With political turmoil at home, Venezuela Little Leaguers get a Major League lift
The players from Venezuela look as happy as any other team, dancing to Shake Your Groove Thing with the tournament mascot before a win over Mexico and raising the roof to Takin’ Care of Business before a loss to Canada.
But they might not be at the Little League World Series were it not for the support of a couple of major league players from their home country.
“In a way, this helps them appreciate this in a different way,” Carolinne Valbuena, the mother of third baseman Jhann Bozo, said through an interpreter.
Venezuela has been caught in internal strife, pitting socialist President Nicolas Maduro against an opposition-led congress increasingly stripped of power. Underlying the civil unrest is a country living in poverty and beset by runaway inflation.
Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor first learned to play baseball in Maracaibo, the town that’s home to the Venezuelan squad.
“I know everybody on that team, in that league,” Odor said in Texas this weekend. “And that’s why I tried to help those kids.”
The first step for the players was obtaining a visa to the U.S., and they had to go to Caracas, the nation’s capital, to get them. Odor paid for their flights.
Simply flying to Caracas, though, wasn’t enough to get the players to the Little League World Series. Visas to the U.S. run about $170.
San Diego Padres pitcher Jhoulys Chacin is also from Maracaibo. He found out from a friend about the players’ financial plight and paid for all their visas.
Chacin’s Little League team lost to the Maracaibo team that eventually went on to win the Little League World Series in 2000.
Still, there is a part of the experience that’s missing for most of the Venezuelan players. Only three parents of players on the team were able to make the trip.
And those three might not have made it if not for a donor from Venezuela who now lives in Lock Haven, Pa., about a 30-minute drive to Williamsport. The man let them stay at his house, Valbuena said.
After the loss to Canada on Sunday, Venezuelan team officials did not attend a post-game news conference. Individual interview requests were not granted.
Canada coach Ryan Hefflick said the excitement of the Venezuelan team was evident as soon as it stepped on the field.
The Canadian team — from White Rock, B.C. — will next play Japan on Wednesday.