Alpine native Little Leaguer and Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball World Series champion pitcher Alex Vesia is returning to Alpine for a meet and greet event on Dec. 7 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Casino Inn Bar & Grill. Participants will have a chance to win a chance to be pitched to by Vesia, photo and autograph opportunities, free hotdogs for kids 12 and younger, music, raffles, and fun events. This event is open to the public.
This event is locally sponsored by Don Zub of DZ Production, a friend and coach of Vesia from his Little League and Steele Canyon High School days in East County.
Zub said proceeds from this event will support the Alpine American Little League.
Zub said Vesia graduated with his daughter in 2014, and he coached Vesia along with his son for several years in the Alpine Little League.
“I had this idea since I have been a baseball fan my whole life growing up in Detroit and I have never met a world champion personally. Alex Vesia is a world champion. Many people do not understand what that is, but it is pretty awesome. I thought it would be a good idea to get a hold of Alex and see if he would like to do something here in Alpine and he said, ‘For sure. Let’s do it,’” he said.
Zub said Vesia is a personal friend and his family, and his family all still lives in Alpine. Zub, an ex-Navy Seal, and Vesia father Bob Vesia was also in the Navy back in the 1980s.
“Bob and I are both Navy guys. I’ve always been a Detroit Tigers fan, and a Padre fan now. But it is funny that Alex’s father Bob has been a New York Yankees fan his whole life. He was really taken that his son playing in the World Series against his team. It is the only time in his life that he rooted against the Yankees during this World Series. That is sort of comical,” he said. “Alex has played baseball with my son since he was 5 years old, and I have known the family that long. They live right down the street from me. So, he will be spending some time here. He is a great kid. He comes from a motorcross background. What really gave him the ability to become a pro was growing 3-4 inches in high school. He was always a small kid, but he grew up in high school. He is a lefthanded pitcher and the rest is history. He has done really well, and he is probably one of the most intense pitchers on the team. He brings a lot of energy to the Dodgers.”
Zub said in 2018, he moved to Florida to help his relatives out after Hurricane Michael, and after that moved down to the Fort Lauderdale.
“Alex and I got officially reconnected then in Miami,” he said. “He was drafted by the Miami Marlins. He was looking for a house down there and I had some real estate friends to help him out. But we ended up reconnecting in Florida, and one month later he was traded to the Dodgers,” he said.
Zub said along with DZ Production, this event is sponsored by the Alpine Little League and the Casino Inn.
“Alex is also going to be on the Little League float this year on Dec. 6 at the Alpine Parade of Lights,” he said.
Zub said at the event, along with the autographs, raffles, and other events, local restaurants in Alpine will be providing gift certificates, and Costco will be helping with food.
Zub said one of Vesia’s biggest concerns was security at the event.
“He mentioned it to me. I never realized it as there are only going to be a bunch of Little Leaguers there, but he laughed because he has been to many events in Los Angeles, and he said he was not worried about the Little Leaguers but was worried about the LA fans,” he said. “He is now enjoying some time off after the playoffs, the World Series win, and all of the commotion that went up in LA. It was a real big deal.”
Zub said since Bob Vesia and he are Navy veterans, they will also be honoring National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day at the event.
“We have this young girl from Alpine that will sing for us. This will be quite the deal,” he said.
