Former Major League Baseball outfielder Gorkys Hernández is mourning the devastating loss of his wife after she was killed in the deadly earthquakes that rocked northern Venezuela this week.
Hernández, 38, revealed that his wife, Deisy Tovar de Hernández, died after twin earthquakes struck the country on Wednesday, leaving more than 1,400 people dead and tens of thousands still missing.
“You are and always will be the queen of my life—the most beautiful, lovely, and precious woman in the world,” Hernández wrote in an emotional Instagram tribute to Deisy, who was 36.
The rare back-to-back earthquakes, reported at magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, caused widespread destruction across Venezuela. Buildings collapsed, families were buried under rubble and rescuers continued searching for survivors as cries could reportedly still be heard from people trapped inside damaged structures.
Deisy was reportedly at the Hotel Eduards in La Guaira with several family members of players from the La Guaira Delfines baseball team. Hernández’s team, the Aragua Tigres, had been scheduled to play against them.
When the earthquakes hit, Hernández rushed to the hotel, but it was too late.
In his heartbreaking message, the former MLB player remembered his wife as the person who helped carry him through his darkest moments.
“You were always the one who found a way to lift me up during my darkest moments,” he wrote. “You were, and always will be, the most beautiful woman in my life. You will always be with me, every hour of every day.”
He continued, “Fly high, my princess, my queen. May God hold you in His glory. Guide me as I move forward and continue to care for our family.”
The couple had married last year. Deisy also had a daughter from a previous relationship.
Hernández played in the United States for several Major League Baseball teams during his career, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins, San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox.
Now, the former outfielder is facing an unimaginable personal tragedy as Venezuela continues to reel from one of the deadliest natural disasters in the country’s recent history.
