People affected by the earthquake line up for food in La Guaira, Venezuela, Saturday, June 27, 2026.
Matias Delacroix/AP Photo/Matias Delacroix
The week began with an unexpected surprise for Robinson Chirinos, the former Rangers catcher who still lives near Rockwall and operates a baseball academy in the area. It ended with an unimaginable tragedy.
Chirinos’ son, David, was a last-minute addition to the MLB Draft Combine in Phoenix, so he changed plans related to his outside baseball interests and accompanied his son. He had originally planned to be back in Venezuela.
And, so, while David was running and throwing for MLB scouts Wednesday afternoon, his father found himself receiving frantic and, ultimately, tragic messages from Venezuela. When the twin earthquakes centered near La Guaira, west of the capital, stopped rumbling, he had lost both his brother-in-law and 15-year-old nephew. According to The New York Times, the death toll had climbed above 1,400 on Saturday with approximately 1.8 million people in need of humanitarian aid.
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“My soul has been painful,” an exhausted Chirinos told The Dallas Morning News on Saturday, shortly after returning to D-FW. “I am trying to stay calm, but it hurts. Right now, I’m trying to figure out stuff to do to help. Ever since it happened, I feel like I have been on the phone, using my energy and whatever connections I have in any way possible to help.”
Chirinos and Rangers Hall of Famer Elvis Andrus, also a Venezuelan native, have worked to connect with MLB officials, Rangers and Orioles officials and local churches to lead local relief efforts. The Rangers have a long history with Venezuelan-born players. At one point in the last decade, Chirinos, Andrus, Rougned Odor and Martin Pérez were all on the roster.
MLB has yet to announce a league-wide charity initiative, but that is likely to eventually take place. At the beginning of the season, 56 — or 7% of all players — on MLB rosters were Venezuelan natives. Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic over the USA in March; Chirinos was the bench coach for the team.
For the time being, Chirinos is centering relief efforts through his own charitable foundation, which has strong roots in Venezuela. Among his business interests in Venezuela, Chirinos operates a taxi company, Verdi, giving him a team on the ground. His sister, Rusetty Chirinos, heads operations there. It was her husband, Leoiver Manuel Cedeño Pantoja, and son, Isaac Alexander Galue, who were killed in the earthquake.
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“She is in so much pain,” he said. “She keeps saying I don’t know how I will survive. I tell her I will be there. God will be there. People will be there. We need to love and support the people though, baseball, private business and every connection we have.”
Chirinos is collecting goods ranging from rescue equipment and medications to hygiene necessities daily at his 7AR Baseball Academy in Fate and is collecting funds through the Robinson Chirinos Foundation. Financial contributions can be sent via Zelle or through a Bank of America wire. Chirinos intends to head to Venezuela in the coming days to help coordinate relief efforts using and supporting his team at Verdi.
And while immediate relief aid is the first crisis, Chirinos is well aware that many people are going to continue to need help long after the story fades from the headlines. Chirinos has always been very strong in his faith and, in this situation, he sees a chance to put action to that faith.
“I have always been passionate about Venezuela,” said Chirinos, who has always been active in supporting humanitarian issues in the country, but they used to be more concentrated on government corruption and safety. “This time is no different. They need me. They need us. It’s not going to end tomorrow or the next week.
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“This was the message I shared with our team. Let’s keep helping. There is so much need. It’s impossible to help everybody, but we want to help as many people as we possibly can. I am a man of faith, but faith without action is dead. I’m trying to act right now.”