Amy Gutierrez, often lovingly called Amy G. has been in the sports media industry for decades both in front of the camera and behind. Author of the children’s book Smarty Marty’s Got Game , she promotes women having a place right besides men in sports. In an interview with Sports As Told By A Girl, she talks about her struggle from going behind the camera to in front as well as advice on balancing work life and home life.
Tell us about yourself. How did you develop your love for sports?
I don’t remember a time I didn’t love sports. My father was recruited as a pitcher to Stanford University and always shared his love of the game with my brother and me. He coached both of us and we watched countless games on TV. I began playing soccer and softball as soon as I was old enough. (That was all that was offered to girls). When I hit high school I expanded my sports resume and played volleyball, basketball and softball. I went back to soccer as an adult and have played with the same core group of women for 20 years.
When did you know you wanted to make sports journalism a career?
There wasn’t an “ah ha” moment. I took a job with Fox Sports Net out of necessity because I had been laid off from Bay TV/KRON in 2001. I ended up producing sports features, fell in love with it and my career took off from there.
What is the difference when you are covering a winning team vs. a losing team?
FUN!!! Winning is fun. Losing is not. Losing is long and stressful, but the key to “covering” a team in a losing season is to really remove yourself emotionally from the situation. Not easy, but necessary.
What was one of your favorite moments you got to cover?
So many covering the SF Giants for the past 12 seasons. It’s difficult to pick one. I’ll go with my first major interview in 2009 when Jonathan Sanchez authored a no-hitter. It was incredibly exciting and a true precursor to the team’s epic run.
What has been some of your biggest challenges?
Oh Boy! How much time do you have, LOL. I think just being female in a male dominated industry is the easiest way to answer this question. There is little to no room for error and it’s impossible to be perfect, so when you’re not, you just have to prepare yourself for a major backlash.
You have said when you first moved from producing to being in front of the camera you struggled. In what way and why?
I struggled mightily with losing my privacy. I’m actually a very shy person and it was really difficult to be “on” all the time. I still struggle with it, especially in this day and age of social media. There are times I want to LOSE IT, but alas….I don’t. Not in public anyway. My husband, God bless him is usually the sounding board for those moments.
You are a best-selling children’s book author. The character in your book, Marty, teaches her brother about baseball. What message are you hoping to get across to children?
The simple message is that baseball can be fun, especially if you learn to score. The underlying message is girls too love baseball and should be given equal opportunity not only to play, but to cover, and converse along with the fellas.
You are married to a sports journalist, you have two kids, and a full life. What are some tips to balancing it all?
The best tip I can give is to realize you probably can’t balance it all. Inevitably, something drops with so many balls in the air. The key is to not beat yourself up when it does. Be organized and quite simply, do the best you can. Don’t compare yourself to other moms – just do you!
Fast forward ten years- do you still want to be in this role or do you have other career goals?
Who knows, right? If you would have told me 11 years ago I’d still be covering the Giants I literally would have laughed. I was ecstatic to get through one season. I couldn’t fathom 12!!! My approach is to let things just play out. Don’t make a lot of future plans. Do what you love and if you don’t love it anymore it’s time to move on. Fortunately, I still LOVE what I do. So I’ll ride it out.
What is your best advice for women who want a career in sports media?
Know your sport. Again, there really isn’t room for error. The moment you start talking about something you don’t really understand you’ll be caught. Ignorance is transparent. So stick to what you know.
Make sure you follow Amy G. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
