TAMPA -- In the seventh inning of the Rays¡¯ 4-3 loss on Tuesday night, Junior Caminero ripped a fastball from Angels reliever Ben Joyce over the right-field fence. He slowed down and shook his head as he completed his trip around the bases, looking to the sky and softly pounding his chest twice as he walked across the plate.
On an emotional day for the entire Dominican Republic, it was tough for Caminero to hold back his tears.
The 21-year-old¡¯s entire day had been consumed by news of the roof collapsing at the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, the Dominican capital and Caminero¡¯s hometown, a tragedy that reportedly killed at least 124 people and injured at least 155 more.
¡°We were talking about it before the game, and I wanted to hit it for them,¡± Caminero said through interpreter Eddie Rodriguez. ¡°It was hard for me not to cry when I hit the home run, because it was very emotional for me. But thank God, I was able to do it, and I dedicated that to the DR.¡±
The incident hit the baseball world hard, as longtime reliever Octavio Dotel, former Major Leaguer Tony Blanco and Nelsy Cruz, the sister of Nelson Cruz, were among those who died in the tragedy early Tuesday morning. The Rays held a moment of silence to honor the victims before Tuesday¡¯s game.
¡°Major League Baseball is deeply saddened by the passings of Octavio Dotel, Tony Blanco, Nelsy Cruz, and all the victims of last night¡¯s tragedy in Santo Domingo,¡± Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement on Tuesday. ¡°We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of all those who have been affected and to our colleague Nelson and his entire family. The connection between baseball and the Dominican Republic runs deep, and we are thinking of all the Dominican players and fans across the game today.¡±
And it was personal for Caminero, the Rays¡¯ young star third baseman. His family lives about 10 minutes away from Jet Set, a nightclub and concert venue. And he was there a little more than two months ago, a day after his go-ahead home run helped the Leones del Escogido clinch the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League (LIDOM) championship on Jan. 28.
Caminero said Escogido¡¯s owner rented out Jet Set for the entire team and their families to celebrate their dramatic championship series victory. Standing in front of his locker on Wednesday afternoon, he couldn¡¯t help but think about how there were more people in the building that day than there were Monday night.
¡°It means a lot for me. As you guys know, when we won the championship, that's where we went to celebrate our victory,¡± Caminero said. ¡°It reminds me [of] being there with my family, and all I think about is, like, 'What if I was there when that happened?'
¡°It's a very sad thing, and it's a very special place for me, too.¡±
Caminero planned to pay tribute to those lost in the tragedy in a special way throughout Wednesday night¡¯s game against the Angels at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Rather than use his usual walk-up music, Caminero decided to walk to the plate accompanied by a song by the Dominican merengue singer Rubby P¨¦rez, who was killed when the roof collapsed during his concert at Jet Set.
Caminero chose the song ¡°Volver¨¦,¡± and Dominican teammate Christopher Morel switched his walk-up song to P¨¦rez¡¯s ¡°Sobrevivir¨¦.¡±
Caminero said he heard from his grandmother on Tuesday and reported that he didn¡¯t know anybody ¡°that close¡± who passed away in the tragedy. Asked about his family, Caminero said, ¡°They¡¯re good, but they¡¯re sad.¡±
¡°Everybody is sad, you know?¡± he added. ¡°And I'm sad, too.¡±
Caminero also had a connection to Dotel, the popular reliever who pitched for 13 teams in the Majors. They spoke during Caminero¡¯s electrifying performance in the LIDOM playoffs, and Caminero said he offered ¡°a lot of advice.¡±
¡°It¡¯s a very sad thing,¡± he said. ¡°Hopefully everybody will come through now and everybody will get it together, because in the DR, everybody is like part of your family.¡±
Caminero was not the only Ray devastated by the incident. Morel and reliever Edwin Uceta are also from the Dominican Republic. Bench coach Rodney Linares lives there in the offseason, and Major League field coordinator Tomas Francisco is from the city of Santiago.
¡°You certainly feel for all the families and people that are impacted down there right now,¡± Rays manager Kevin Cash said. ¡°You keep getting the updates on the stories and talking to Mo, to Rodney, to Tomas, to Junior, a lot of our people that have strong ties to the DR, it's tragic. And you feel for the country and you feel for the many people affected.¡±