The wife of former Major League Baseball outfielder Gorkys Hernández was killed in the devastating double earthquakes that shook Venezuela this week, leaving the ex-MLB player shattered as rescuers searched through the ruins of a collapsed hotel.
Hernández revealed the heartbreaking news Saturday in an emotional Instagram tribute to his wife, Deisy Tovar de Hernández.
“You are and always will be the queen of my life — the most beautiful, lovely, and precious woman in the world,” Hernández wrote.
The former outfielder, who played in the majors from 2008 to 2018 with teams including the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox, described Deisy as the person who always helped him through his darkest moments.
“You were the one who always found a way to lift me up during hard times,” he wrote. “You were and remain the most beautiful woman of my life. You will always be with me, at every hour and in every moment.”
Deisy, 36, was reportedly inside the Hotel Eduards in La Guaira when the powerful back-to-back earthquakes struck. Several relatives of players from the La Guaira Delfines were also believed to be inside the hotel while the team was preparing to play the Aragua Tigres at the beachfront Estadio Forum de La Guaira in Macuto.
The game was suspended after the terrifying 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes rattled the country. Hernández and his teammates immediately rushed to the hotel, desperate to find their loved ones.
Photos from the scene showed former Los Angeles Angels prospect Luis Viloria staring at the rubble, while Hernández was seen sitting near a fence outside the hotel, looking down at his phone as the nightmare unfolded around him.
Hernández and Deisy had only married in December 2025. She leaves behind a daughter, Vittoria Vásquez, from a previous relationship.
In his tribute, Hernández begged his late wife to give him the strength to continue.
“Fly high, my princess, my queen; may God hold you in His glory,” he wrote. “Guide me to keep moving forward and to lift up our family.”
He added, “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.”
The tragedy grew even more chilling Friday night when Vásquez shared a message on Instagram Stories claiming that cries could still be heard coming from the rubble of the Hotel Eduards.
“As of 4:00 p.m. today, screams can still be heard from the Hotel Eduard,” the message said. “There are people still alive inside. Help is needed to move the rubble — heavy machinery is required.”
Local sports broadcaster Raúl Zambrano later reported on X that rescue teams were still searching for the wife and daughter of former major leaguer and Delfines coach Eliézer Alfonzo.
For Hernández, the loss of Deisy has left an unimaginable hole.
“You taught me to be strong through life’s challenges — which is never easy — but that is how you want me to be, and that is how it will be,” he wrote. “My warrior, Deisy Maria Tovar De Hernandez.”
