Don’t Fall Asleep On The Team Bus In Venezuela

Tim Kester (pictured), a minor leaguer for 13 seasons, yesterday wrote a piece for Baseball Prospectus detailing his extensive experience playing winter ball in Venezuela, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. In most of those countries, it’s a huge deal as it’s the only time of year professional baseball is played. For the young players sent there by MLB clubs, there is pressure to perform. Luckily, to leaven their spirits, there are other players on hand to play scary tricks on them on the team bus.↵↵⇥Most people know that baseball players like to play practical jokes on each other, especially on long road trips where there is a lot of downtime. One day on a long bus trip, a Venezuelan player fell asleep with his mouth open, usually a bad idea with a group of baseball players. In Venezuela, where most players carry guns for personal protection, it is the worst idea ever. One of the Venezuelan players thought it would be funny to take the bullets out of his revolver and put it into the sleeping guy’s mouth with the hammer cocked back. As the entire team gathered around, they woke him up. To say the least, the guy was a little surprised. I’ve never seen anyone go from a dead sleep to eyes opened as wide as his. Imagine if one second you’re dreaming of painting the corner with a knee-high fastball and the next you’re looking down the barrel of a gun with the hammer cocked back. To top it off, a second after he opened his eyes the guy holding the gun pulled the trigger and the hammer on the empty gun went ‘click.’ The entire bus of Venezuelan ballplayers erupted into laughter. I have to admit, in a sick demented kind of way, it was a little bit funny. The next day our team’s general manager had a meeting and told the Venezuelans to stop playing around with their guns because the Americans were freaking out and might go home. Needless to say, none of us fell asleep on the bus for the rest of the season.↵↵↵Nevertheless, Kester says the actual atmosphere is no more dangerous than the U.S. and that players are fine so long as they exercise common sense when negotiating their surroundings. In fact, the most dangerous situation he found himself in was an instance when he beaned an opposing hitter (who the night before had been a little over-the-top in celebrating his walkoff winner) and the crowd began chanting against him and throwing beer bottles and debris on the field. Not the prettiest of scenes, but it’s better than a gun in your mouth.↵

↵↵(H/T to Walkoff Walk)↵

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