Two massive earthquakes rocked Venezuela on Wednesday. Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas and reliever Edgardo Henriquez both have family in the country who are safe, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, who caught up with both players. From Rojas:
“They’re in a place where they have power, they have connection, they have everything we need to stay in contact and we talk every day. But I still really feel that I’m so far from them right now,” he said.
“Literally two blocks away from where my
family was two buildings collapsed, the whole building. And the building where my family was was shaking really bad and they had to go away from that place to stay someplace else that night. They were lucky to get away before everything else happened and the building stayed in some kind of good shape to go down the stairs and get out of there. I’m lucky to be honest with you guys. I’m really lucky to have my family still alive and with me. I’m not taking this for granted.”
Dodgers and Padres players are wearing the letters VZ on the sides of their caps this weekend, per Maddie Lee at the Los Angeles Times:
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Class-A Ontario manager John Shoemaker is such a staple in Dodgers history that it’s been over a decade since he was named the organization’s captain of player development, and why his uniform is adorned with a capital C. This is Shoemaker’s 50th season with the Dodgers, the first four as a player, and last 46 as a coach and manager.
Benjamin Hill at MLB.com profiled Shoemaker about his storied career:
“Coming to the park every day and knowing there’s going to be 25 or 30 guys that walk into that clubhouse that I feel responsible for. I’m at the age now where I could be their grandfather, some of them, and I feel like I’ve got a job to do to treat them like I was treated as a kid. … That they were taught how to become a professional, how to work hard and what it meant to be a Dodger.”
Lorenzo Bundy managed six seasons in the Dodgers minor leagues between 2007-13 and was also on the major league staff as third base coach and outfield coach in 2014-15. Part of his time with the Dodgers included managing the Albuquerque Isotopes from 2011-13, and he’s being honored this weekend with induction into the Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame. Geoff Grammer at the Albuquerque Journal has more.
