Catcher comes to D.C. for checkup by doctors One week after his dramatic rescue from kidnappers in the Venezuelan countryside, Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos returned to Washington on Friday for a medical checkup by team doctors.
In a brief media session in the Nats’ clubhouse afterwards, Ramos issued short statements in both Spanish and English thanking fans and team personnel for their support during a traumatic time. Team doctors issued a clean bill of health both physically and mentally, according to Washington general manager Mike Rizzo.
“Thanks to the fans for their prayers and their support,” said Ramos, whose abduction lasted 50 hours before Venezuelan security forces rescued him in a dramatic shootout. “I’m happy to be here, happy to be with my family. See you in spring training.”
| Ramos file |
| » The catcher was kidnapped from in front of his mother’s home in the St. Ines neighborhood in Valencia, Venezuela on Nov. 9 and rescued Nov. 11 by Venezuelan special forces. |
| » Ramos and Rizzo sat together on a leather couch and addressed the assembled media in front of the players’ empty locker in Washington’s clubhouse on Friday afternoon with his No. 3 jersey hanging inside. |
| » The Nats said they hoped to use Friday’s statement by Ramos and remarks by Rizzo to put the kidnapping incident behind the 24-year-old. |
When they were finished speaking, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman came around the corner fresh from a workout at the stadium and gave Ramos a bear hug as the two shared words. Ramos also shook hands and hugged Washington second-base prospect Stephen Lombardozzi, a Baltimore-area native who spends his offseason in the area and received a late-season recall from the minors in September.
Ramos will continue to play in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, according to Rizzo. In an interview before the end of the season, both Ramos and teammate Jesus Flores, a fellow Venezuelan, made clear how much it means to them to play in their home country in the winter. It keeps them in shape for spring training in North America and allows friends and family to see them play in the raucous atmosphere that prevails in that eight-team league.
“They’re going to play there. That’s where they live. They’re going to go home to their families and they’re going to play baseball in Venezuela because that’s what they do,” Rizzo said. “It’s their national game. It’s their national pastime. They want to play in front of their home crowd. They feel that they have an allegiance to play in that league because that league has done so much for them. They’re going to play in it, and we have to figure out a way to allow them to play in it safely and for them to get back to spring training safe and not have to worry about being kidnapped.”
Rizzo described the scene at the Major League Baseball general manager’s meetings in Milwaukee earlier this week where one executive after another came up to ask about Ramos and applaud the way MLB and the Venezuelan authorities handled the investigation. And that started formal discussions between general managers about what can be done to prevent these kidnappings, which are an epidemic in Venezuela and affect all levels of that society. But in the past kidnappers usually just targeted family members of athletes, celebrities and businessmen for ransom. The abduction of a big league player himself was unprecedented.
“Everyone was aware of [the danger],” Rizzo said. “But when you get a 24-year-old player that’s up-and-coming and is a real good player for you, it kind of hits home that this stuff can be taken away from you in a second. Have we done all we can to keep this from happening?”
The Nats are not involved in any ongoing investigation into the kidnapping, Rizzo said. Venezuelan authorities debriefed Ramos for hours after his rescue and have arrested and charged eight people in connection with the crime with more arrests possible, according to law-enforcement sources. Ramos spent this week preparing to return to the field in Venezuela. He was expected to fly home Friday evening and make his debut with his team, Tigres de Aragua, next Tuesday. That club is based in Maracay, about 35 miles from Ramos’ hometown of Valencia in northern Venezuela near the Caribbean coast. Rizzo wouldn’t give details for obvious reasons, but there will be enhanced security around Ramos to keep a similar incident from ever happening again.
“It kind of pushes all the stuff that you imagined could have been happening to the back because whatever did happen you see the finished product that he’s OK and he’s happy and healthy,” Rizzo said.
