Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
November 23, 2002
Hidalgo Wounded:

The AP reports (via ESPN.com) that Richard Hidalgo was shot during a carjacking in Venezuela. It doesn't appear to be too serious according to this report.

Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle has more, including what ballplayers think of the political situation in Venezuela. It appears that many of them are afraid to return home while Chavez holds power:


Because of the political turmoil in Venezuela, many Venezuelan players have remained in the United States this offseason.

The political climate and crime rates have worsened over the last year as Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez fights to maintain power. Some players were pleased when Chavez was temporarily overthrown in April by an interim government led by Pedro Carmona.

But Chavez regained power less than 48 hours after the coup.

Carmona was president of the chemical company Venoco, which owns the land where the Astros have their highly regarded baseball academy.

Many major-league clubs, including the Astros, had serious doubts about sending their prospects to the Venezuelan Winter League. Hidalgo and lefthander Carlos Hernandez were not participating in winter ball, but Hidalgo's incident highlights the concerns Venezuelan players have about returning to their country while Chavez remains in power.


Check out El Sur, a blog about South America with many posts about Venezuela.


Posted by David Pinto at 07:48 AM | Baseball