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Thousands of people are feared dead in Venezuela after two massive earthquakes, but a former MLB pitcher is one of the lucky ones.
Jenrry Mejía, who now pitches in the Venezuelan Major Leagues, said divine intervention in an elevator saved his life during the earthquakes.
Speaking to a Dominican radio station, Mejía said he had just finished training at the Eduards Hotel in La Guaira when, instead of heading to the floor where he was staying, the elevator took him to the lobby, allowing him to escape.
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Jenrry Mejia of the New York Mets pitches against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field in New York City on April 4, 2014. The Mets defeated the Reds 4-3. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
“I was in the gym area. And at that moment I took the elevator to leave,” Mejía told “Mañana Deportiva.”
“In fact, I had pressed number 6, which was where my floor was. But… I think it was God because instead of going up, he went down to the basement,” he continued. “The door opened directly into the lobby. That’s when I walked out and the building started collapsing.”
Mejía helped an older man out of the hotel and believes that the two of them are the only ones who made it out of the hotel alive.
Jenrry Mejia pitches in the ninth inning for his 28th save against the Washington Nationals in the first game of a doubleheader at Nationals Park in Washington, DC, on September 25, 2014. The Mets won 7-4. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
PLAYERS AND FANS FLEE STADIUM AS POWERFUL EARTHQUAKES OCCUR DURING VENEZUELA BASEBALL GAME
“The others are still there, trapped under the rubble,” he said.
The hotel, according to the New York Post, citing local reports, housed the families of players and staff members of the Delfines and Guerreros de Lara baseball teams, with relatives of former Major League players Eliezer Alfonso and Gorkys Hernández missing.
Mejía pitched parts of five seasons for the New York Mets, becoming their closer in 2014, a year before reaching the World Series. However, he eventually became the first baseball player to be banned for life from Major League Baseball for violating its performance-enhancing drug policy.
Rescuers search for victims in a demolished building in Caracas, Venezuela, after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake and a 7.5 aftershock hit the region on June 24, 2026. (Jesús Vargas/Getty Images)
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Mejia was suspended for 80 games for his first offense in 2015. After pitching in seven games, he tested positive again and received a 162-game suspension. The following February, he tested positive for a third time, leading to his ban. He has since requested and been granted reinstatement, but has not pitched in the major leagues since. He played minor league ball for the Boston Red Sox organization.
The death toll has risen to 589 and thousands are reported missing.
Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic earlier this year.
