After his dad’s death, Edinson Volquez ready to pitch possible World Series clincher for Royals
NEW YORK — At some point, Edinson Volquez will pick up a marker on Sunday and write “D.V.” inside his cap. Then he’ll do what he’s done so many times before, step on a big-league mound and start a game for his team. The stakes will be higher, his heart will be fuller and he’ll have a little more on his mind than usual.
But, at some point Sunday, if all goes well, he might just hoist a World Series trophy for the Kansas City Royals, capping a week that would include both the highest moment of his professional life and the one of the lowest moments a son can have.
“I’m pretty sure my dad is going to be proud of me when I pitch,” Volquez said. “We’ll see.”
D.V. is Daniel Volquez. He’s the man who gave Edinson his first pair of spikes and his first glove. He took him to practice. He did what dads do when their sons love baseball. On Monday, when Edinson was preparing to start Game 1 of the World Series for the Royals, Daniel died in the Dominican Republic. He was 63 and had been batting heart disease.
“He was everything to me,” said Volquez, 32, Saturday. “He was one of the greatest men.”
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When it happened, Roandy Volquez, Edinson’s wife, called Royals general manager Dayton Moore about an hour before game time and told him what happened. She asked, however, that the team not tell her husband. She wanted him to pitch in the World Series with his mind clear of what happened to the man who helped him get there.
They didn’t tell him. Volquez went out and pitched six innings and allowed three runs. When he was pulled from the game, Volquez went to the Royals’ clubhouse and found his wife and children waiting for him. They went in manager Ned Yost’s office and told Volquez what happened.
He didn’t stick around to see the Royals’ thrilling comeback win in Game 1. He left the stadium right away and went to the Dominican Republic to be with his family. He returned to the team Saturday before Game 4 in New York. The Royals had said after Game 1 that they expected Volquez to return for Game 5. But you can never guarantee that. Not when a child loses a parent, not when a son loses a hero.
When he arrived at Citi Field, Volquez was greeted with hugs by his teammates. The same ones who had sent him text messages after Game 1 when they learned what happened and he was already gone, the same ones who reached out to him before he even arrived at Game 4, welcoming him back.
“Wow,” Volquez thought to himself. “I’ve got a lot of people that really care about what happened to me.”
Yost approached Volquez on Saturday before the game and asked him if he could pitch Game 5. Volquez responded: “Yeah, that’s why I’m here. I want to pitch. I want to make people proud.”
He wants to make his dad proud. He wants to make his teammates proud. And even though this is only his first year playing with the Royals, you can be sure he wants to help take a trophy back to Kansas City.
“To have him here, given the circumstances, I don’t know that I’d be strong enough to do it,” said Royals pitcher Danny Duffy, who was one of the Royals who saw Volquez in the clubhouse before he left Game 1. “The fact that he’s here, it just goes to show you what kind of teammate he is.
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Death has lingered around the Royals the past few months. Volquez was the third player to have a parent die since in the past three months. Mike Moustakas’ mom, Connie, died of cancer in August. Chris Young’s dad, Charles, died in September, also of cancer. And now Daniel Volquez.
“I know he’s going to be thinking about his dad and we’re all going to be thinking about it,” said Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer. “We’re all going to try to do it for everyone on this team, everyone that’s lost a family member on this team. We’re all in this together.”
When he gets comes to the ballpark on Sunday, gets dressed, warms up and heads to the mound, Volquez won’t be thinking just about his dad. He’ll be thinking about his mom too and the rest of his family back in the Dominican Republic.
“My mom told me before I got here: ‘Go over there and enjoy the game like you always do and be proud. We are proud of you. And be proud and make people proud, more proud than they are … And she told me, ‘[Your dad] passed away, but he was really happy to see you pitch in the big leagues, your dream.”
Game 1 was supposed to be the biggest game of Volquez’s career. Instead, it became a chaotic day for his entire family. Two things were pulling at them — grief for Daniel Volquez and the World Series, the pinnacle of baseball, starring his son.
Now Volquez gets a chance to rewrite the story of the biggest game of his career. The other one, well, that didn’t end like he hoped. This one, it just might.
During Game 4, another Royals comeback win that put them the one win away from the championship, Volquez’s friend and teammate Johnny Cueto sat next to him in the dugout.
“You going to pitch tomorrow?” Cueto said.
Volquez answered: “You want to pitch?
Cueto, who would start a Game 6 for the Royals if one is needed, shook that off.
“No. That’s your game now. Make your dad proud.”
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
