When Yangervis Solarte left the San Diego Padres in September to care for his wife, Yuliett, in the final days before her death from cancer at the age of 31, the then-third-year infielder was hitting .284 with 15 home runs and 68 RBIs, all career highs.
Ordinarily, such stats would be afterthoughts in the wake of a devastating loss, but for Solarte, the latter number in particular kept returning the forefront of his mind as he and his three daughters, Yanliett, Yuliett and Yulianna, mourned mother Yuliett’s passing.
“She always liked the number seven, for the seven days that God created,” Solarte told FOX Sports by phone during a recent Padres homestand.