Ex-Tiger Steven Moya after death of wife: 'Hug your family ... tell them you love them'

Tony Paul, The Detroit News on Jul 22, 2025

Published in Baseball

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DETROIT — Steven Moya, a former Tigers prospect, is mourning the sudden death of wife Elizabeth, who died Friday night following a flight to Taiwan. She was traveling to see her husband play in an All-Star Game.

The cause of death is not known. According to multiple reports, Elizabeth experienced symptoms on the flight and care was administered on the plane. After the plane landed, she was rushed to a local hospital, where she died.

Moya, 33, plays for Taiwan's TSG Hawks out of the Chinese Professional Baseball League and was set to participate in the weekend's All-Star festivities, but withdrew following Elizabeth's death. Moya had previously withdrawn from the Home Run Derby with a collarbone injury.

On Monday, Moya addressed Hawks fans at Chengcing Lake Baseball Stadium in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, in a moving speech that left several teammates and fans in the stands in tears.

"It's been a really tough weekend for me. But at the same time as a Christian, in the end, God, his purposes in people's lives, I don't know what his purpose is with me right now," Moya told the crowd. "But it's not for us to understand sometimes the things that happen.

"But have faith that everything is going to be for a greater purpose, and He knows. And I'm choosing to believe that even (though) this is bad news and something really bad that I don't wish this for anyone, I still am going to believe that something good is going to come out of this.

"And I encourage you to hug your family, your wife, your husband, your children, tell them that you love them. I didn't have the chance to tell my wife that I love her for the last time, so now that you have the opportunity, please do it and always smile to them, hug them and try to have the greatest time each day, like it's the last one."

Moya is in his second season playing for the TSG Hawks. He had 30 home runs and 99 RBIs in 2024, when he won the league's Home Run Derby.

This season, he has a .996 OPS with 19 homers and 47 RBIs through 54 games, and he already has rejoined the team and vowed to continue the club's push for a championship.

Steven and Elizabeth had two children together, daughters.

"I just want to say this, even though it hurts, even though it's a difficult time, I'm going to come here and gonna start working hard like every day, to give my best to you guys and keep winning games so we can achieve a championship this year," Moya told the crowd Monday, before finishing a speech and hugging each of his teammates and coaches. "I'm going to try to give my best every single day and just, you know, fight and do my best every day.

"Thank you for your support. God bless you."

Moya, who was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in the Dominican Republic, signed with the Tigers at 16 years old. After hitting 35 home runs with Double-A Erie in 2014, he made his major league debut that same season, and entering the 2015 season, he was the No. 100-ranked prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB.com.

Moya played just 51 games for the Tigers, over parts of three seasons, with five home runs and 11 RBIs. He split 2017 between Erie and Triple-A Toledo, elected free-agency at season's end, and hasn't played in the majors since.

He played in Japan, Mexico and in independent ball in the United States before signing with the TSG Hawks in January 2024, and re-signed with them this offseason for a contract that pays him $575,000 a year.

The TSG Hawks are helping Moya with Elizabeth's funeral arrangements.