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.
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.
As a mom, spending quality time on the water with my family is a simple and relaxing way to unplug.
Being in New York for 10 days during the World Series and appearing on a bunch of shows, I felt like it was a trial run to have more of a studio presence. The more consistently I started to do it, the more I grew to love it. It allows me to push baseball ideas and content in a bunch of different places.
My college coach was a baseball guy. So why is no one questioning why a baseball player is coaching or analyzing softball when the reverse happens?
If anyone knows women, we like a lot of different things and we're not predictable. We definitely don't fall into a cookie-cutter mold. And I think that's one of the coolest things about us. You never know what's coming next.
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.
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.
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.'
A female voice can automatically trigger a reaction. The reasons why? Sound is the initial thing, and I've had people tell me that.
My dad was a baseball coach, and then I switched to softball. Baseball was all I knew until I crossed over. It never seemed like a big deal.
I try to challenge myself, each week, to do something that is a little different or something maybe a little more exciting or personalized.
The Olympic Games are the greatest sporting event in the world.
Own your differences and don't always try to fit in. The more unique you are, the more you stand out.
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.
Having a father as a football and a baseball coach, I grew up around college baseball players, college football players, like, I just knew sports my whole life.
If you truly want to be great, don't get caught up in what has been done before or who has done it.
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.
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.
Softball is my life.
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 think the biggest thing I can say to that is every female is different. Not that every man isn't, but speaking on behalf on my gender, I think women can watch sports exactly like men, and others watch it exactly the opposite way.
I didn't play baseball my entire life, so I do bring something a little more unique to the telecast and I get really excited about stuff that, maybe if I had been around baseball my whole life, I would just say, 'Come on. Everybody knows that. Its not a big deal.'
I think we should always challenge ourselves to do things that have never been done.
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.'
I don't shy away from softball being my background.
I found that I can never know enough, and that many times the best form of education is through communication.
When we are down in Mexico, I remember with my mom's help we caught a barracuda and then we ate it that night. And that, to me, was so cool, to be able to filet it, see the whole process. Especially a fish that big.
I like it when my heart's pounding and I'm sweating and I'm nervous.
I'm a jock.
I'm hard on myself, like, 'Oh, why did you say that?' But it helps me grow.
I grew up in a big Mexican family and... we always were so comfortable in our own skin. So society, the stuff that I think we see a lot now for young girls, didn't really reach me because I had this huge Mexican bubble around me saying, 'You're beautiful. You're amazing. You're strong. And be you.'
I never realized how hurtful people can be. They hate me so much for being a female in a men's sport. And I'm just like, 'Really? It's 2016, people. Women can do anything.'
We see women on the field; we see them interviewing players, we see them coming out of the dugout. But if you put them in the booth - like, hold up, wait a second - you haven't been there before. This is different.
I got my masters in social sciences and education at Stanford, and initially - this is back in 2002 or 2003 when I graduated - I wanted to move to D.C. and work on education reform, specifically with No Child Left Behind.
I've learned to not forecast anything beyond the year, because when I went to Stanford, I originally wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon. So it's just hilarious to look back at all of the things I wanted to do.
There have been so many pivotal moments throughout my career, and I look back and say I really craved big moments - when your heart's pounding and everything is on the line.
I don't filter things really.
My husband actually quit his job as a civil engineer so that he could travel, so we could be together as a family while I played professionally, which was crazy.
I just knew: first-time female on ESPN, there's going to be some backlash, like any change. There's always going to be resistance. There are going to be people that hear a female voice or see a female figure and are completely against it.
If people criticize me because they don't like how I break down one of Giancarlo Stanton's at-bats, OK. If they criticize me because I'm a woman, that's not OK.
I am a very honest person.
After a Sunday night game, what I do is I usually wait like a day and a half before going on Twitter.
Everyone's got advice, everyone's got their two cents. Try to streamline, like, who are the people that I trust the most? Sometimes I call it my board of directors. They're going to challenge you, but they're also going to support you. They're not going to just tell you what you want to hear, either.
If you're going to put me in the booth, make sure it's because I'm good enough to be there.
As much as I want to be like, It's just baseball, I'm just another person,' unfortunately it's not that way.
I don't care about Joe Schmo with two Twitter followers saying bad things to me, but if the guy I'm sitting next to on the telecast thinks that way, that matters a lot to me.
If you take any player in their position, there's nobody better than Mookie Betts in right field. I'll take him over a short stop at their position. That's how good he is.
It's important to be a positive female role model in a world with a lot of Kardashians.
I'd had colleagues tell me, 'You should be calling games.' But to actually have a producer call me and say, 'We want you in the booth,' I was like, What?
