In case you didn't know by now (we covered it in our "Five Things You Should Know About the AL Wild Card Game" piece yesterday), ESPN baseball analyst Jessica Mendoza made history last night when she became the first female to broadcast an MLB postseason game.
She also became the first woman to broadcast a nationally televised Sunday Night MLB game earlier this season when she filled in for the suspended Curt Schilling on Sunday Night Baseball back in late August. That game happened to be Jake Arrieta's no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
She first appeared in the ESPN booth during a Monday night game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals in mid-August, which marked the first time a female broadcasted an MLB game.
.@jessmendoza will become 1st woman to broadcast nationally televised @MLB #postseason game. https://t.co/oiFeIfpjtX pic.twitter.com/HYBMMDfTXQ
— MLB (@MLB) October 6, 2015
Mendoza isn't exactly a universal or household name (at least she wasn't until last night), so here are five things you may not have known about the 34-year-old.
- She was a four-time first-team All-American softball player at Stanford University, where she graduated with a Master's Degree in Social Sciences and Education.
- Mendoza is also a two-time Olympic medalist (Gold in '04 and Silver in '08) after serving as a member of the USA Women's National Softball Team from 2001-2010, a three-time World Cup champion ('06, '07 and '10) and a three-time World Champion ('02, '06 and '10).
- As a sophomore she led the NCAA in batting average (.475) in 2000, which is a Stanford school record, as are her 327 career hits, 50 home runs, 230 runs scored and .719 slugging percentage
- She became the first female to broadcast the College World Series in 2013
- Mendoza is president of the Women's Sports Foundation, which is "is dedicated to advancing the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity."
