Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Alex Vesia has revealed the tragic reason for his recent absence during the team’s recent World Series run.
Questions were raised by fans when Vesia had been missing from action since the start of the World Series. The Dodgers initially cited a “deeply personal family matter”, with Vesia and his wife, Kayla, since having shared the devastating news that their newborn daughter, Sterling Sol Vesia, passed away on October 26.
In an Instagram post published on Friday, the couple shed light on the unfathomable pain they’ve been forced to live with over the past two weeks.
“Our little angel we love you forever & you’re with us always,” their joint post reads. “Our beautiful daughter went to heaven Sunday October 26th. There are no words to describe the pain we’re going through but we hold her in our hearts and cherish every second we had with her.”
Accompanying the heartbreaking text was a picture of their hands resting atop their daughter’s.
The tragic details weren’t made public until November 1, days after the Dodgers clinched the championship against the Toronto Blue Jays.
“Thank you to the Dodgers for their understanding and support during this time,” the Vesias wrote in their Instagram post. “Our baseball family showed up for us and we wouldn’t be able to do this without them.”
In a show of solidarity, several Dodgers players sported the number 51 – Vesia’s jersey number – on their caps during Game 3 at Dodger Stadium on October 27.
“I’m new to the bullpen. But Ves, he means a lot to all of us,” said veteran pitcher Clayton Kershaw. “He’s a huge part of the team, a huge part of the bullpen, so we wanted to do something to honor him.”
Andrew Friedman, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations, stressed that the organization knows where its priorities lie.
“This is so much bigger than baseball,” Friedman said. “And for us, it was doing whatever small part we could to just 100 percent be supportive.”
Friedman also outlined why Vesia was not placed on the Family Medical Emergency List, which would have allowed him to rejoin the team after just three days.
“We just didn’t want to have any potential for any kind of pressure,” Friedman said.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Alex Vesia and his family.
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