North Bay Woman

S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 | NORTH BAY WOMAN 25 Amy's Home RUNS about what I know and understand. There's a lot in sports that can trip you up — it can get ridiculous — and, as a female in the sports business, you don't want to give people anything to criticize. When does the baseball season start for you and what keeps you busy off-season? My season technically begins in February with the Giants annual Fan Fest and hopefully ends in November after a World Series run! In the offseason I promote my children's book, "Smarty Marty's Got Game," and my scorebook, "Smarty Marty's Official Game Day Scorebook." I also have my own social media business acting as a ghostwriter for multiple local small businesses. What do you bring to your job that others might not? I report on a sports team that I grew up watching and that's not always the case. There's a true connection. The Giants were one of my favorite teams growing up and I bring a real hometown perspective. Who have been your favorite interviews? I've covered amazing moments — Jona- than Sanchez's no hitter in 2009, Matt Cain's perfect game in 2012 and Tim Lincecum's no hitter at home in 2014. If you're a sports fan, you realize the magnitude of those moments and how lucky you are to be sitting there when it is happening. Interviewing someone can be similar to small talk at a party. How do you politely wrap up a conversation? Probably with a soft touch on the shoul- der, but it's hard to think of etiquette when a producer is yelling in your ear to, 'Cut it off!' When it comes to combining motherhood and career, what keeps you grounded? I think first and foremost, the groundwork that my parents laid in rearing me. It formed the core of my character. Things like following The Golden Rule, be kind, and to give back. Now, with my small brush with fame and celebrity, it doesn't change who I am and, as a mom to two kids who watch everything I say and do, I try to stay positive. I have to be even more careful because of social media. The last thing I want is to have my kids hear anything negative about me. What's your morning routine on Game Day? I take my kids to school and then I go to the gym. After that, I'll start prepping for a 7 p.m. game so that means I have to come up with five or six topics that I can talk about when I'm on the air — we call these "hits." What happens once you arrive at AT&T Park? I leave for San Francisco and get to the park at 3 p.m. I check in with the production Clockwise from top left: Amy Gutierrez coaches her daughter Gracie in softball in 2015; a visit to alma mater UC Davis with husband Paul and children Zachary and Gracie in 2015; Gutierrez played on a women's soccer team in 2015 that won a local tournament; Gutierrez serves as master of ceremonies at an Immaculate Conception Academy fund-raising event in San Francisco; a photo taken at a children's elementary school fund-raising event during the Sonoma County Backroad Challenge in 2015. – ICA photo by Nicole Dinas; all others provided by Amy Gutierrez >>

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