PHOENIX — The jarring phone call came as Alex Verdugo was enjoying lunch with his brother, Chris, at a pizza parlor in Minnesota. The call came from Verdugo’s agent with news that the Los Angeles Dodgers had just traded him to the Boston Red Sox.
Verdugo was upset. Then bummed. Then in denial. But it was his brother who helped him accept the dark realities of the business side of baseball.
Chris pointed out that he should feel honored. He was being traded for two potential Hall of Famers — outfielder Mookie Betts and pitcher David Price.
That was in 2020. Now, at the age of 28, Alex is on baseball’s biggest stage as an outfielder for the New York Yankees, as they face his former team, the Dodgers, in the World Series.
“It’s super cool to be on the biggest stage where the inner-baseball kid in me is kind of freaking out,” Verdugo said about playing in his first World Series. “But then it’s like my family is freaking out too. They don’t go play, but they are still freaking out. I think that’s been the one thing. The one thing that has always been consistent the most is family.
A memorable moment unfolds on the Yankee Stadium field as Alex Verdugo’s daughter rests in his mother Shelly’s arms, his son sports a full Yankees uniform with a “Dad Gang” hat and his oldest son proudly holds the trophy.
“For me, with my mom, dad, brothers, sisters, and then now with my kids, my girl and the family I’ve started. Without them, this wouldn’t be impossible.”
A father of three who has been traded twice, played while his mother and grandmother battled cancer and is currently struggling to meet his own hitting standards, he has come to realize that nothing prepares an athlete for the World Series, professional sports and life quite like family.
“I think everybody had to sacrifice,” Verdugo said. “It was a full family affair. We all did it together to get to this point and everybody was supportive. We are all very close.”
Verdugo returned to Dodger Stadium for the first time since 2019 for Games 1 and 2 of the World Series, a place that took a chance on a two-way player from Tucson’s Sahuaro High School, just as the Yankees did this past offseason.
In a move aimed at boosting their offense, the Yankees acquired Verdugo last December from the Boston Red Sox in just the eighth trade between the rivals since the start of the divisional era in 1969. He tied a career high with 13 home runs but hit a career-low .233 during the 2024 regular season.
New York Yankees' Alex Verdugo celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning in Game 3 of the baseball World Series, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
In 12 postseason games, despite batting .195, Verdugo has captured attention as millions of fans tune in.
In Game 1, during the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers’ Kiké Hernández hit a ball to shallow left field, but Verdugo made a diving grab to send the game into extra innings.
Then, in the bottom of the 10th inning, with runners on first and second and one out, the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani lifted a ball to left field. Running full speed over to foul territory, Verdugo made the catch while flipping over the two-foot wall, then quickly threw the ball from the stands to prevent a runner from scoring.
Yet, the Yankees lost Game 1, 6-3, when Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam in the same inning.
Now down 3-0 in the series after losing Game 3, 4-2, despite Verdugo’s two-run homer in the 9th inning after entering the game 1-for-7, the Yankees face elimination Tuesday in the Bronx.
New York Yankees' Alex Verdugo hits two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning in Game 3 of the baseball World Series, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
“I’m excited to see the (Dodger Stadium),” Verdugo said before Game 1. “I’m going to get the boos. It won’t be too friendly this time, but that place has got a special place in my heart. My debut, my first team. I’m looking forward to it.”
A Yankees player receives six tickets for each World Series game – far from enough for the 20-plus family members asking Verdugo to attend.
This isn’t a knock on Major League Baseball’s ticket availability for family members – with prices for regular tickets averaging $1,700 in Los Angeles and $2,300 in New York, according to SeatGeek.
Instead, it’s a testament to how a Tucson native who threw 92 mph and hit 450-foot homers at 15 years old has crafted a story even Hollywood couldn’t write.
A little over a year ago, Verdugo’s mother, Shelly, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Fearful and unsure of what to expect after his grandmother — Shelly’s mom — had lost her battle with cancer around the same time Shelly was diagnosed, Verdugo decided to have a custom necklace made for his mom.
