In the wee hours of the morning of April 8, the roof of the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, caved in with hundreds of people inside.
Frances Robles and Hogla Enecia Pérez of The Washington Post report that 232 people died in the collapse and nearly 200 others were injured. The repercussions of the tragedy echoed across the MLB community — not only did former players have family members in the club at the time of the collapse, but former MLB reliever Octavio Dotel and former prospect Tony Blanco were killed in the accident. The night's performer, merengue singer Rubby Pérez, also died that day.
In his second Boston Red Sox start of the year, Brayan Bello, a Dominican native, honored the victims of the tragedy. He donned light blue cleats adorned with the names of some deceased clubgoers, including Blanco, Dotel and Pérez, along with a black ribbon. The heels of the spikes featured a Dominican flag.
"It was a big tragedy for the country and for us, and obviously it is a tough time for all the people that lost their loved ones in there," Bello said through a translator after Boston's April 27 game. "For me to be able to honor them at least with the cleats, it was very important to me and meant a lot."
Red Sox's Brayan Bello donned special cleats in honor of victims of the Jet Set nightclub roof collapse in Santo Domingo, D.R.
Brayan Bello on his cleats from today's game 🇩🇴❤️💙
— NESN (@NESN) April 27, 2025
"For me to be able to honor them at least with the cleats, it was very important to me and meant a lot." pic.twitter.com/xkqNcXnA6l
Bello grew up in Samaná, a beach town on the north side of the Dominican Republic, opposite Santo Domingo. His mentor and Red Sox legend, Pedro Martinez, shared soon after the collapse that he had family in the club at the time.
Bello put on a show to honor the victims of the Jet Set accident. He posted five scoreless innings against the Guardians, but surrendered a no-out, three-run homer to Nolan Jones in the sixth inning. He finished out the frame without allowing another run. Bello has clocked a 3.27 ERA in 11 innings over his first two starts.
Bello's cleats and performance were a great way to honor and bring awareness to the Jet Set nightclub collapse and the root cause of the disaster. According to The Washington Post, the Dominican Congress is already drafting bills to tighten building inspection requirements in hopes that tragedies like the one at Jet Set nightclub on April 8 may be prevented.