That's what's beautiful about sports in general is you give someone a bat, a ball, a piece of sporting equipment and what it does to help them just be better people, 'to get out of whatever situation they might be in temporarily for that moment, to be whoever they want to be.
— Jessica Mendoza
When you think about success - whether it be in softball, getting into college or becoming an 'American Idol' singer - whatever your goals and aspirations are, you're going to have to stand out at some point if you want to succeed.
My main goal when I talk to groups is to educate families on the physical and mental health benefits that playing sports provide young girls. It's not just about going out there and having fun. That's a part of playing sports, but a big chunk of it is all the other things that sports give you to help you become a much more whole, better person.
You can't always say and do things and wait until the right moment, when everything is perfectly lined up. As women, I feel like we do that. I just see so many women take the back seat and wait until the right opportunity, and when you do that, you miss out on the best things.
The Olympic Games are the greatest sporting event in the world.
As a mom, spending quality time on the water with my family is a simple and relaxing way to unplug.
If you're good at what you do, it's going to quiet the people that think you're not good because of how you look or what sex you are.
I've always wanted to see a game at Fenway.
In broadcasting, especially 'cause people are more public, it's hard to be like 'so what are you making?' Finding that information is huge when you're negotiating a contract. You wanna make sure that you're in the same ballpark.
Like, I played baseball with all boys. They didn't want to play catch with me. I mean, it's the story of everything I've done.
When you're successful at something, you think that you need to continue to do what you're doing to get the same result. But I think in order to get better, sometimes you need some failures.
Doubt is what I see with a lot of women, we doubt ourselves. Whether it's because we think we're too fat or ugly or not smart enough, our gender puts ourselves down. But we need to own exactly who we are.
I want to be a role model.
I try not to think about it as much when I'm working, it's more just doing my job, but I realize I have more of a responsibility than probably your everyday analyst.
I like it when my heart's pounding and I'm sweating and I'm nervous.
At the end of the day, what people will give credit for is how Octobers turn out. That's how it works for Yankees managers.
In a perfect world, if I can get conversations done at a batting cage, there's exactly the place I want to be.
My father is a first-generation Mexican-American and sports changed his life. It allowed him to basically live his dream, but it was only because he was given the opportunity by one person.
Embrace the fact that you are different, that your differences are what's going to make you great and your true friends are the ones who are going to love you for those differences.
I don't shy away from things that may be a little different, but own them and implement them in the coverage that I do.
Softball is my life.
We're a role-reversal family in every way possible. And I love that our country has evolved to that. It doesn't matter who makes money, as long as something is rolling in and you're happy.
You don't need to be an athlete to enjoy the outdoors.
For a woman to play within baseball, they just need to play well.
My introduction to sports was through baseball. That's all I knew.
On the U.S.A. team our income wasn't coming from U.S.A. It was coming from sponsors, it was coming from how we made money elsewhere.
I know I might be a little crazy, but I love working out. It has a way of lifting my mood like nothing else can.
In college, I was failing almost every class I was taking my freshman year. I was having difficulty in managing my time; I was just overwhelmed. Even though I knew I was smart and knew I was good enough, at that point, I doubted all of it because I struggled to handle my sport, classes and social life all at once.
I want to be a voice for women, but I've also got two boys at home and my role is important for them, too. Men need to hear a woman who is prepared and understanding.
Anytime I'm like, 'Ho-hum,' trying to go about my business like anyone else, I'll have a father or someone come up to me and say, 'You know, my daughter never realized she could be in the booth for sports, and now that's what she wants to do.'
I've always felt that the more prepared I am, the more confident I would be within the telecast.
As an Olympic athlete, especially a female Olympic athletic, social media's such an amazing place, people are so positive, all these young girls. Anything negative is such a small space, people aren't coming at you for their gender.
A female voice can automatically trigger a reaction. The reasons why? Sound is the initial thing, and I've had people tell me that.
I want to be in the booth any day - Sunday, Monday, Wednesday - it doesn't matter to me. I'm hooked. I love it.
Instead of just being the person that's like: 'Gosh, that's cool that people are doing stuff and good luck. Do you need me to write a check? I can do that,' I've always just been very hands-on.
I feel like so many girls are too intimidated to walk into their local Boys & Girls Club or YMCA - places that have equipment and offer a lot of opportunities to be active for little-to-no-money but are usually more boy-focused.
I don't shy away from softball being my background.
Some of the best memories of my career have been with 'Sunday Night Baseball' and I will miss my time with our amazing crew, who have been like family.
If you see Michael Johnson running a race, and he beats someone by three strides, that's really dominating, but it's beautiful.
For Jennie Finch, she's a stud on the field and everyone's going to love her while she's playing, but no one is going to forget her because of the person that she is. That is what she has over almost any other person that's at the top of their sport.
I played baseball when I was younger, but the idea of the college scholarship enticed me to switch over to softball.
The first MLB game I did was a Monday Night game, and no one really knew I was doing it. So walking into the clubhouse, I tried to introduce myself to people like, 'Hey, I'm in the booth.' And they were kind of confused, like, 'You're a female, I don't understand.'
It's 2015. And I just want to get to the point where we're hearing female voices as much as we're hearing men's.
I always said this as an athlete, 'Practice like you're the worst player on the field. Play like you're the best.'
The beauty of a game like softball is you're failing every day. You might have a .300 batting average, but you're still failing seven out of 10 times. But you're still good.
There is nothing more I want to do than impact girls.
The last thing I want to think of myself as is anything different.
To be honest my first memories are getting to know players. I remember being on the bus probably like 3, 4, 5 years old, and my dad would always say go sit with the players in the back.
I'm a big Alex Cora fan, as far as aggressiveness, the things that he sees like pitch tipping. His eyes are really good.
My older son, when things were at the peak of attention, comes up to me and says: 'Mom, I know people are saying you're doing stuff that's cool. But I listened, and all you did was talk. It was pretty boring.' Thanks for that.
