Quotes from Jessica Mendoza

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.

I've gotten a lot of comments about how I look and I can't help but think, Is anyone listening to what I'm saying? If I were a guy, no one would be saying, 'Wow, look at those pants' or 'Look at those legs.'

If I'm saying something with an intelligent background, then at least it is creating conversation. Whether that conversation is people agreeing or disagreeing, I'm happy.

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.

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 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.

My introduction to sports was through baseball. That's all I knew.

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.

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.'

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.

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.

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.

A female voice can automatically trigger a reaction. The reasons why? Sound is the initial thing, and I've had people tell me that.

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.

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?

I don't shy away from softball being my background.

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.

Softball is my life.

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.

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.

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 know I might be a little crazy, but I love working out. It has a way of lifting my mood like nothing else can.

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.

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.