The silver necklace, which Shelly considers a little too long and heavy, features breast cancer ribbons throughout and a heart in the center.
For Verdugo, he wanted to do something special for the person who helped him reach where he is today, hoping to eventually leave her with a gift that would remind her of her strength throughout the battle.
For Shelly, the necklace’s beauty — and its impressive size — represents something to look forward to; once she beat cancer, the chain would be hers.
About six weeks ago, she flew to New York to live with Verdugo and his three kids to lend a helping hand, wasting no time after being informed she was cancer-free.
The chain, needing to be fitted into a necklace and bracelet after the World Series by his jeweler in Los Angeles, was now all hers.
“No matter how she felt or what she was going through, she stayed strong and kept everyone together,” Verdugo said. “She’s the glue of the family. You just hope that you would handle it the same way, but she’s very inspiring.”
The reason Shelly came to New York immediately afterward is that providing support is all she knows.
“Alex takes that (cancer) very seriously,” Shelly said. “He’s very emotional, so I tried to be careful. I didn’t want him to be stressed over that (her cancer). That’s the least he had to worry about.”
And the same goes for his father, Joey.
Despite Joey stepping away from baseball after a young-age injury from an errant fastball to the face, Verdugo still felt as though he was born into the sport.
He credits his two brothers, Chris and the eldest of the three, Joey Jr., for his love of the game. But his parents fostered the bond by ensuring the three were practically inseparable.
They shared the same room, participated in the same hitting and training sessions and found a way to play in games together, even though Verdugo is four years younger than Chris. And the three traveled extensively to get every opportunity to compete.
“I worked so I could fund him,” Shelly said. “I worked a lot at Gadabout Salon Spas at the time and worked so much to be able to afford to run a household of all of us. I would try to take time off to go to all their events. Baseball, luckily, is on weekends. There were a couple times it was just my husband in charge of Alex and a bunch of boys.
“I don’t know how they all survived. But the fact he had some of their best memories with him, I’m a little more strict but they enjoyed me as well, I think. Anyways, there was just a lot of travel, and it’s expensive, but Alex was very fortunate.”
Back in 2011, Chris drove the two of them from Tucson to Bisbee, a small town near the Arizona-Mexico border, for a collegiate summer baseball game. When they arrived at the field moments before the first pitch, Chris learned that the team needed extra players.
With no warm-up, Verdugo stepped to the plate, hit a home run in his first at-bat and followed with a double in his second.
Verdugo, age 15 at the time, starred against players as old as 23.
“First of all, he’s throwing like 92 mph at 15,” Chris said. “Then, he was hitting balls like 450 feet. I’m like, ‘Come on, with wood bats? This is not fair.’ I was like, ‘OK, I need to stop playing. You’re making me look really bad.’”
Vinnie Tarantola, a high school teammate and childhood friend, also recalls that eye-opening game.
It’s an “aura,” as Tarantola described, that he noticed as far back as when they were both just 12 years old. Talent was one thing, but Verdugo’s work ethic and dedication to his craft set him apart.
“He was so detailed on what he needed to do to kind of put himself in being successful,” Tarantola said. “He just understood baseball at a different level. His baseball IQ has always been high. When people were trying to hit home runs in high school, he was just trying to barrel balls up the middle. Alex always did what it takes to win.”
Mark Chandler, his high school coach at Sahuaro, recognized Verdugo as a special talent even as an eighth grader. Both of Verdugo’s older brothers played for Chandler, and he often came to practice. Occasionally, Chandler would even let him take swings at the end of batting practice.
“The bat speed and exit velocity was better than many of our 17-18-year-old players,” Chandler said. “It was all cemented during the 2014 Cowboy Up tournament at the Kino Complex. Once Alex came up to the plate, all four fields’ fans would walk over to watch him.”
The only question that ever arose was whether he would be a pitcher or a position player.
A three-time first-team All-Arizona player, Verdugo batted .532 in his senior year (2013-2014) and, more impressively, struck out 93 batters in 52.2 innings pitched.
