Ex-Arizona high school standout Alex Verdugo in World Series spotlight

On By Littum

Dylan Ackermann
| Cronkite news

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The harrowing phone call came as Alex Verdugo was enjoying lunch with his brother, Chris, at a pizzeria in Minnesota. It was Verdugo’s agent with news that the Los Angeles Dodgers had just traded him to the Boston Red Sox.

Verdugo was upset. So disappointed. So in denial. But it was his brother who helped him accept the dark realities of the business side of baseball.

Chris pointed out that he should feel honored. He was traded for two potential Hall of Famers – outfielder Mookie Betts and pitcher David Price.

That was in 2020. Now, at the age of 28, Alex is on baseball’s biggest stage as an outfielder for the New York Yankees as they face his former team, the Dodgers, in the World Series.

“It’s super cool to be on the biggest stage where the inner baseball kid in me is kind of freaking out,” Verdugo said of playing in his first World Series. “But then it’s like my family freaks out too. They don’t go play, but they still freak out. I think that’s been the one thing. The one thing that’s always been most consistent is the family.

“For me, with my mother, father, brothers, sisters and now with my children, my girl and the family I have started. Without them this would not be impossible.”

A father of three who has been traded twice, played while his mother and grandmother battled cancer and recently struggled to meet his own standards, he has come to realize that nothing prepares an athlete for the World Series, professional sport and life as a family.

“I think everybody had to make sacrifices,” Verdugo said. “It was a full family affair. We all did it together to get to this point and everyone was supportive. We’re all very close.”

Verdugo returned to Dodger Stadium for the first time since 2019 for Games 1 and 2 of the World Series, a venue that took a chance on a two-way player from Tucson’s Sahuaro High, just as the Yankees did last offseason.

In a move intended to boost their offense, the Yankees acquired Verdugo last December from the Red Sox in just the eighth trade between the rivals since the start of the divisional era in 1969. He hit a career-high 13 home runs, but hit a career-low .233 in the 2024 regular season.

In 12 postseason games, Verdugo, despite batting .195, has captured attention as millions of fans tune in.

In Game 1, in the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers’ Kiké Hernández hit a ball to low left field, but Verdugo made a diving catch to send the game into extra innings.

So, at the bottom of the 10th. inning, with runners on first and second and one out, the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani lofted a ball to left field. Running full speed into foul territory, Verdugo made the catch while flipping over the short wall before quickly throwing the ball from the stands to prevent a runner from scoring.

The Yankees lost Game 1, 6-3, when Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam in the same inning.

Down 2-0 in the series after losing Game 2, 4-2, Verdugo returned to New York for Games 3 and 4, and a potential Game 5, with a 2-for-10 batting line in the World Series , who entered Tuesday’s game 4.

He blasted a two-out, two-run home run in the ninth inning of New York’s Game 3 loss on Monday.

“I’m excited to see (Dodger Stadium),” Verdugo said before Game 1. “I’m going to get boos. It’s not going to be too friendly this time, but that place has got a special place in my heart. My debut, my first team. I’m looking forward to it.”

A Yankees player receives six tickets to each World Series game—far from enough for the 20-plus family members who ask Verdugo to attend.

This isn’t a knock on Major League Baseball’s ticket availability for family members — with prices for regular tickets averaging $1,700 in Los Angeles and $2,300 in New York, according to SeatGeek.

Instead, it’s a testament to how a Tucson native who threw 92 mph and hit a 450-foot homer at 15 has made history even Hollywood couldn’t write.

The fight with cancer

A little over a year ago, Verdugo’s mother, Shelly, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Scared and unsure of what to expect, after his grandmother—Shelly’s mother—lost her battle with cancer around the time Shelly was diagnosed, Verdugo decided to have a custom necklace made for his mother.

The silver necklace, which Shelly considers a little too long and heavy, has breast cancer ribbons all over it and a heart in the middle.

For Verdugo, he wanted to do something special for the person who helped him get to where he is today, hoping to eventually leave her with a gift that would remind her of her strength throughout the struggle.

For Shelly, the beauty of the necklace – and its impressive size – represents something to look forward to; when she beats cancer, the chain will be hers.

About six weeks ago, she flew to New York to live with Verdugo and his three children to lend a helping hand and wasted no time after being told she was cancer-free.

The chain, to be mounted in a necklace and bracelet after the World Series by his jewels in Los Angeles, was now all hers.

“No matter how she felt or what she went through, she stayed strong and held everyone together,” Verdugo said. “She’s the glue of the family. You just hope you’d handle it the same way, but she’s very inspirational.”

The reason Shelly came to New York immediately after is because giving support is all she knows.

“Alex takes it (cancer) very seriously,” Shelly said. “He’s very emotional so I tried to be careful. I didn’t want him to be stressed about it (her cancer). It was the least he had to worry about.”

And so does his father, Joey.

Despite Joey walking away from baseball after a young age injury from an errant fastball to the face, Verdugo still felt like he was born into the sport.

