After two years apart, every day is Mother’s Day for the Phillies’ José Alvarado and his mom

The merengue beat starts bumping when the bullpen door opens. Then come the strobe lights that flash from above left and right field. For 15 seconds, maybe 20, a major-league ballpark morphs into a dance club.

And that’s when Crelia Lizarzabal understands what she was missing.

“Now I can feel what it was like in the playoffs,” she tells her son. “I can see the people. Now I know. I can feel it.”

José Alvarado tried explaining it. But how can anyone convey what it’s like to pitch the eighth inning of a Phillies postseason home game? The sea of red rally towels. The ear-splitting din. A packed house — 45,000 strong — singing your name: José, José, José, José!

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No, some things just don’t translate. Not in any language, and certainly not over the phone from 2,000 miles away.

But for two years, it was the best Alvarado and his mother could do.

Alvarado made multiple attempts to bring Lizarzabal and other family, including two of his children, to the United States. But the U.S. suspended diplomatic relations with Venezuela, closing the embassy in Caracas in 2019 over political and economic unrest there. Travel between the countries is circuitous, the visa process for Venezuelans convoluted.

During the Phillies’ playoff run last October, Alvarado went public with his family’s struggles. Two months later, with the assistance of a congressional inquiry on his behalf, the lefty reliever welcomed his mother, son Dylan, daughter Victoria, and sister Mariu to his home in Miami.

Lizarzabal, in particular, has been by Alvarado’s side ever since. They were together in spring training, and she’s living with him now in South Jersey. She attends most games at Citizens Bank Park. He accompanies her to doctor’s appointments and makes sure she has the proper medication to manage her diabetes.

Oh, and she cooks her famous pabellón, a traditional Venezuelan specialty that, according to Alvarado, includes “white rice, carne mechada (shredded beef), black beans, tajadas (a sweet fried plantain), cheese, and avocado.”

“She’s like the best cook,” Alvarado said in a quiet moment at his locker before a game this week. “I need to be careful because she’s so good.”

Alvarado laughed. He’s a gentle giant, fun-loving and popular in the clubhouse and known as much for making beaded necklaces for teammates as unleashing fire-breathing fastballs. But he smiles even more now. And he worries less. A lot less.

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After two years apart, every day is Mother’s Day.

“It means a lot,” Alvarado said. “It’s like I can sleep now. My mind is clear. I don’t think like, I need to work for my mom and my family over there in Venezuela. Now, I focus on my job, finish the game, go to my house, and I’ve got my kids, my mom waiting for me before I go to sleep. That’s so special for me to have my family wait for me every night.”

Félix Olivo, Alvarado’s friend and agent, puts it this way: “His favorite person is his mother. He dies for his mother.”

But what if Alvarado hadn’t told their story at a news conference before Game 2 of the wild-card series against the Marlins? Would his family still be in Venezuela? Would he celebrate his upcoming birthday (he turns 29 on May 21) over FaceTime? Would his heart still ache with loneliness?

In 2019, his second full season in the majors, Alvarado took a three-week leave from the Tampa Bay Rays to be with Lizarzabal in Venezuela after she had a heart attack. Before the 2020 season, she obtained a visa and went to live with him in Florida.

The Phillies traded for Alvarado in December 2020 — Dave Dombrowski’s first move after taking over as president of baseball operations — and he had a 4.20 ERA in 64 appearances in 2021.

But “Alvarado wasn’t the Alvarado that he is today,” as Olivo says.

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Lizarzabal’s visa expired in 2021, so she couldn’t be with her son when he got demoted to triple A in May 2022. Or when he returned as the most overpowering reliever in the National League. Or when he gave up the crushing homer to Houston’s Yordan Alvarez in Game 6 of the 2022 World Series.

Or the next spring, when he signed a three-year, $22 million contract extension.

When the Phillies’ series-clinching parties spilled on to the field during the last two postseasons. Alvarado envied teammates who celebrated with their families. Behind the scenes, team officials and lawyers were working through a complex visa process. Alvarado knew they were trying. It didn’t make things easier.

“You’ve got to let him talk, let him vent, and try to give him hope that, pretty soon, man, we all want you to have your family here with you,” Phillies director of international operations Ray Robles recalled by phone. “I spent about an hour with him in the clubhouse one day. Those were the conversations that we were having, and that goes for everyone that was aware of the situation.”

More people became aware on Oct. 4, one day after Alvarado struck out the Marlins’ Yuli Gurriel to bail the Phillies out of a two-on, two-out jam in the seventh inning of a wild-card game. Asked about his glove-clapping, fist-pumping shout, he said his on-field emotion was nothing compared with crying on the phone with his mother after the game.

“It’s so hard, man,” Alvarado said.

In the days that followed, Olivo got “numerous emails” from immigration lawyers who wanted to help. Robles said the Phillies and MLB were contacted by Sen. Bob Casey’s office, as MLB.com detailed in December, about a program for Venezuelans to apply to come to the U.S. for two years to live and work if they have a sponsor and pass background checks.

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The process, known as humanitarian parole, enabled Alvarado’s family to arrive in time for Christmas.

“José speaking up, it definitely got the eyes and the ears of Sen. Bob Casey,” Robles said. “We were trying not to leave any rock unturned. So many people got involved and worked together.

“His mom is everything to him. We knew how special that relationship was. Having his sister and two kids come over with his mom, that was huge for the family. Everybody loves José. His personality, he’s just very open, a very funny guy. I’m glad that she’s able to be there for him and he can feel her presence now.”

The Phillies don’t have a closer. Instead, manager Rob Thomson prefers to use the bullpen based on matchups or game situations. Last season, nine relievers recorded at least one save.

But Alvarado is the Phillies’ relief ace. The velocity on his heat-seeking sinker is down a tick, from a 98.7 mph average last year to 97.7 mph. The Phillies insist they are unconcerned, and 13 of his first 16 appearances were scoreless.

Entering the weekend, Alvarado’s ERA stood at 4.30 mainly because of an opening-day blowup. He came into a tie game in the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves, faced seven batters, and allowed five runs on three hits and two walks.

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“Now, when I have a bad day, I can sit down with my mom talking to me,” Alvarado said. “That’s awesome.”

Lizarzabal, who doesn’t speak English, has a saying that makes Alvarado chuckle. It goes something like this: “The only guy who won when he goes back is Michael Jackson. Don’t look back. Always look straight [ahead].”

“Sure,” said Alvarado, laughing at MJ’s peak moonwalking days, “because he was dancing and he went backward every time. You know? When I come into a big situation in the game, she says, ‘Baby, I know you like challenge, you like to compete, you don’t feel nervous. I believe in you because you like to fight in big moments. You’re not scared of anybody.’”

Well, except maybe the thought of blowing a save at home now that the Phillies’ gameday staff recently added the light show to his typical entrance to Toño Rosario’s version of “Me Olvidé De Vivir.”

“I was not ready for that moment,” Alvarado said. “When they did it, I said, ‘Uh-oh. I need to do my job right and close the game.’”

But Alvarado’s mom approves. Her son is a big part of the show now in South Philly. While she was away, he became a key piece of a World Series contender. She told Olivo that the whole thing is “indescribable.”

“She says these fans are the best,” Alvarado said. “Especially right now. This team’s dangerous. I’m very focused to stay in the spot I am right now and keep going. Man, I’m just so happy. The only thing I can say is thank you to all people who gave me the happiness to bring my family here.”