How the Royals' Edinson Volquez pitched through the pain of his father's death

He would have heard it. If the MLB on FOX crew had revealed during Game 1 of the World Series that Edinson Volquez had lost his father, the Royals right-hander would have learned the news right in the middle of his start.

"We've got TVs down in the tunnel and in the cage," Volquez said Wednesday night. "I always go back and forth watching video. If you had said something, I would have found out right away. I was down there. But I didn't hear anything from anybody."

Volquez, 32, spoke to me by telephone on Wednesday night, talking about his performances in Games 1 and 5 of the Series, his excitement for the coming season and his enduring grief.

"Sometimes you have to learn how to live with things," Volquez said. "I spent a lot of time with my mom (Ana), gave her a lot of support. She's still a little bit down. I'm different a little bit. I'm still thinking about it. It still hurts. But like I said, you have to learn how to deal with it."

Volquez pitched Game 1 under just about the most unusual circumstances imaginable. Royals manager Ned Yost, pitching coach Dave Eiland, bench coach Don Wakamatsu and at least one of Volquez's teammates knew what the pitcher did not: That his father, Daniel, had died at 63.

The Royals had told right-hander Chris Young to be ready to start if Volquez learned about his father's passing and was unable to pitch. Reports of Daniel's death emerged before the game from Volquez's native Dominican Republic. ESPN reported that Volquez was aware of the news, but Royals spokesperson Mike Swanson told FOX and other outlets that the pitcher did not know -- and that his wife, Roandy, had asked that he not be told.

FOX, after considerable internal debate, decided not to report the news until after Volquez was out of the game and had been informed by his family. Working the broadcast as a field reporter, I tweeted our rationale: "Broadcast generally on in clubhouse. Conflicting reports on whether Volquez knows. We are not taking chance he would find out through us."

Volquez said he was aware of the debate that ensued afterward, the debate over whether FOX's first responsibility was to report the information to its viewers.

"I watched the news and TV and everyone was like, 'Why didn't anyone say anything to him? Why did they not say anything on TV?'" Volquez said. "I thought it was the right decision for you guys, to keep it quiet and not say anything."

As it turned out, Volquez allowed three runs in six innings, and the Royals rallied to win the game in 14 innings, 5-4.

Afterward, one of the Royals' clubhouse attendants informed Volquez that his wife was waiting for him in manager Ned Yost's office.

Volquez recalled asking the attendant, "What happened?" saying, "I didn't even know what was going on."

Inside Yost's office with Roandy was Royals general manager Dayton Moore, assistant GM/international operations Rene Francisco and two friends, Volquez said.

Roandy informed her husband of the news.

"It was hard," Volquez said. "It's hard to believe, the first time someone tells you that. It's crazy when someone tells you that your dad passed away. It was hard to believe. It was hard to swallow."

Volquez said he immediately told Roandy, "We've got to get ready and fly back tomorrow morning to the Dominican."

The family spent the next three days in the Dominican Republic as the World Series continued, attended Daniel's funeral, grieved with other family members.

"There was a lot of pain," Volquez said. "I have a big family. When you see your family next to you crying, giving you hugs and see your dad over there, it's really hard."

At one point during his time at home, Volquez said that someone asked him if he would make his next scheduled start in the Series, in Game 5. Volquez replied, "I don't know."

Eiland, however, said that Volquez told him in a phone conversation between Games 2 and 3 that he wanted to pitch. Volquez said he played catch "a little bit" during his time away. He rejoined the Royals in New York just as Game 4 began, threw briefly in the batting cage, then made his final decision.

"I talked to Ned Yost, and told him I wanted to pitch that game," Volquez said. "He said, 'OK, you got it.'

"I was good. I was ready to pitch. Mentally, it was really hard to concentrate and put your ability and mind together. It was hard for me before the game started. But as soon as I walked out to the field, everything was the same."

Curtis Granderson led off the first inning against him with a leadoff homer, but Volquez rallied to retire 13 of the next 17 hitters. The Mets loaded the bases with no one out in the sixth, but Volquez escaped by allowing only one run.

His line: Six innings, two hits, two runs, one earned.

Once again, the Royals rallied to tie the score, this time against Mets ace Matt Harvey, then clinched the Series by winning in 12 innings, 7-2.

Manager Ned Yost congratulates Edinson Volquez on his Game 5 effort.

"I said the night before that I wanted to pitch the game because I wanted to make my dad proud, all my family, all the fans," Volquez said. "I think I did a pretty good job. He's really happy right now."

Volquez scrawled his father's initials, "D.V." on the back of the mound that night and also wrote them inside his cap.

He is not sure how he will pay tribute to his father this season.

"I might do the same thing," he said. "I might write something down inside my hat or put his initials on the mound. Nothing big.

"I've got a lot of energy. I'm a little bit crazy. But I don't have to show people what I feel, what's inside of me. I'll just keep it quiet. I don't have to do anything crazy or anything big. I just want to keep my pain inside."

Right now, though, he is mostly happy -- happy to be back with his teammates at the Royals' training facility in Surprise, Ariz., happy to be preparing for another season.

"I'm really excited," Volquez said. "I talked to one of the guys yesterday. He asked me how the offseason was. I told him I'm still dreaming about the World Series. Since I was little, I had dreamed about pitching in the World Series and winning the World Series."

He did it, under the most unusual circumstances imaginable.