Dodgers' Alex Vesia Honoring Late Daughter With Touching Tribute

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Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia is honoring his late daughter with a touching tribute this season.
Sterling Sol, Vesia’s daughter, passed away while the Dodgers were competing in the 2025 World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Ahead of the Fall Classic, the Dodgers announced Vesia was away from the team because of a deeply personal matter.
The Vesia family later released a heartbreaking statement announcing the passing of their daughter, but thanked the community for their support.
Alex Vesia and his wife, Kayla, announced on Instagram that their daughter, Sterling Sol Vesia, passed away on October 26.
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) November 7, 2025
Prayers to the Vesia family. pic.twitter.com/wghM4seAZs
The response from the baseball world was genuine as Dodgers and Blue Jays relievers sported a No. 51 on their caps throughout the World Series as a tribute for Vesia and his family.
Vesia will continue honoring his daughter this year with a custom glove, which features Sterling Sol’s name written in white cursive letter with her birth date stitched beneath the palm of his hand inside the pink mitt.
“Kay 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.”
“As a pitcher, we don’t get to wear too much swag,” Vesia added. “I don’t get a wristband. I don’t get an arm guard. Cool bat and cleats or whatever. But the glove, we can do our personal touches on it. To make it meaningful to us.”
This spring, Vesia made his first public comments since October and asked for privacy on the matter as he and his family continue the healing process.
"The lessons we've learned from this is that life can change in an instant. For us, 10 minutes is all it took," Vesia said. "Sterling Sol 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. Kay and I will keep those precious moments and memories to ourselves.
"I hope that anyone listening can empathize and respect our wishes for privacy as we continue to heal and as we navigate the ups and downs of a baseball season."
Alex Vesia Dominating to Start Regular Season
The left-handed reliever had a strong performance this spring as he returned to the mound. Vesia posted a 1.13 ERA with eight strikeouts across eight innings of work in Cactus League play.
He's continued his dominance on the bump to open the season as he hasn’t allowed a run in five innings of relief for the Dodgers. Vesia has allowed just two hits and two walks in five games thus far.
The Dodgers opened the season against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Vesia received a standing ovation from the crowd at Chavez Ravine when he made his 2026 debut for the team.
In his most recent outing on Tuesday against the Blue Jays in Toronto, Vesia stranded the bases loaded and nobody out in the seventh inning, maintaining the Dodgers' 3-1 lead.
What an unbelievable job by Alex Vesia.
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) April 8, 2026
The Blue Jays had the bases loaded and nobody out down 3-1.
Vesia got three outs — two fly outs and a strikeout — without allowing a run.
Absolutely incredible stuff from the Dodgers reliever.pic.twitter.com/GRr8AzeWok
“I think the thing is, what’s great about Alex is, there’s just no panic,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s pitched in a lot of those pressure situations, and when he needs to make a pitch, he does that.”
“I definitely carry [confidence] kind of on my sleeve or on the chest or however you want to explain it,” Vesia said. “But tonight was a great confidence boost and just gotta keep going.”
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Valentina Martinez is a writer for On SI. She has in depth baseball knowledge and has covered professional sports extensively. She is a graduate of Arizona State University.
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