MIAMI -- Before his final game, Miguel Rojas drew a No. 11 in the infield dirt and rubbed the matching tattoo on his forearm, a subtle tribute to his late mother, Norma Naidenoff, and grandfather, Rafael Naidenoff.
It was the number he started his baseball journey with.
On Sunday, Rojas suited up for Tiburones de La Guaira against Navegantes del Magallanes as part of the Choque de Gigantes exhibition series at loanDepot park, bringing his 21-year professional playing career to a close in the city where he spent eight seasons with the Marlins.
"It's super special, especially because I have my family here," Rojas said in Spanish. "I have a lot of friends [and] people that I love very much who are sharing this moment with me. And obviously, the Marlins organization means a lot to me."
At 2:20 p.m. ET, after playing three innings -- which included his daughter introducing him before his at-bat -- Rojas stood alone near shortstop as players from both teams lined up along the first- and third-base lines. The 37-year-old spent several minutes looking around the ballpark where he had established himself as an everyday Major League player, his eyes filled with tears.
Then, his family joined him.
They embraced before Rojas lifted his daughter into his arms and tipped his cap toward the crowd, acknowledging the fans who had come to witness his final game wearing his No. 19.
"It's the number that people in Venezuela know me by," Rojas said of the No. 19. "It became something very special to me. It's going to be something that I'll always try to remember, and I hope people will also remember No. 19 with Miguel Rojas. The number that I defended in my career."
Throughout the ballpark, Venezuelan flags colored the stands yellow, blue and red. Fans marched through the concourse to the sound of drums, dancing and chanting "Venezuela!" Some fans even joined the celebration through video calls.
During the 2023-24 winter season, Rojas returned to play for Tiburones in his home country, helping the club reach the postseason before it captured its first Venezuelan League championship in 38 years.
"It was incredible," Rojas said. "That was my main goal in Venezuela. After we accomplished that, I felt like it was one of the last moments I wanted to have in Venezuela as a professional baseball player."
Sunday's exhibition gave Rojas one more opportunity to represent the club while also supporting a cause close to home. A portion of the proceeds from the Choque de Gigantes series will benefit ongoing earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela.
Rojas was born in Los Teques, Venezuela, where his grandfather played an instrumental role in developing his love for baseball.
"My grandfather was the person who sacrificed everything in his life so I could be in the position I'm in now," Rojas said. "I'm extremely proud to have learned from him and to have had the opportunity to grow up listening to his advice."
Rojas signed with the Reds in 2005 before making his Major League debut with the Dodgers in 2014. Traded to Miami that offseason, he spent eight seasons with the Marlins before returning to Los Angeles in 2023.
He went on to win back-to-back World Series championships with the Dodgers in 2024 and '25.
In Game 7 of the 2025 World Series against the Blue Jays, Rojas hit a game-tying solo home run in the ninth inning before making a crucial defensive play to keep the Dodgers' championship hopes alive.
The play carried a deeper meaning for Rojas, who, as a 10-year-old in Venezuela, had been unable to field a similar ground ball in a crucial moment, a mistake that stayed with him for decades.
"It was pretty cool to put that doubt in my mind to bed. It took me a long time in professional baseball to do it, more than 25 years after that first play happened," Rojas said. "I am happy, and I am proud of myself for being able to keep working and not letting one mistake affect me the rest of my life."
Although his playing career has ended, Rojas isn't planning to step away from baseball.
After announcing his retirement following the Dodgers' elimination in the National League Championship Series in October, Rojas is preparing to transition into a player development role with Los Angeles.
"I want to continue learning about how I'm going to stay involved in the game now that I've finished playing and begin my career as a coach," Rojas said. "There are a lot of things I need to learn, and I'm excited for this new chapter."
But beyond anything that happened on any field, Rojas hopes his legacy will be measured by the impact he had on others.
"I'm so proud of the way that I treated people, of the way people will talk about me, not just because of my numbers as a baseball player, but as a person," Rojas said.
"I did everything that I could every single day to make everybody else better."