{"id":5113,"date":"2026-07-06T05:05:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T05:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5113"},"modified":"2026-07-06T05:05:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T05:05:01","slug":"dodgers-eliezer-alfonzo-makes-mlb-debut-with-sister-stepmother-still-missing-in-venezuela-quakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5113","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers\u2019 Eli\u00e9zer Alfonzo makes MLB debut with sister, stepmother still missing in Venezuela quakes"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 When the major leagues seemed far away to Eli\u00e9zer Alfonzo during his near-decade in the minors, the catcher says he always found the strength to continue by thinking about how proud he would make his family.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5111\">England hands Mexico its first World Cup loss at Estadio Azteca, winning 3-2 to reach quarterfinals<\/a><\/p>\n<p>He finally stepped onto the Dodger Stadium field for that moment Sunday, but in heartbreaking circumstances.<\/p>\n<p>Alfonzo\u2019s teenage sister and his stepmother \u2014 the wife of his father, former big leaguer Eli\u00e9zer Alfonzo Sr. \u2014 have both been missing since Venezuela\u2019s catastrophic earthquakes last month. A few hours before the Dodgers\u2019 first pitch against the San Diego Padres, several Latin American media outlets reported their bodies had just been found.<\/p>\n<p>Alfonzo had only just received his long-awaited callup to the defending World Series champions on Saturday amid his family\u2019s acute uncertainty, which turned into crushing sadness the following morning.<\/p>\n<p>After speaking to his father, brother and girlfriend, Alfonzo still summoned the strength to play for the Dodgers, drawing peace from the knowledge of how much it meant \u2014 not to him, but to 16-year-old Eliana.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a sad, tough moment,\u201d Alfonzo said. \u201cBecause like three weeks ago, she told me that she had a beautiful dream, but she wasn\u2019t going to tell me anything until the dream came true. I\u2019m pretty sure the dream was something about this. I wish she was alive to watch me playing in the big leagues, but I know she\u2019s on God\u2019s side now, and she\u2019s going to protect me and she\u2019s going to enjoy every moment that I\u2019m going to have playing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 26-year-old Alfonzo batted ninth and caught the first seven innings in the Dodgers\u2019 5-2 loss to the San Diego Padres, going 0 for 2 before being removed for a pinch hitter.<\/p>\n<p>When Alfonzo first stepped to the plate at hallowed Dodger Stadium in the third inning, the Los Angeles crowd rose to give him a huge ovation, aware of the strength required to take these swings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was excited and very emotional when I heard those cheers,\u201d Alfonzo said. \u201cIt\u2019s something that I\u2019ll remember for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alfonzo\u2019s sister and his stepmother, Patricia, have been missing since multiple earthquakes hit his homeland on June 24. They were staying at a hotel in La Guaira, where Alfonzo Sr. reportedly had been searching for them amid the rubble with heavy equipment in recent days.<\/p>\n<p>When the news reached Dodger Stadium, both teams rallied around Alfonzo. Miguel Rojas, the Dodgers\u2019 veteran Venezuelan infielder, was among several teammates who hugged and spoke to Alfonzo in the dugout. At the plate, Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. appeared to have a heartfelt moment with the catcher.<\/p>\n<p>Rojas, who played against Alfonzo\u2019s father in Venezuelan winter ball nearly two decades ago, understood why Alfonzo would choose to play at a moment of personal devastation.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5109\">Briscoe holds off Bell in NASCAR\u2019s return to Chicagoland Speedway<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re trying to go after a dream that is not just our dream, but this is the dream of his sister, his father, his whole family,\u201d Rojas said. \u201cHe\u2019s been working really hard to get this opportunity. I\u2019m proud of the way he approached everything that happened today to him, but at the same time, it\u2019s really hard to put this moment into context. It\u2019s never easy to lose a family member, (but) especially when something like that happens. All we can do as a club is be here for him and kind of lift him up in these tough moments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alfonzo had been waiting for this day since he signed with the Detroit Tigers in 2016, when he was 16 years old.<\/p>\n<p>He has appeared in 581 minor league games over the past nine seasons, riding hundreds of buses and enduring innumerable address changes to chase his goal. He got as far as the Tigers\u2019 Triple-A affiliate in Toledo last year before he signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers last November.<\/p>\n<p>Alfonzo was batting .313 with 17 RBIs for Triple-A Oklahoma City this season, but he knew he was behind veteran Dodgers starter Will Smith and backup Dalton Rushing \u2014 and even depth veteran Chuckie Robinson.<\/p>\n<p>Rushing has been LA\u2019s starter while Smith has been sidelined for nearly a month with a neck injury. After Robinson got the first shot at the backup job, the Dodgers decided to give a chance to Alfonzo right at this unimaginably painful juncture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe realized a dream today,\u201d Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. \u201cObviously that was certainly on his heart all day, but he did a fantastic job of driving our pitching staff, compartmentalizing, and I\u2019m sure after today it\u2019s going to really hit him and deal with his reality. All of us feel for him and his father, who I know, and their family. So it\u2019s just devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alfonzo\u2019s father spent parts of six seasons in the majors as a catcher for four teams from 2006-11. He\u2019s extremely popular with Venezuelan players across the generations, Rojas said, because of his ebullient personality and willingness to help others pursuing the major league dream.<\/p>\n<p>Rojas said the earthquakes have caused agony for Venezuelan players, even those who didn\u2019t lose family or friends.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think I\u2019ve been in shock the last 10 days,\u201d Rojas said. \u201cI know a lot of family and close friends that are going through it, living everything that\u2019s happening. It\u2019s really hard, because I feel like I can\u2019t really stop playing, but at the same time, it\u2019s hard to stay present and to stay here, and stay connected mentally \u2026 because you feel selfish (by) being here and playing. We\u2019re out there having fun and laughing. When I put my head to bed and the show is over, it\u2019s really hard to go to sleep.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m pretty sure a lot of Venezuelans are going through the same thing. I can tell you that it\u2019s been really hard, and I can only imagine how Eliezer is feeling today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=5107\">Miami Marlins pitcher Eury P\u00e9rez working on perfect game through 7 innings against Athletics<\/a><\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>AP MLB: https:\/\/apnews.com\/MLB<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 When the major leagues seemed far away to Eli\u00e9zer Alfonzo during&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dodgers\u2019 Eli\u00e9zer Alfonzo makes MLB debut with sister, stepmother still missing in Venezuela quakes - 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