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The Los Angeles Dodgers’ beginning to the 2026 season was supposed to be Alex Vesia’s first as a father, but the unimaginable happened.
Before the World Series, the relief pitcher left the team to deal with a “deeply personal matter” and did not pitch in the Fall Classic.
Days after the Dodgers won the World Series, he and his wife announced their infant daughter had died.
Vesia was back in Chavez Ravine Thursday for opening day, which his wife said was “very bitter sweet.”
“What I would give to have my Sterling girl here, carrying her in my heart always,” Vesia’s wife, Kayla, said in an Instagram post.
In his first news conference of the year in spring training, Vesia called his wife “the strongest person that I know” and “a support system for me every bit as much as I am for her.”
“Life can change in an instant. For us, 10 minutes is all it took,” Vesia said in February. “Sterling Sol was the most beautiful girl in the world. We got to hold her, change her diaper, read to her and love her. Our time together was far too short. Kay and I will keep those precious moments and memories to ourselves.
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“Stepping away from the team, the brothers that I go to war with every day, was difficult, but it was also an easy decision because my family needed me. We still watched every pitch of the World Series, and for us in so many ways, that was a light in our darkness.
“I was not prepared to not bring my baby girl home, but we’re carrying her with us every day. It’s been hard, but we’re doing OK.”
Sterling died between Game 2 and Game 3 when the series was tied at one game apiece. During the Fall Classic, relievers from the Toronto Blue Jays wrote Vesia’s jersey number, 51, on their hats.
Vesia did not pitch in the Dodgers’ 8-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks to open the season, but he’ll have a chance to get on the bump on Friday in Los Angeles.
Vesia has a 2.36 ERA over his last two seasons.
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