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Thousands of people are believed to have died in Venezuela after two massive earthquakes, but a former MLB pitcher is one of the lucky ones.
Jenrry Mejia, who now pitches in the Venezuelan Major League, said divine intervention in an elevator saved her life during the earthquakes.
Speaking to a Dominican radio station, Mejia said he had just finished training at the Hotel Eduards de La Guaira when, instead of going 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 on April 4, 2014. The Mets defeated the Reds 4-3. (Mike Stobé/Getty Images)
“I was in the gym. And at that moment I took the elevator to leave,” Mejía told “Mañana Deportiva”.
“I actually pressed number 6, which was where my floor was. But… I think it was God because instead of going up, it was going down to the basement,” he continued. “The door opened straight into the lobby. That’s when I walked out and the building started to collapse.”
Mejia helped an older man out of the hotel and believes they are the only ones to make it out of the hotel alive.
Jenrry Mejia throws her 28th save in the ninth inning 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 STRIKE DURING VENEZUELA BASEBALL GAME
“The others are still there, trapped under the rubble,” he explained.
The hotel, according to the New York Post, citing local reports, housed the families of players and staff members of Lara’s Delfines and Guerreros baseball teams, with relatives of former MLB players Eliezer Alfonso and Gorkys Hernández missing.
Mejia pitched parts of five seasons for the New York Mets, becoming their closer in 2014, a year before making the World Series. However, he ultimately 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 7.2 magnitude earthquake and a 7.5 aftershock hit the area on June 24, 2026. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)
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Mejia was suspended for 80 games for his first offense in 2015. After starting seven games, he tested positive again and was suspended 162 games. The following February, he tested positive for the third time, prompting 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 stands at 589 and thousands are missing.
Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic earlier this year.
