America rocked by devastating double sporting tragedy
Two sporting stars have been killed in a shocking double tragedy.
Former Los Angeles Angels infielder Luis Valbuena and former Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jose Castillo died in a car crash Thursday in Venezuela.
The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome, who covers Valbuena’s former team the Astros, confirmed the reports in the US.
A front office member of Luis Valbuena's Venezuelan winter ball team confirmed the former Astros third baseman was killed in a car accident in Venezuela on Thursday.
Valbuena was 33 https://t.co/cWALLPz3Io
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) December 7, 2018
Valbuena, 33, and Castillo, 37, were playing winter ball in Venezuela and were teammates on the Cardenales de Lara, according to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya.
Jeff Fletcher from the Orange County Register also verified the report and said their car hit a rock and went off the road.
According Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times, Venezuelan authorities have arrested four suspects found with Valbuena’s and Castillo’s personal belongings following the crash.
State governor Julio León Heredia says authorities believe the former MLB players were the intended victims of criminals in Venezuela who throw rocks onto roadways to disable cars or cause crashes and then rob the vehicles’ occupants.
Valbuena, Castillo and Carlos Rivero, who was reportedly driving the car and survived the crash, had just completed a winter league game.
Cardenales de Lara team official Gustavo Andrade said the three players elected to travel privately because they had personal business to attend to.
“They had appointments of some sort at the United States Embassy,” Andrade said, “They departed by their own means after [Thursday’s] game.”
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred released a statement Friday in which he said it was a sad day for baseball.
“This is a very sad day for our sport as we mourn the deaths of Luis Valbuena and José Castillo.
“It is clear by all the stories today that they loved baseball and made an impact on their teammates and the Clubs they represented.
“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to their families, friends and fans, particularly those in their native Venezuela.”
Valbuena started his MLB career in 2008 with the Seattle Mariners. During his 11-year career, he also played for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros.
Valbuena’s best season came in 2016, when he hit .260/.357/.459, with 13 home runs, in 342 plate appearances.
Valbuena spent 2018 with the Angels. He played his final game with the team in August and was a free agent.
Castillo spent five seasons in the majors. He played four years with the Pirates and split his final season between the San Francisco Giants and the Houston Astros.
Castillo’s final season in the majors came in 2008. He left the game with a .254/.296/.370 slash line.
Most recently, he’d been playing professional baseball in Japan.
