Pinango’s aggression shaped by father’s murder legacy

Yohendrick Pinango’s – Yohendrick Pinango has carried his late father Alexander “Reyito” Pinango’s memory into every part of his baseball life, from family custody after the May 11, 2008 killing to an elaborate right-arm sleeve. Now with the Toronto Blue Jays, the outfielder credits

TORONTO — There isn’t much to the unusual tattoo on the left side of Yohendrick Pinango’s neck — a noticeable set of red lips — that he says was “essentially a fit of fancy” when he was 18. “When you’re young, you do things,” the Toronto Blue Jays outfielder explained. “I liked it, so I did it.”

The more lasting mark is on his right arm. The sleeve covers an image of his late father, Alexander, known by the nickname Reyito, and includes the words beneath it: “fu en cielo, yo en la tierra, un solo comazon,” a line Pinango translated as “You are in heaven, I’m on Earth, one heart.”

Pinango said his father’s death has been difficult to carry. but also a force that pushed him to reach the goal his father had set for him.. “My dad was a great human being.. He was the guy always helping in the community.. Unfortunately, he got killed,” he recalled through interpreter Hector Lebron.. “It’s difficult to live with that.. But you’ve got to learn. to find a way to live without him and to accomplish one of the goals that he had for me.. One of his dreams for me was to become a ballplayer, a big-leaguer.. That’s one of the things I took from him and I’m very happy that I made it. not only for myself but for him. because I know that’s what he wanted me to do.”

Reyito died on May 11, 2008, when Pinango was just six.. Pinango did not share the specific details of how his father died. but said Reyito asked his older sister. Noris. to take custody and raise his son if anything happened.. Noris did so after consulting with Pinango’s mother, Yarbelys, who was raising two step-siblings from a different father.

Reyito, who was 30, played professional basketball in Venezuela, and also played volleyball and baseball recreationally.. Those sports appear on Pinango’s arm, along with the date of his death, 11-05-08, and the No.. 14 — his jersey number — plus his nickname behind a lightning bolt.. Pinango also has Yarbelys written across his forearm in bold lettering.

Their time together may have been brief, but Pinango said they competed in sports constantly, especially baseball. Reyito played the outfield too, but batted right-handed and tried to steer his son — a lefty-swinger — to turn around “to no avail.” Pinango took to the game quickly.

“Even before I played in a league, off the field, I always worked out with him and he knew it,” Pinango, 24, said. “He always told me that, to keep working, you’re going to be good.”

Noris’s role in his development was shaped by both the family promise and his father’s wishes. “Fulfilling her brother’s wishes, Noris both educated her nephew and ‘pushed me in baseball, taking me to the fields and helping me out with everything in my life.’”

Pinango’s path in baseball started early in his hometown of Carora.. At seven. he joined the local league and led his team to a championship while winning all the individual hitting awards.. At 13, he hit for the cycle in a game while Alvaro (El Chivo) Bernalete was watching.. Bernalete runs an academy called Future Stars and invited Pinango to join.

Noris wanted him to study more, Pinango said, but also understood baseball was his passion, so she agreed.. He moved to a facility in Barquisimeto. 90 minutes west. and shared one of the bunkbeds in a dorm room housing roughly 20 kids.. Three years later. the move paid off when Jose Luis Montero — the academy’s owner — helped negotiate a deal with the Chicago Cubs once the 2018 international signing period opened.

Pinango spent 5½ years in the Cubs system before the Blue Jays acquired him. along with shortstop prospect Josh Rivera. in a deadline deal for Nate Pearson on July 27. 2024.. The trade came soon after he’d reached double-A.. “He’d just gotten to double-A and the trade ‘surprised me a little bit. but I saw it as a new opportunity. ’” Pinango said.

When he learned he was going to Toronto, he said he felt excitement rather than uncertainty.. “It felt like when I first signed with the Cubs and when I found out it was the Blue Jays. I was very excited. ” he continued.. “They told me to keep doing what you’re doing. we like that you’re always aggressive. very aggressive hitter. you like to do damage at any count and that’s what I’m doing since.”

The Blue Jays’ player-development staff highlighted his bat speed and exit velocities, but also felt that his steep attack angle was leading to too many groundballs and that it didn’t maximize the quality of his contact.

After the 2024 season, Pinango played winterball with the Cardenales de Lara.. There, he began working on getting his barrel on plane earlier.. At double-A New Hampshire. he mashed for two months to open 2025. then received a bump to triple-A Buffalo. where he posted a .714 OPS in 84 games with the Bisons.

Another stint with Lara followed.. This time he hit .363 with eight homers in 24 games. springboarding him into what he described as a strong big-league spring training with the Blue Jays.. That buildup turned into a sudden call-up in April when Nathan Lukes hit the injured list on April 25.. The Blue Jays brought Pinango up from Buffalo in a late-night call.

He said that moment also connected back to his personal life. as he shared it with his wife. Luisana Mendoza. before calling his aunt and his mom.. “I had in my mind that this year I was going to be in the big-leagues – I wasn’t expecting to be here this soon. ” he said.. “But my goal was to be here at some point this year.”

Now that he’s on the big-league roster, Pinango said he’s treating his chance like something he must seize — in the same way Reyito would have wanted.

Hitting coach David Popkins described Pinango’s at-bats as “fearless.” Manager John Schneider admires the mindset behind his swings, saying he “has bad intentions at the plate, he’s not just trying to touch it.”

Pinango believes his father would recognize and appreciate that approach.. “Pinango believes his father would like ‘my aggressiveness’ and ‘would have called me like an animal in danger. because that was his style of playing.’” He also said that when he runs into Reyito’s former basketball teammates who have seen him in the batter’s box. “they tell me that was your dad. too. he was very aggressive.”

Pinango also carries the memory in a second line on his right forearm: “No todo lo que, tiene Vida Vivo, No todo lo que, Muere a Muerto,” which he said is Spanish for “not everything that lives is alive, not everything that dies is dead.”

“It’s still a challenge, it’s an everyday challenge to live without your dad,” Pinango said.. “It’s very hard, especially the way everything happened.. My dad was a great person and hopefully one day justice comes for him.. Every day I think about him and I use it to push me to keep accomplishing everything that I can.”

The pattern that ties his family history to his baseball rise is straightforward: Reyito’s death in 2008 led to Noris taking custody and helping Pinango with his development. then key moments — like his Future Stars invitation after hitting for the cycle at 13 and his move toward the Cubs organization in 2018 — kept steering him toward Reyito’s dream of a big-league career.

And now. with the late-night call after April 25 and his early big-league work earning praise from Popkins and Schneider. Pinango’s aggressiveness is being treated as both a baseball identity and a way to honor a father who has stayed “top of mind. ” even as he continues to say justice is still needed.

Yohendrick Pinango Toronto Blue Jays Nate Pearson Josh Rivera Nathan Lukes David Popkins John Schneider Cardenales de Lara Chicago Cubs Buffalo Bisons New Hampshire Fisher Cats Future Stars Carora Barquisimeto