'She's a mother figure': How Sandy's sister paved the way

Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara has been described as humble and hard-working. He is his late mother Francisca's son, after all.

But the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner wouldn't be where he is today without his sister, Aridia, the oldest of 11 siblings. When Sandy was still a young boy, Aridia told their mom she wanted to take him in. Married at the time, Aridia was a 20-minute motorcycle ride away from their childhood home in Azua, Dominican Republic.

"[She told me] just to guide him through the right path in life," Aridia said, with Luis Dorante Jr. interpreting. "That was just always her advice. But Sandy has always been a very helpful kid. When I was working, he was cooking at home, sometimes helping any way he could in the house, even bathing my daughter in some situations. So he's always been a very calm guy."

Sandy stayed with Aridia for 1 1/2 years, until she separated from her husband and moved five hours away to Monte Plata. But the sibling connection remained strong, reuniting them once again when Sandy was 8 until he signed with the Cardinals at 16.

"When we moved to Monte Plata, I took him there. He started falling in love with the game," Aridia said. "So he started participating, going to the baseball field. Sometimes when I had money, I was giving him money for the bus. But many times, he was walking to the field. I was always helping him in any ways I could, just for his well-being and for the love he had for the game. He kept improving all the time."

Aridia would walk past Sandy's practice to work, observing him having fun playing alongside all of the other children. Those moments checking in on him are some of Sandy's fondest memories of her.

"She was super hard [on me]," Alcantara said. "She was trying to make me go to school every day, trying to be in a good line every time, trying to not get out of the way. I think she was very good to me."

Aridia wound up hosting all 10 of her siblings at one point or another. Some stayed for a month. Others, like Sandy and his younger brother, Rafelin, remained for longer. The entire family would reunite at their mother's house for Christmas every year.

Rafelin, now 25, helps Sandy train in South Florida. He was seated on the sofa with Sandy when he was announced as the first Cy Young Award winner in franchise history last November. Rafelin sees firsthand how much Aridia worries about Sandy the child and Sandy the adult: What's he eating? How does he feel? Is he healthy?

"She's like a mom for all of us," Rafelin said via Dorante. "More than dad, she's the person that always was there taking care of us -- taking care and also worrying about our well-being in all the ways that I can say, like the head of the family, practically. She's a mother figure."

At 14 years old, a close friend of Sandy's told him they should go to the capital in Santo Domingo to see a former pro ballplayer who had recently gotten a couple of guys signed. Before that could happen, however, Sandy needed permission to make the 45-minute trip.

"I had to ask my sister 24 hours [ahead of time]," Alcantara said. "'I have to go to Santo Domingo. There's people who want to see me throwing and pitching.' She said, 'Hey, we'll go together. Let's see who can see you there.' And she went with me. She saw everything was all right. The person that gave me the opportunity, she said, 'OK, he can stay here.' [She then told me,] 'Just give it everything you can, prepare and [take advantage] of the opportunity.'"

One of Aridia's favorite memories of Sandy took place during his time in the capital. He was painting houses and fixing ceilings as extra work on the side. One day, he sent Aridia 1,000 pesos through an old friend.

"At the time, I needed it so much," Aridia said. "I didn't tell him anything, but he sent that to me. It was very impactful, just to see him like that, that he was always taking care of the family."

Aridia still lives in Monte Plata, where Sandy donated equipment to ballplayers of La Liga Luisa Blanca -- his former little league -- in 2019. She has two daughters and a grandson of her own. Alcantara hopes to obtain a visa for Aridia to watch him pitch in a Major League game for the first time, just like their younger brother Rafelin has been able to. Never much a fan of baseball, she watches games that are on TV because of him.

When Sandy and Aridia talk, it's about life and not baseball. They discuss how much they miss each other. Aridia might've been the one looking out for her younger brother, but now Sandy can do the same by providing for her and the rest of the family.

"She's like my mother, and I feel so happy with her," Sandy said. "We talk every day, trying to be in contact, supporting each other."