December 7, 20187 yr Wow, hard to believe. Will always remember him as the guy who bat flipped every time he got a hit.
December 7, 20187 yr Castillo died, too. Quote According to reports in Venezuela, their car hit a rock in the road. Must have been some rock.
December 7, 20187 yr 1 hour ago, Scraps said: Damn gonna miss those bat flips on walks and singles RIP this is how i choose to remember luis valbuena
December 7, 20187 yr Rip. Loved his passion and always seemed happy attitude. Was one of my sons favorite players. Have his Jersey and picture autographed framed in sons room. Prayers to both families effected by this.
December 7, 20187 yr Leaving one game, on the way to another, damn. This article says sliding rock. Quote Former Major League Baseball players Luis Valbuena and Jose Castillo were killed in a car accident Thursday night, a spokesperson for their Venezuelan team, Cardenales de Lara, confirmed. Valbuena was 33. Castillo was 37. The crash occurred after Valbuena and Castillo left the University Stadium at Caracas after playing a game in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Venezuelan authorities said their car went to the opposite side of the road while trying to avoid a sliding rock. The players were en route to the city of Barquisimeto, where they were planning to play against Bravos de Margarita on Friday. Valbuena played 11 seasons in the majors, including his final two with the Los Angeles Angels, who released him in August. He also played with the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros. Castillo played in the majors from 2004 to 2008, with the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants and Astros.
December 7, 20187 yr Author 3 hours ago, Mez2 said: this is how i choose to remember luis valbuena I remember him like this, too. And always, always smiling. God damn fucking hell snot. I'm not crying. I'm not crying about this. You're crying. Not me.
December 7, 20187 yr Author 1 hour ago, slorch said: That sucks. Iliked him as a player, even after he left H-town. RIP. Same here. Kept on rooting for him after he left. Wear your seat belts, y'all.
December 7, 20187 yr 3 hours ago, MC Fresh Breath said: May he bat flip in Valhalla forever. did he die with a bat in his hand?
December 7, 20187 yr Author 25 minutes ago, Goo Punch said: Always liked him even before/after he played for the Cubs. They saved the best for last.
December 7, 20187 yr From a Startle-gram article... Quote Police in Venezuela are investigating if the accident was a criminal act set up by a gang of thieves trying to rob the players. The car crashed when it suddenly struck a large rock in the middle of the road, and police are wondering if the rock was planted there. A report by a newspaper in Venezuela said that the car had been looted and all three players had been robbed. Four suspects have been arrested. Fuckers.
December 8, 20187 yr It was even tough to root against the guy when he was with the Angels. These guys need to learn not to go back to Venezuela. This probably tough on the Stros. Thank God Altuve wasn't with them.
December 8, 20187 yr 2 hours ago, spystud13 said: From a Startle-gram article... Fuckers. The police can't tell if a rock was planted in the middle of the road or not? WTF Edited December 8, 20187 yr by ckhorn
December 8, 20187 yr Yahoo article said they took their own car because they had to stop at the US Embassy for something.
December 8, 20187 yr 11 minutes ago, ckhorn said: The police can't tell if a rock was planted in the middle of the road or not? WTF That's a hard core freaking farmer that can grow rocks...
December 8, 20187 yr I wish Luis could have been on the Astros when they won the World Series. Sucks he went to the Angels as a free agent. But I really hope he's with angels now.
December 8, 20187 yr He would also bat flip on routine 4-3 groundouts. Damn, this really sucks. It's sad that these guys that go home and play in the offseason are putting themselves at risk. RIP.
December 8, 20187 yr They were targets. https://www.yahoo.com/sports/four-people-arrested-details-emerge-car-crash-killed-former-mlb-players-211549482.html
December 8, 20187 yr Sad stuff. I know it's home for these guys, but they really risk it by going back to their shit hole countries.
December 15, 20187 yr Seems like every offseason in Latin America a player dies in a wreck. Just crazy.
December 17, 20187 yr On 12/14/2018 at 6:50 PM, BrazilHorn said: Seems like every offseason in Latin America a player dies in a wreck. Just crazy. Yup. Bad roads, dangerous locals and (probably most importantly) nobody wears seatbelts. When you think about it, we've gone from almost nobody wearing seatbelts in the U.S. to practically 100% of everyone wearing seatbelts just in the last 30 years. That simple thing has probably saved tens of thousands of lives, if not more. It's pretty amazing how *small* of a wreck it takes to be fatal if you aren't buckled up.
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