SAN FRANCISCO -- One day after hitting his first career walk-off home run, Giants rookie outfielder Victor Bericoto found himself back in the starting lineup with a heavy heart.
Bericoto shared Thursday that his brother’s girlfriend was killed in the deadly earthquakes that struck his native Venezuela on Wednesday night. Bericoto said the rest of his family is OK, but he added that he has friends and former teammates who also lost loved ones in the tragedy.
“It’s sad to see everything that’s happening in my country -- to see that a lot of people lost their homes, everything they had, even their families,” Bericoto said in Spanish. “So many lives have been lost. It’s really sad. The message is we’re with them and supporting them through these terrible times that they’re going through.”
Bericoto said he found out about the earthquakes before the Giants’ 2-1 comeback win over the A’s on Wednesday, but he wasn’t aware of the magnitude of the disaster until after he delivered his dramatic walk-off homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
“I was a little worried because I wasn’t able to get a hold of my family at first,” Bericoto said. “But a little before the game, I was able to get in touch with them and feel a little more at ease. I didn’t realize how serious it was until after the game.”
It ended up being quite an emotional night for the 24-year-old Bericoto, who was devastated by the images he saw coming out of his homeland in the wake of the seismic event.
“It’s been pretty difficult,” Bericoto said. “There were a lot of bad things after the game. “My brother’s girlfriend lost her life in the earthquakes. It was a really tough night. Like all Venezuelans, I don’t think anyone was able to sleep. It’s been really hard to process everything that happened.”
Manager Tony Vitello commended Bericoto for being able to stay in the moment despite all the uncertainty weighing on his mind on Wednesday.
“He just kind of kept things to himself, but obviously, he was battling that deal the whole day,” Vitello said. “To do that in that moment is pretty tough to put into words. And then, he dealt with the situation that obviously happened with his brother. But I believe he, [José] Buttó and Luis [Arraez] are all dealing with or waiting to hear on missing teammates or other people that they know. I know some people in this area may have familiarity with the damage an earthquake can do. But I don’t know how you really comprehend what’s going on for them, much less what’s going on with everybody else over there.”
Bericoto said he was grateful for the support he’d received from his Giants teammates and coaches over the past 24 hours.
“I appreciate that,” Bericoto said. “It means a lot. Since day one, they’ve treated me like family. I really appreciate them.”