Major League Baseball has been hit with some serious news on Thursday. News broke that the mother of Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Elias Diaz was kidnapped in Venezuela.
Citing Venezuelan website Meridiano, Elizabeth Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that “Diaz’s mother was kidnapped in San Francisco, in the state of Zulia, on Thursday afternoon.”
Pirates president Frank Coonelly released the following statement.
Statement From Pirates President Frank Coonelly Regarding Elias Diaz.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Elias and his family. pic.twitter.com/W4JGg100Ia
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) February 8, 2018
Unfortunately, stories like this are not uncommon. In 2009, the son of then Colorado Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba was kidnapped in Venezuela. Fortunately, his son was returned safely. We can only hope that this produces the same result.