“He was being a diva because you know how you kind of have to sit there and go, ‘I like pitching, but I love hitting,’” Shelly said. “That’s how he had to say it to every scout that came to our house, all 30 of them, when he was in high school. We scheduled way too many.”
Eventually drafted 62nd overall in the second round that same year, Verdugo credits his brothers including him in every activity for his talent surfacing.
“At that time, it wasn’t cool to play with your little brothers,” Verdugo said. “So I think it was just trying to be like my big brothers and people ended up seeing that I had talent.”
Throughout his years in the minors, Shelly’s family from Minnesota often attended most of his games. From the moment he got called up for his MLB debut in 2017, Chris has been by his side and the No. 1 fan. Whether in Vegas, Florida or Tucson during the offseason, he’s there to encourage Verdugo to do things he might not want to do with an extra push and by offering a sense of home.
But what Verdugo may sometimes appreciate – and other times not – is the fact that Chris is always there to be blatantly blunt when needed. For example, the trade to Boston prompted Chris to remind Alex that he was a desirable asset.
When traded to the Yankees, initially perceiving it as a slap in the face to be sent to a rival, Chris reassured Verdugo that he had a real chance to make it to the playoffs the moment he saw ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweet the news while he and his wife were shopping at Kohl’s.
This year, in a season where Verdugo struggled at the plate, Chris constantly called him during their time apart.
Yet, at times, Verdugo can sense when it’s best not to answer.
“Sometimes he actually ignores my calls for weeks because he knows when he’s slumping, I’ll call him and I’ll just want to talk about hitting,” Chris said. “He does not like that because he doesn’t like to hear what I tell him. The same thing, go to the opposite field, quit pulling the ball.
“He absolutely hates that, hates it to the point where he’ll ignore my call for a week or two at a time because he doesn’t want to hear what he already knows.”
Still, despite Chris’ nagging and frequent reminders that Verdugo is still his little brother, his No. 1 fan happens to be Verdugo. Along with his sister, Maria, Chris is the only other family member his mother says is guaranteed one of the six tickets for each World Series game.
“Words can’t describe how proud I am that he was able to do something like this,” Chris said. “Not many professional athletes come out of Tucson. I keep saying it’s a trip because it doesn’t feel real. It’s almost like a surreal feeling where it kind of feels like a dream. Like, my little brother is on the biggest stage. Dodgers and Yankees.
“My anxiety level is going to probably rise to a level where it’s never been before.”
Verdugo’s love for Tucson is clear. It’s where he grew up, and he’s excited to “rep it out.”
But the go-ahead single and acrobatic catch that lifted the Yankees over the Royals in the ALDS opener weren’t just for Tucson, but a way to reciprocate his family’s support.
“Mama Shelly is someone that I care deeply about,” Tarantola said. “She’s been amazing to me my whole life, since I’ve known Alex. His family I would consider my family. Family parties, getting together, I’ve always been extended an invite. That’s just how amazing and special his family is. Now that he’s living his dream and never forgetting his family in the process not only speaks volumes to his family, but to him.
“What’s even better is seeing him be a dad and doing the right things. When his kids are around, that’s the only thing that matters.”
Running in from left field to embrace his teammates at the mound after right fielder Juan Soto caught the foul ball to clinch the American League title and secure a spot in the World Series, Verdugo couldn’t wait to embrace Shelly, his three kids and significant other, Yami.
While his smile on the podium was wide when the ALCS trophy was lifted by ALCS MVP Giancarlo Stanton, it grew even larger when he stepped off the stage.
Thoughts about why he buys his kids New York pizza at their request, his desire to make more money to retire his parents and the cherished baseball memories with his siblings all filled his mind as he posed with the World Series hat on his head and his trophy in his arm.
Why? Because without them, his daughter wouldn’t be cradled in Shelly’s arms, his son wouldn’t be sporting a full Yankees uniform topped off with a “Dad Gang” hat and his oldest son wouldn’t be holding the trophy on the field at Yankee Stadium.
“He’s a good dad, a super good daddy,” Shelly said. “When you have this lifestyle, it’s a lot of work. He never lets baseball bleed into his life at home. He’s a good parent. Actually, the best parent.”
