PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — While pitchers Ranger Suárez and José Alvarado have given the Phillies clutch performances in this improbable postseason run, they’ve also provided lifelong memories and joy for local Phillies fans who are also native Venezuelans.
Things were tense in the moments before the 2022 Philadelphia Phillies punched their ticket to the World Series. The San Diego Padres had runners on base with one out and were threatening to tie Game 5 of the NLCS in the top of the ninth at Citizens Bank Park. Phils manager Rob Thomson came out of the dugout to remove reliever David Robertson, leading to Suárez — a starting pitcher this season — stepping through the bullpen door.
The ballpark erupted with cheers.
“I’m getting the chills when you said that,” said Fernando Torres at the retelling of that moment.
Torres, 41, manages the global operations team at an aerospace company. He was born and raised in Venezuela and came to the United States in 1996. He came to Philadelphia about a decade later.
Torres was sitting along the first-base line in section 115 on Sunday for Game 5.
“I couldn’t tell who was going to come out [of the pen],” he said. “When I saw Ranger coming out, the whole stadium blew up.”
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Two pitches later, Suárez, 27, was pumping his fist emphatically. He had just recorded the last two outs to clinch the Phillies’ first National League pennant in 13 years.
Recollecting Suárez’s celebration during the trophy ceremony, Torres said, “You’re gonna get tears in my eyes again.”
When two pitches feel like 20
Gil Arends, who owns the Queen Village restaurant Puyero Venezuelan Flavor, said he was nervous watching Suárez enter the game in that situation.
“He only threw two pitches,” Arends said, “and it felt like he threw 20.”
He said it was a wonderful moment for Venezuelans, including the 1,500 estimated to live in the Delaware Valley. Arends moved to Philadelphia in 2011 and opened Puyero in 2017 with his wife and brother.
“It was great,” he said. “Venezuela has produced so many great baseball players, even within the Phillies organization, and it’s exciting to see someone that came up through the minor leagues with the Phillies come up really big in this spot.”
Raed Nasser is an electrical engineer living in Philadelphia’s Hawthorne neighborhood. He was watching the game at a bar with friends.
“Soon as I saw [Ranger warming up in the bullpen] — ‘Oh my God,’ I said, ‘we’re taking this!’’ … I flipped.”
And David van Balen, a solutions architect from Center City, said he’s tempering his expectations, just like he did 2008, and hoping for the same result. But, he added, “It’s great to see these Venezuelan players on the team.”
'One of us made it'
Suárez and Alvarado have provided a lot of pride for Torres, Arends, Nasser and van Balen. All four men spoke about their homeland being in bad shape, with a lack of opportunity and a dictatorship government, forcing many people to find a better life elsewhere.
“At the very least, it gives some people a little bit of a distraction,” said van Balen. “It says: Here are people from Venezuela doing really good things and succeeding.”
After the final out of the National League Championship Series, Torres said he was texting with his father, who lives in Argentina. He said it was a moment of hope.
“That was a beautiful moment for people like myself and all the Venezuelans,” Torres said. “One of us made it.”
Two, actually. Alvarado has been a key member of the Phillies’ success as well. Fans chanting “José” could be heard throughout Citizens Bank Park during the playoffs.
“I think Philly teams have often kind of looked a lot like the city, and I think this is a sign that the city is becoming a bit more cosmopolitan, more multicultural, and the city’s ready to embrace these types of players, from kind of different backgrounds than what you would expect the average Philly fan to be from,” said van Balen.
Torres, Arends and Nasser said they’ve met Suárez and Alvarado — Torres, through an organization called Casa de Venezuela; Arends, through Puyero; and Nasser, when the Phillies honored Hispanic Heritage Month at the ballpark this season.
In fact, Puyero has often made food for the Phillies clubhouse, cooking it there before COVID-19 and sending it through delivery service ever since. Arends said they ordered some cachapas (thin Venezuelan corn cakes) and empanadas after Game 3 of the NLCS against San Diego. A representative from the Phillies said Suárez and Alvarado really like Puyero’s food and get very happy when the team chef orders it for them.
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World Series predictions
Asked for their predictions for the 2022 World Series, Arends, Torres and Nasser each pick the Phillies to win the series in six, while van Balen opted not to make a call for fear of jinxing the Phillies.
Torres said winning the pennant made him cry a little. In his section, he said, he was hugging random people up and down the steps. At that point, he said, it’s not about the economic status, race or religion of a person — everyone was bonded by fandom.
And what makes this past Sunday’s win even more special for Torres: Not only did Suárez get the save, but Alvarado got the win.
“I’m like: Wow. The Venezuelans were on top that day.”
CORRECTION: A prior version of this story misstated Ranger Suárez's age. He is 27 years old.