PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies took a train home from Baltimore last Sunday, and it was a long day at the end of a long road trip that took them across the Atlantic Ocean and back. It had felt like a month since they had been home.
But, for Ranger Suárez, this had never truly felt like home. It is why, on Sunday evening, he raced to his Philadelphia apartment to savor the final hours of Father’s Day. He opened the door. He saw his wife and two kids. They were here. They were together in America for the first time.
Advertisement
Suárez started to kick a soccer ball indoors with his son, Dominick. His daughter, Sofia, joined them. Suárez started to pitch a foam baseball. They love it when he does that.
“We played all night,” Suárez said.
A few hours later, Suárez looked at the clock. “Hey,” he told them, “Dad’s got to go to work tomorrow.” They went to bed. They repeated it all on Monday.
“We woke up and we started playing the whole morning before getting here,” Suárez said through a team interpreter. “I’m just the same way with them as I am (at the ballpark). It’s really nice for them to see their father do what he does for a living.”
So, on Wednesday, there they were at Citizens Bank Park. They found shaded seats behind home plate. Sofia, 6, pointed to the sky when her father induced a fly ball. Dominick, 3, clapped with every strike. They had never seen him pitch in person.
“It’s going to be something beautiful,” Suárez said the day before he pitched.
— Absolutely Hammered (@ah_pod) June 19, 2024
His family could see all of the SUÁREZ 55 jerseys in the stands. They heard strangers yell, “Come on, Ranger!” Maybe they did not understand it, but they could feel what the 28-year-old lefty, over 149 career games, has built here. He has been one of the best pitchers in the National League this season. He has a 1.75 ERA after six strong innings Wednesday against the Padres. He might start the All-Star Game.
Suárez is a private person. He requested that his wife and children not be interviewed for this story. They came to the ballpark Tuesday night for the first time, but he wanted them to savor Wednesday — their first chance to see him live.
He has a carefree mantra, but he has succeeded here while carrying some sadness. Suárez wears a constant reminder; the birthdays of his children are tattooed in Roman numerals on his right arm. He wanted them here. But the visa process, before, had been too onerous. Relations between the United States and Venezuela were tenuous.
Advertisement
Recent developments made it more possible to have his wife, Joseany, bring their kids here.
“It’s hard,” Suárez said. “I think that you need to have a strong mentality to have this. Having a strong mind helps you. We were just waiting for the perfect time to do this, to be more comfortable. Now, it was the time.”
Suárez smiled.
“I wanted them with me during the season,” he said, “and to spend every single night with my family.”
Suárez, in years past, encountered his own visa issues. He was often late to spring training. It had disrupted seasons before they ever started. But he arrived in Florida on time in 2024 and, ever since, he has dominated.
Those around the Phillies saw a more determined person. He was focused on the smaller details. He was more specific in his work and goals. He made one of them clear, early in the year.
He asked the Phillies for help with his family.
“Basically, I did nothing about this,” Suárez said. “I just told the organization that I wanted my family here. And they just made everything possible to make it happen. So, I’m really grateful for the organization for helping with that.”
Ray Robles, the club’s director of international operations, was the point person. He worked with both governments. He arranged a hotel in the Dominican Republic where Suárez’s wife and kids could stay for a week while the visa was approved.
It’s daunting to enter an unfamiliar place. The Phillies have tried to support the Suarezes in big and small ways.
“It means a lot to us to be able to bring a family together,” Robles said. “It’s one thing we strive for. Family is everything in Latin America, hence the reason why we always go above and beyond when our guys ask us to help them with this.”
Suárez is grateful. Seranthony Domínguez, a father of two and one of Suárez’s best friends on the team, has noticed.
Advertisement
“He looks very happy,” Domínguez said. “He’s always happy, but right now, he looks happier.”
Suárez had thought about doing this before, but it was too complicated. So, he has communicated with his family via regular video calls. They are always watching Phillies games on TV; Sofia is old enough to ask him how he’s feeling after an outing. But they are too young to grasp how life-changing a season this might be for their father.
Suárez has separated his personal challenges from his job.
“He knows he is doing his best for his family,” Domínguez said. “This is the time they found to bring them here. And it’s the perfect time.”
That is how the Phillies saw it, too.
“We know how important it is to the players to have their family and support system alongside,” Robles said. “Having them near allows them to be less distracted, more at peace, and more able to focus in the game.”
A few times Wednesday afternoon, as he walked off the field, Suárez took a peek into the family section behind home plate. He saw them there. He waved to them at the end of the sixth inning. It meant everything that he could share this.
“When they feel that support, they’re going to be really excited about it,” Suárez said. “They’re going to be happy.”
So is Dad.
GO DEEPER
Inside Ranger Suárez's historic start, from Aaron Nola's front-row view
GO DEEPER
The essence of Kyle Schwarber, the Phillies' everyman slugger with an empathetic spirit
(Top photo of Ranger Suárez: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)