Yahoo Finance Jessica Mendoza misses ESPN's 'Sunday Night Baseball' while recovering from 'scary' car accident
ESPN “Sunday Night Baseball” color commentator Jessica Mendoza was absent from the booth Sunday to recover from a car accident.
Mendoza was driving on a California freeway on Friday when she was rear-ended at full speed, according to a report by USA Today. The 38-year-old “escaped serious injury,” per ESPN, and is recovering at her home.
Ben Cafardo, ESPN’s communications director, tweeted she attempted to work the game Sunday night but made the “much better decision” to rest.
Best to @JessMendoza who is recovering today after a scary ordeal as Bob mentions below. Ever a champ, she made every effort to be in the booth tonight but the much better decision was to rest and recover with her family. We'll hopefully see you next week in Williamsport, Jess. https://t.co/7UbKAr1Li5
— Ben Cafardo (@Ben_ESPN) August 11, 2019
The San Francisco Giants defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-6, at Oracle Park with Matt Vasgersian and Alex Rodriguez calling the game. Reporter Buster Olney was on vacation, so it was lonely on the broadcast.
Vasgersian told viewers, per SI.com:
"With Alex Rodriguez, I’m Matt Vasgersian. Jessica Mendoza not with us today, she was involved in a minor auto accident over the weekend. She’s feeling a lot better, and we’ll see her again next weekend. Buster Olney’s on vacation, so it’s just you and me today."
Mendoza, who has been with ESPN since 2007, is expected to return to the booth for the game next week. The Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates will play in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, home of the Little League World Series.
It’s her fourth year in the broadcasting booth. She is also a baseball operations advisor for the New York Mets. She’s a two-time Olympic medalist and the first woman to be a national TV analyst for the MLB.
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