He had an excellent time in the major leagues and the LVBP, but he soon left. Zulian pitcher Alex Herrera died last Thursday, February 16, at the age of 43.
Sad news for Venezuelan baseball. Alex Herreraa pitcher who went through the MLB and played several seasons in the LVBP with good numbers died this Thursday, Feb. 16, at the age of 43, according to communicator Antonio Soler. Lions of Caracas, Caribs by Anzoátegui and other big clubs from the Llanero country regretted the untimely departure of the Maracaibo-born due to a long illness he had to endure.
Next, we look at the major milestones in the life and career of this former big league player, the number 147 who brought Venezuela to the big top.
Who was Alex Herrera?
Alexander Herrera was born on November 5, 1979 in Maracaibo in the state of Zulia. His professional baseball debut came in the 1998-1999 LVBP season as a pitcher for the time eastern caribbeanwith whom he dated until 2004.
On September 13, 2022, Herrera made history by becoming the 147th Venezuelan player to reach Major League Baseball (MLB). He played two seasons with the Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians), in which he threw 11 bats in 12 ⅓ innings and allowed nine walks and 10 hits, according to the Baseball Reference portal.
Alex Herrera played with the Cleveland Indians of MLB in 2002 and 2003. Photo: Pinterest
For the LVBP’s 2004-2005 season, the Zulian pitcher went to the Caracas lionswith whom he spent one season, and then returned to the Caribs by Anzoategui, where he stayed until the middle of the 2014-2015 season when he was transferred to the Cardenales de Lara. He was also a backup for the Tiburones de La Guaira in the 2008-2009 round robin.
In total, Alex Herrera He played 17 seasons in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League with a 32-38 record and 28 saves, a 4.34 ERA and 476 strikeouts in 585 ⅓ innings.
Alex Herrera spent a good part of his career with the Caribes de Anzoategui. Photo: The Diary
How did Alex Herrera die?
as it turned out Alex Herrera had been battling a for the past few months aortic aneurysma type of balloon-like bulge that forms in the main artery that carries oxygenated blood to the body, according to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Although the aorta has thick walls that can withstand normal blood pressure, these can be weakened by certain medical conditions, genetics, or trauma. In this scenario, the pressure that the blood pushes against the walls can cause an aneurysm.
An aortic aneurysm manifests itself as a bulge in the aorta. Photo: Mayo Foundation
Likewise, Alex Herrera suffered from a aortic dissectioni.e. a tear in the wall of the aorta, which causes blood to leak between the layers of the vessel wall (dissection) and can even lead to reduced blood flow to the organs.
At the time of his death, Herrera was in Maracaibo; Days earlier, he had been taken to a hospital in Puerto La Cruz, in the state of Anzoátegui. The pitcher required open-heart surgery, which was never performed.