José Alvarado pitching with heavy heart without full family together for postseason

José Alvarado electrified the 45,662 Phillies fans at Citizens Bank Park for Game 1 of the NLWCS Tuesday, striking out Miami Marlins first baseman Yuli Gurriel to strand two runners in scoring position and preserve a 3-1 lead.

But the flame-throwing reliever revealed in his Wednesday afternoon meeting with the media that after striking out two batters over an inning of work in Game 1, he had to return to what’s currently a heartbreaking reality — his whole family isn’t with him in the United States to enjoy his transformation into being one of the best relievers in the sport.

“Last night after the game, I go home, like my mom is calling me, talking a lot and crying because she missed last year’s World Series,” Alvarado said. “And this year, I tried to bring my mom to the United States, and the United States say I can’t give the Visa to your mom. It’s like so hard for me.”

In addition to his mother, Alvarado’s younger sister and two of his three children — a boy and a girl — are in Venezuela. His family had previously been in the United States in 2020, but their visas expired. It’s not as simple as his family just renewing their visas. They have to reapply, and in the meantime, Alvarado hasn’t seen any of them in person during the 2023 season. FaceTime is the way he’s communicated with four close family members, as they’ve attempted to get visas to get into the United States.

The problem is that the diplomatic relationship between the United States and Venezuela is basically non-existent currently. In March of 2019, the United States withdrew diplomatic personnel from their embassy in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. The United States government currently has Venezuela listed as a “Level 4: Do Not Travel,” the most serious advisory they can give. In their reasoning, the United States cites “crime, civil unrest, kidnapping, and the arbitrary enforcement of local laws,” while also pointing to “wrongful detentions, terrorism and poor health infrastructure” that plague the country of more than 28 million people under President Nicolás Maduro.

Without the infrastructure in place between the two countries, Alvarado’s family needed to go to an embassy in another country to attempt to get new visas. They first tried to go through the U.S. embassy in Columbia, but were denied. Alvarado then paid for his family to travel to and stay in Brazil, hoping to get a visa through that embassy. They were ultimately denied. Both denials took place in 2023.

“I tried so hard,” Alvarado said.

Alvarado has three children total, and his youngest daughter was born in the United States, so he is able to see one of his three children currently. His father and brother are also in the United States.

But Alvarado’s mother, sister and his two older kids will only be able to see a second postseason run by the Phillies through the TV. They won’t get to take part in the “Jose, Jose, Jose!” cheers that spread throughout Citizens Bank Park Tuesday. And throughout whatever highs and lows may come for Alvarado and the postseason, he won’t be able to hug and embrace those four family members.

On a human level, it’s difficult to even hear the 28-year-old talk about.

“[It’s] so hard, man,” Alvarado admitted.

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