Gorkys Hernandez, who played outfield for the Boston Red Sox in 2019, announced in a heartbreaking Instagram message on Saturday that his wife, Deisy Maria Tovar De Hernandez, was killed when twin earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern coast on June 24, 2026.
Hernandez, 38, was in La Guaira to play for the La Guaira Delfines (Dolphins) in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League when the Hotel Eduards in Macuto collapsed. The team had been set to face the Aragua Tigres at the beachfront Estadio Forum de La Guaira when the quakes hit. The game was suspended and players rushed to the hotel in search of loved ones.
GettyGorkys Hernandez #47 of the Boston Red Sox in 2019.
Gorkys Hernandez Pays Tribute to Wife Deisy After Earthquake
On June 27, three days after the disaster, Hernandez posted a Spanish-language Instagram tribute alongside a photo of his wife. “You are and always will be the queen of my life — the most beautiful, lovely and precious woman in the world,” he wrote. “Love you — rest in peace, my girl. Give me strength, love of my life, because we had a mission, and I am here to fulfill it. My warrior, Deisy Maria Tovar De Hernandez,” as quoted by The New York Post.
“You are and always will be the queen of my life — the most beautiful, lovely and precious woman in the world,” he wrote. “Love you — rest in peace, my girl. Give me strength, love of my life, because we had a mission, and I am here to fulfill it. My warrior, Deisy Maria Tovar De Hernandez,”
Deisy was 36. She and Hernandez had married in December 2025. She left behind a daughter, Vittoria Vásquez, from a previous relationship. On Friday, Vásquez posted on Instagram Stories that survivors could still be heard calling from beneath the wreckage, according to the Post report.
“As of 4:00 p.m. today, screams can still be heard from the Hotel Eduards,” the message read. “There are people still alive inside. Heavy machinery is required.”
Local sports broadcaster Raúl Zambrano announced on social media that rescue teams were still searching for the wife and daughter of former major leaguer and Delfines coach Eliézer Alfonzo. As of Sunday, the overall death toll was approaching 1,500, with thousands more missing, according to The San Francisco Chronicle report.
Venezuelan Players Affected by Earthquake Tragedy
Hernandez signed a minor league deal with San Francisco on Oct. 23, 2015. When outfielder Gregor Blanco was injured in August 2016, the Giants promoted him from Triple-A Sacramento. His finest big-league season came in 2018: a .234 average, 15 home runs and 40 RBIs in 142 games. He played for the Boston Red Sox in 2019 before his MLB career ended, according to MLB.com.
The earthquake’s reach into baseball ran well beyond the Delfines. Shortly after Victor Bericoto hit a walk-off homer for the Giants on Wednesday, he learned that his brother José’s girlfriend had been killed in the disaster.
“It’s been difficult to process,” Bericoto said through a team translator. “I’m sure that a lot of us were not able to sleep all night because we were trying to wait for news.”
Giants reliever José Buttó, who counts several Delfines players as friends, reported two had been found safe but another remained missing.
“I’m just hoping they find him,” Buttó said, as quoted by The San Francisco Chronicle.
The June 24 twin quakes — a magnitude 7.2 followed 39 seconds later by a 7.5, per U.S. Geological Survey data — rank as Venezuela’s worst seismic disaster in more than a century. Major League Baseball permitted Venezuelan players and staff to wear “VZ” patches on their caps in honor of the victims and their families.
The Red Sox current 26-player MLB roster includes five Venezuelan players: right fielder Wilyer Abreu; first baseman Willson Contreras; left-handed pitcher Ranger Suárez; catcher Carlos Narváez; and utility infielder Andruw Monasterio.
Two of the Red Sox top 10 prospects, ranked by MLB Pipeline, are also from Venezuela — No. 1-ranked Franklin Arias, a shortstop, and outfielder Enddy Azocar, the organization’s No. 10 prospect.
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