Former MLB outfielder Gorkys Hernández said his wife died in the horrific double earthquakes that struck Venezuela earlier this week.
“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 Instagram tribute to Deisy Maria Tovar De Hernández.
“You were the one who always found a way to lift me up during hard times; you were and remain the most beautiful woman of my life. You will always be with me, at every hour and in every moment,” he continued.
“Fly high, my princess, my queen; may God hold you in His glory. 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. 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. My warrior, Deisy Maria Tovar De Hernandez,” Hernández said.
Hernández had stints in the majors from 2012 to 2019.
He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins, San Francisco Giants, and Boston Red Sox.
Former MLB player's wife killed in Venezuela earthquakes https://t.co/pyUsMeyZVy pic.twitter.com/0AwJHnIAw6
— New York Post (@nypost) June 27, 2026
More from the New York Post:
Deisy, 36, was among several family members of players on the La Guaira Delfines who were inside the Hotel Eduards while the team was getting ready to play the Aragua Tigres at the beachfront Estadio Forum de La Guaira in Macuto, La Guaira.
Hernández and his teammates rushed to the hotel in search of their loved ones after the game was suspended following the back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that rattled the country.
Photos showed former Los Angeles Angels prospect Luis Viloria staring at the hotel rubble while Hernández was spotted sitting in front of the hotel fence as he stared at his cell phone.
Hernández married Deisy in December 2025. Deisy leaves behind a daughter, Vittoria Vásquez, from a previous relationship.
Footage below:
🇻🇪🚨| URGENTE: Se derrumbó el hotel Edwards en La Guaira murieron familiares de varios de nuestros peloteros como lo son Eliezer Alfonzo, Gorkys hernandez, entre otros. La voz del audio es el gerente de Guerreros de Lara. pic.twitter.com/5XrhDxoHA0
— Eduardo Menoni (@eduardomenoni) June 25, 2026
Hernández wasn’t the only former MLB player impacted by the devastating earthquakes.
PEOPLE explained:
The wife and daughter of former MLB player Álvaro Espinoza were also reported among the missing in the hotel collapse, per WorldBaseball.com.
ADVERTISEMENTThe Venezuelan government has confirmed that the death toll from the earthquakes has surpassed 1,400, according to Reuters and The New York Times. More than 3,300 people were injured, per the BBC and Fox News.
Figures from the missing persons website Desaparecidos Terremoto Venezuela stated that more than 78,000 people had been reported missing as of June 27. More than 13,000 of these have since been located, leaving about 51,000 people unaccounted for.
