Albert Suárez was thrilled in June when his family finally could watch him pitch in the major leagues again.
The last time he was on this stage, his older daughter, Joeyris, was only 5 and his middle child, Albert Jr., was 2. Suárez’s youngest, Hannah, wasn’t born yet. In the years since that last appearance, they had traveled the world with him, going to Japan and South Korea as Suárez chased his dreams. And finally, in June, they came to Baltimore to see him pitch at Camden Yards.
His family, though, had a different reaction than he was expecting.
“They like it on TV because they can see me closer,” he said. “They are like, ‘oh, we can see the replay; they show your face. Everything happens too fast.”
They also can’t see the strike zone box, something Joeyris, who will turn 12 this month, surely misses. How is she supposed to yell at the umpire if she doesn’t know if it’s a bad call, she tells her father.
Despite sometimes missing the TV, having the family together has always been the priority for the Suárezes, even as he traveled across the Pacific Ocean to pursue his goals. They’ve stuck together as much as they could — COVID seasons being the only exception — and now that school is out they are soaking up the unexpected run that Suárez has been on this season as he’s become a fixture in the Orioles’ rotation.
Read More
“The older one, she still gets emotional a little bit,” Suárez said. “This is really fun because I want them to be here. They are always watching on TV, but now they can experience it for real.”
It has been, after all, a journey for all of them.
With his career on the line in 2018, Albert Suárez had a major decision to make. Should he give it another go in the United States, despite being unable to find a consistent job at the major league level? Or should he follow his younger brother Robert Suárez, who had been playing in Japan for the previous four seasons?
Suárez, unlike his brother, had a family to think about. Lugging two young kids around the world is no simple task. But Suárez had one mission: to make it back to a major league mound. To do that, he knew he needed to do whatever it took to resuscitate his career.
So the whole lot — Suárez, his wife, Corneyris; Joeyris; Albert Jr. and his mother — headed across the Pacific. They landed first with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball, the same league his brother was playing in.
It was a big adjustment for all — a new country, a new language and a new culture.
“I had a lot of help,” Suárez said. “My wife, she does everything. She made it simple.”
The family stayed together in 2019, but in 2020, as COVID spread around the world, had to separate. It was a 13-hour time difference, meaning Suárez had to talk to his children at night or first thing in the morning. Despite being young, the kids understood why their father wasn’t home, Suárez said.
“It was hard, but at the same time it was easier because I knew that they were safe,” he said. “I think baseball kept me busy. You don’t really think, ‘oh, I miss them so much.’ You are busy where you don’t have the time to get too emotional.”
They stayed apart until 2023, when, now with Hannah in tow, the family joined him again, this time in South Korea. They stayed there until he was released in August.
They were getting ready to head back to South Korea in September when the Orioles called, offering him a minor league contract. It was not a guarantee by any means that he would be given a chance to pitch in the majors, but he knew if he showed them the work he put in in South Korea and Japan that he may have a chance.
That chance came quickly. In April, when Tyler Wells went on the injured list, Suárez was called up to pitch in his first major league game since 2017. His family stayed in Houston — his kids were still in school — but watched on television.
Two months later, his family finally made it to Baltimore. They will stay with him for the rest of the season, the family planning to visit Washington and some amusement parks to keep the kids entertained between starts.
This was always the goal. For the family to stick together. For Suárez to provide for the family by playing baseball.
And now, after a long wait, they can check both things off.
