NEW YORK — After an earthquake struck Venezuela on Wednesday, Cubs infielder Pedro Ramirez was relieved to get confirmation from his mother that his family was OK.
When a second earthquake struck and things got worse in his home country, the 22-year-old once again reached for his phone to check in on his loved ones.
This time, he didn’t get the same quick reassurance.
“During the [second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader, injured Venezuelan reliever Daniel] Palencia had told me that the situation got much worse,” Ramirez said through an interpreter Thursday. “After the game, I texted my mom, and she didn’t immediately respond to me. So there was some worry there.
“She eventually did respond to me, and I was able to get in touch with her. … Thank god my family’s safe. But still, I’m really sad for everything that we’re going through.
“There’s a lot of deaths, a lot of children [affected] and a lot of people that were left without a home. We’re fine, but we’re still sad with everything that has occurred.”
Such was the experience for the proud Venezuelan a continent away from the devastating natural disaster that’s claimed more than 150 lives and has negatively impacted so many more.
In addition to Ramirez and Palencia, the Cubs’ Venezuelan contingent includes catcher Moises Ballesteros, currently playing in the minor leagues, as well as infield coach Jonathan Mota and bullpen catcher Erick Castillo.
“We’re all Venezuelan,” Ramirez said, “and we’re all sharing that pain together.”
Ramirez and Palencia wore caps with “VZ” on the side during Thursday night’s game, an important showing of solidarity with their impacted countrymen.
“It’s a way to show that we’re there with them and that everything that they’re feeling, we’re feeling as well,” Ramirez said. “All the Venezuelans outside of the country, we’re all feeling that.”
This moment in his country’s history is a tough one to be away from as his family and so many others deal with the aftermath.
But being away from home is, sadly, nothing new for Ramirez as he’s chased his baseball dream.
“I left home at 12 years old to play. I’ve learned to live like that, to be away from them,” Ramirez said. “It’s difficult because you’re far away from them, and whenever they don’t respond to you, you always get worried because you don’t know what happens to your family once you’re far away.”
Thankfully, Ramirez now knows his family is OK. But his heart is with the Venezuelans who are still looking for that same reassurance and those who aren’t able to find it.
Brown down
Cubs righty pitcher Ben Brown is going through some unfortunate deja vu dealing with a stress reaction in his neck that’s being described as similar to the injury that wiped out the second half of his 2024 season.
The team sent Brown back to Chicago to get checked out and will get a second opinion before setting what team president Jed Hoyer called “a plan of attack.”
“It’s going to be a somewhat lengthy process of rest,” Hoyer said before Thursday’s game. “That injury, you can’t do much. You have to rest it. And we have to figure out how long that rest period is.”
Boyd back
Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd threw 76 pitches in 4⅔ innings in his long-awaited return from the injured list Thursday.
The 2025 All Star dealt with a lot of traffic on the bases, allowing four hits and walking four batters, but he kept the Mets off the scoreboard.
