twins/mlb
La Velle E. Neal III has covered baseball for the Star Tribune since 1998 (the post-Knoblauch era). Born and raised in Chicago, he grew up following the White Sox and hating the Cubs. He attended both the University of Illinois and Illinois-Chicago and began his baseball writing career at the Kansas City Star. He can be heard occasionally on KFAN radio, lending his great baseball mind to Paul Allen and other hosts. Mark Rosen borrows him occasionally for WCCO-TV.
Wilson Ramos kidnapped in Venezuela
Posted by: La Velle E. Neal III Updated: November 10, 2011 - 1:08 AM
Terrible news out of Venezuela as former Twins catcher Wilson Ramos, now with Washington, was taken from his home in Valencia. It's the same town where pitcher Felix Hernandez, catcher Francisco Cervelli and infielder Endy Chavez are from.
Looking at a map, it appears that Valencia is about 100 miles from the capital of Caracas.
I texted some Twins folks with the news, and they were stunned. Michael Cuddyer texted back ``I see that...Awful!!!''
Here's a report from the Washington Post:
Awful news to pass along. Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos has been kidnapped in his hometown of Valencia, Venezuela, according to his Venezuelan winter league team.
Ramos, 24, had gone home for the winter and planned to participate in roughly 10 games with Tigres de Aragua, starting Thursday. He is one of the Nationals’ best, most promising players, a rookie this past season who became the Nationals’ regular catcher.
Four people, armed, went into Ramos’s family’s house Wednesday night and took Ramos, and only Ramos, out of the house, put him in a green vehicle and sped away, according to multiple news reports out of Venezuela. Ramos’s family has not established communication with the kidnappers, the reports said.
In a crime and safety report this year, the State Department described kidnappings in Venezuela as “a growing industry.” In 2009, according to an estimate in the crime and safety report, “there was an alarming 9.2 incidents of kidnapping per 100,000 inhabitants in Venezuela.”
Many of the kidnappings that take place in the country are so-called “express” kidnappings, in which armed men drive a victim around and take money before returning him. The crime and safety report stated that “groups that specialize in these types of crimes operate with impunity or fear of incarceration.”
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