Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Alex Vesia, who sat out the team’s World Series run against the Toronto Blue Jays, reported that his infant daughter died.
Vesia and his wife shared the news on Instagram on Friday that their newborn daughter died on 26 October – midway through the team’s championship-winning series.
“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,” the couple wrote in a joint post.
The day before the World Series – which ran from 24 October to 1 November – began, the Dodgers announced that Vesia would be away while he navigated a “deeply personal family matter”.
The Vesias’ had been expecting the birth of their first child during the team’s postseason run, Major League Baseball shared in a post on its website.
The team shared no further updates with the public on Vesia’s absence, saying they wanted to give him the space he needed.
“We just didn’t want to have any potential for any kind of pressure. This is so much bigger than baseball,” the president of Dodgers baseball operations Andrew Friedman said before the Series. “For us, it was doing whatever small part we could to just 100% be supportive.”
By the third game of the series, the pitchers filling in for Vesia honoured him by writing his jersey number, 51, on their caps. In a show of solidarity, the Blue Jays’ pitchers began doing the same by the sixth game.
“For these guys to recognize Alex and what he and Kay have gone through, it’s — heartbreaking is not even a good enough descriptor,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, referring to Vesia and his wife Kayla. “But for them to acknowledge that, it just speaks to how much respect and love they have for one another.”
In their Instagram post, the Vesias thanked the Dodgers for understanding and supporting them in their time of grief. They also expressed their gratitude to the Blue Jays and all baseball fans, as well as the medical staff at Los Angeles hospital Cedars Sinai.
The couple did not share information about the cause of their daughter’s death.
“Our little angel we love you forever & you’re with us always,” the Vesias wrote.
By BBC News
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