The Mets have announced that they have hired Jessica Mendoza as a baseball operations adviser. Mendoza is one of the most decorated softball players of all time and has been with ESPN since 2007. She has been an analyst during the network's Sunday Night Baseball broadcast since 2016, a position she'll keep despite joining the Mets.
"Jessica is incredibly well respected throughout the industry and we are excited to bring her into the organization," Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said in a statement. "She is a world-class athlete and experienced television analyst with an extremely high baseball IQ. We are confident that she will help us in our efforts to win now and in the future. This hire demonstrates the continued support from ownership to invest in the intellectual capital of the New York Mets."
Per the Mets, here's what Mendoza's job with the club entails:
Mendoza will provide insight to Executive Vice President & General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen as well as the entire Baseball Operations Department. Her focus will be in the areas of player evaluation, roster construction, technological advancement and health and performance.
Mendoza is far from alone in working for a team and still doing national broadcasting work. Her analyst partner on Sunday Night Baseball, Alex Rodriguez, works for the Yankees. Another ESPN co-worker who does national broadcasts is David Ross, who works for the Cubs.
Several former players, including David Ortiz and Pedro Martinez (both Red Sox) work for teams while also doing in-studio work. Speaking of which, the Mets also hired Al Leiter and as part of his announcement, and they mentioned he'll continue to do work for MLB Network.
Mendoza is now the most high-profile woman to be on both a national baseball broadcast and work for a team.
