TORONTO — Baseball is a fraternity, and within the game, bullpens are a brotherhood of their very own.
In Game 6 Friday night in Toronto, the Blue Jays†relievers had a white “51†written on the right side of their caps next to the World Series patch, including Louis Varland, Mason Fluharty, Chris Bassitt and Seranthony DomÃnguez, who all came in to pitch behind starter Kevin Gausman.
This was for Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia, No. 51, who remains away from the team while he and his wife, Kayla, navigate a family matter.
“That was cool, when I realized that,†said manager John Schneider. “I think we have a lot of good people, a lot of good humans, in there that are husbands, fathers and all of that kind of stuff, who just appreciate what we do and the hardships that come with it. Itâ€s cool. Theyâ€ve got veteran guys over there, too, who respect the game and understand how to play it. Itâ€s nice.â€
Members of the Dodgers†bullpen have had the white No. 51 written on their caps throughout the Series, too.
“He’s the same guy every day, regardless of how he performs or how the team performs or what day of the week it is,” reliever Jack Dreyer said earlier in the Series. “He’s always the same guy with the energy. That’s not something that you can really measure or see on a stat sheet, but it brings a lot to the team and helps a lot. Definitely missing him, but just hoping that he and Kayla are doing OK.”
The gesture by Toronto’s relievers was not lost on Vesia’s teammates.
“After Bassitt struck me out, I was looking up at the board to see the replay, and that’s when I saw that he had 51,” Kiké Hernández said before Saturday’s Game 7. “Instead of being mad that I struck out, I was kind of going back to the dugout thinking, ‘Did Bassitt play with Vesia at some point?’ And then after the game, I saw that everybody had them.
“For those guys to do that, it’s incredible. They’re trying to win a World Series, but they understand that this is — life is bigger than baseball, and baseball’s just a game. For them to do that with where we were at, with the stakes — hats off to them, and I want them to know that we appreciate them. Regardless of what happens tonight, we appreciate what they did.”
Prior to Game 1 of the World Series in Toronto last week, the Dodgers announced that the 29-year-old Vesia would be away from the team while he dealt with a family matter, and no additional updates have been provided.
Vesia has been on his teammates†minds, though, as an important part of their bullpen throughout the season and a teammate close to everyone on the roster.
“As a bullpen, we really think of ourselves as a family,” Dreyer said. “Whenever somebody is going through something in the group, we’re gonna be there for them on and off the field.”
As the Blue Jays and Dodgers play Game 7 of the World Series at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Vesia will be on the minds of his teammates — and their opponent.
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