He credits his two brothers, Chris and the oldest of the three, Joey Jr., for his love of the game. But his parents furthered the bond by ensuring the three were practically inseparable.

‘You make me look really bad’

Back in 2011, Chris drove the two of them from Tucson to Bisbee, a small town near the Arizona-Mexico border, for a summer baseball game. When they arrived at the field moments before the first pitch, Chris learned that the team needed extra players.

With no warm-up, Verdugo stepped to the plate, hit a home run in his first at-bat and doubled in his second.

Verdugo, age 15 at the time, starred against players as young as 23.

“First of all, he’s throwing 92 mph at 15,” Chris said. “Then he hit balls like 450 feet. I’m like, ‘Come on, with wood bats? That’s not fair.’ I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got to stop playing. You’re making me look really bad.'”

Vinnie Tarantola, a high school teammate and childhood friend, remembers the eye-opening game.

It’s an “aura” that Tarantola described noticing as far back as when they were both just 12 years old. Talent was one thing, but Verdugo’s work ethic and dedication to his craft set him apart.

“He was so detailed about what he had to do to set himself up to be successful,” Tarantola said. “He just understood baseball on a different level. His baseball IQ has always been high. When people were trying to hit home runs in high school, he was just trying to barrel balls up the middle. Alex always did what it took to win.”

Mark Chandler, his high school coach at Sahuaro, recognized Verdugo as a special talent even as an eighth grader. Both of Verdugo’s older brothers played for Chandler, and he often came to practice. Occasionally, Chandler even let him take swings at the end of batting practice.

“The bat speed and the exit velocity was better than a lot of our 17-18 year old players,” Chandler said. “It was all cemented during the 2014 Cowboy Up tournament at the Kino Complex. When Alex stepped up to the plate, fans from all four fields would go to see him.”

The only question that ever arose was whether he would be a pitcher or a position player.

A three-time All-Arizona first-teamer, Verdugo hit .532 in his senior year (2013-2014) and, more impressively, struck out 93 batters in 52.2 innings.

“He was a diva because you know how you have to sit there and go, ‘I like to pitch, but I like to hit,'” Shelly said. “That’s how he had to say it to every scout who came to our house, all 30 of them, when he was in high school. We planned way too many.”

He was eventually drafted 62nd overall in the second round that year, and Verdugo credits his brothers, including him in every activity, for his emerging talent.

“At that time, it wasn’t cool to play with your little brothers,” Verdugo said. “So I think it was just trying to be like my older brothers and people ended up seeing that I had talent.”

When Alex was traded to the Yankees, initially seeing it as a slap in the face to be sent to a rival, Chris assured him he had a real shot at making the playoffs the moment he saw ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweet the news , while he and his wife were shopping at Kohl’s.

This year, in a season where Verdugo struggled at the plate, Chris called him constantly during their time apart.

Still, Verdugo can sometimes sense when it’s best not to answer.

“Sometimes he’ll actually ignore my calls for weeks because he knows when he’s down, I’ll call him and I’ll just talk about hitting,” Chris said. “He doesn’t like that because he doesn’t like to hear what I’m telling him. Same thing, go to the opposite field, stop pulling the ball.

“He absolutely hates it, hates it to the point where he will ignore my call for a week or two at a time because he doesn’t want to hear what he already knows.”

Along with his sister, Maria, Chris is the only other family member his mother says is guaranteed one of the six tickets to each World Series game.

“Words can’t describe how proud I am that he was able to do something like that,” Chris said. “Not many professional athletes come out of Tucson. I keep saying it’s a trip because it doesn’t feel real. It’s almost like a surreal feeling where it feels like a dream. Like my little brother is on the biggest stage.Dodgers and Yankees.

“My anxiety level will probably rise to a level it has never been before.”

Verdugo’s love for Tucson is evident. This is where he grew up, and he’s excited to “do it again.”

Running in from left field to embrace his teammates on the mound after right fielder Juan Soto caught the foul ball to win the American League title and clinch a spot in the World Series, Verdugo couldn’t wait to embrace Shelly, his three children and significant other, Yami, mother of their two younger children.

While his smile was wide at the podium as the ALCS trophy was lifted by ALCS MVP Giancarlo Stanton, it grew even bigger as he exited the stage.

Thoughts of why he buys his kids New York pizza at their request, his desire to earn more money to retire his parents and the cherished baseball memories with his siblings filled his mind as he posed with the World Series hat on his head and his trophy. in his arm.

Why? Because without them, his daughter wouldn’t be cradled in Shelly’s arms, his son wouldn’t be wearing a full Yankees uniform topped with a “Dad Band” hat, and his oldest son wouldn’t have the trophy on the field at Yankee Stadium.

“He’s a good dad, a super good dad,” Shelly said. “When you have this lifestyle, it’s a lot of work. He never lets baseball bleed into his life at home. He is a good parent. In fact, the best parent.”