Dodgers’ Alex Vesia grateful for ‘overwhelming’ support in return to mound after newborn daughter’s death

PHOENIX –– On the scoresheet, Monday might’ve only gone down as one inning, 17 pitches and three inconsequential spring training outs for Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia.

But for the still-grieving pitcher, who just four months ago missed the World Series following the loss of his newborn daughter, his official return to game action couldn’t have been any more meaningful.

“We’ve been waiting for that one,” Vesia said afterward, before adding with a gracious smile: “It was a little overwhelming … just trying to take it all in.”

Indeed, in the Dodgers’ 3-0 win over the Seattle Mariners, Vesia’s outing was emotionally charged throughout. He received a rousing ovation from the crowd as he entered the game at the start of the fifth inning. He was greeted by a line of high-fives and handshakes as he returned to the dugout after his 1-2-3 frame.

Mostly, though, he rediscovered a feeling he had missed during the hardship of his heartbreaking winter –– getting to pitch, compete and exude his typically energetic demeanor from back atop a big-league mound.

“I just want to have fun on the mound,” he said. “I just want to be able to spazz out and be myself out there. Because right now, I feel really good out there. It’s just me and myself and baseball.”

Ever since arriving at Dodgers camp this spring, Vesia has been chasing that sense of normalcy.

He is grateful for all the support he and his wife, Kayla, received in the wake of last year’s tragedy, noting how on even the first day of spring, “we walk out the doors, and (there was) cheers and lots of love. It means a lot.”

But, the 29-year-old left-hander is also ready to fall back into familiar, comforting routines. 

And compartmentalizing it all, he acknowledged, “has been hard, (but) hard in a good way, because I want to interact with the fans and all that, but I know I have a job to do.”

Vesia began preparing for this coming season back in November. He spent more time than usual bulking up in the gym, a place where he said he rediscovered “mental clarity” amid his personal grief.

So far, that work has helped him get off to a quick start in Dodgers camp.

Vesia was not only one of the team’s first pitchers to begin facing batters in workouts in recent weeks, but also had two of the biggest highlights from the club’s live BP action: Striking out Shohei Ohtani not once, but twice, after getting some good-natured ribbing from his superstar teammate.

“Shohei was like, ‘Hey, I want a little piece of that,’” Vesia recalled with a laugh. “So I was like, ‘OK, come on.’”

After each Ohtani strikeout, Vesia celebrated by strutting around the mound and unleashing one of his familiar celebratory shrieks. He did the same thing on Monday afternoon, as the crowd roared again for his strikeout of Mariners infielder Cole Young on a full-counter slider. 

“To see him get back out here in a baseball game, in a big league game, and have a clean inning and be received by the fans, I know it meant a lot to him,” manager Dave Roberts said. “And obviously, his teammates feel for him and want to support him. So today was a really good day for Alex.”

Dodger teammates, Vesia said, have been among his biggest supporters as he has navigated this spring.

While he has only once spoken publicly about the death of his daughter –– in a prepared statement he read to reporters on the first day of camp earlier this month –– he said he has found comfort in discussions he’s had around the clubhouse.

“That’s honestly been a blessing,” he said. “I do like talking about it with the guys. I don’t want them to feel like they can’t, because to share those important moments and whatnot – these guys are my brothers. I truly do love all of them. It’s meant a lot.”

Nothing has meant more, though, than getting back to pitching.

After all he has endured, it’s his way to keep moving forward.