Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia is carrying a permanent reminder of his late daughter on a set of new, personalized gloves.
Vesia, 29, missed the entirety of the Dodgers’ World Series victory last year after he and his wife Kayla lost their baby girl, Sterling.
The left-hander made his return to the mound earlier this month when LA reported for Spring Training and, this week, he was back at Dodger Stadium for their season opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Vesia has made a habit of customizing his gloves and this year the six designs include a number of ‘very personal… very meaningful’ tributes to his late daughter.
On Friday against Arizona, he wore a red glove which included ‘Sterling Sol’ written along one side, her date of birth stitched on the inside of the glove, and ‘K’ – for his wife, Kayla – on his ring finger.
The idea to honor their daughter started with Kayla, too.
Alex Vesia is carrying reminders of his late daughter on a set of new, personalized gloves
The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and his wife, Kayla, lost their baby girl, Sterling, last year
‘[She] asked me one day: “Hey, are we gonna customize any gloves this year?”‘ Vesia told The California Post. ‘And I was like: “Yeah, we’re definitely gonna do something.” That definitely was a priority.’
His return to the mound has coincided with the Dodgers commemorating their latest World Series triumph. And Vesia admitted that the constant mentions of that win over the Toronto Blue Jay only reminds him what he lost.
‘This is such a special moment,’ he told The Post. ‘But at the same time, for Kay and I, it’s not.’
Kayla attended Thursday’s game against the Diamondbacks and later shared a photo of herself at the stadium on what she called a ‘very bittersweet opening day.’
‘What I would give to have my Sterling girl here, carrying her in my heart always,’ she wrote alongside the picture on Instagram.
The reliever read an emotional statement upon his return for Spring Training last month, thanking Kayla, the Dodgers, the Toronto Blue Jays and fans for their support during a difficult experience.
‘The lessons we’ve learned from this is that life can change in an instant for us,’ he said. ‘Ten minutes is all it took. Sterling’s soul was the most beautiful girl in the world. We got to hold her, change her diaper, read to her and love her. Our time together was far too short.’
He said missing the World Series was difficult but ‘an easy decision, because my family needed me.’
