweet that says, 'Women don't know baseball, they shouldn't talk about baseball,' it's like, 'Okay, welcome to 2015. Where have you been for the last 20 years?'"
The MLB is hoping to expand their fan base under new commissioner Rob Manfred, as he's already gotten the ball rolling on a number of initiatives. Teams such as the Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners have had "Ladies Night" promotions this season to facilitate the attendance of more females. A Scarborough Survey from 2014 showed that 14.2 million adult women attended MLB games last year, which was up nearly one million from 2013.
Mendoza will hopefully be a catalyst for the growing presence of female baseball fans.
