Venezuela saved by big-league support

Major league stars help pay to get kids to Williamsport and break from political strife

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, PA.— 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 “Taking Care of Business” before a loss to Canada.

They go through all the baseball routines — greeting a slugger after a home run, blessing themselves before at-bats and cheering their pitcher.

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.

In addition, Maduro’s government has been at odds with the Trump administration. The U.S. president said this month he would not rule out a “military option” in Venezuela.

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 told The Associated Press 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. After a friend told him about the situation, he paid for all of the players’ visas.

Chacin’s Little League team lost to the Maracaibo team that eventually went on to win the Little League World Series in 2000.

“I know how big a deal it is for the young guys. . . so they deserve to go,” Chacin said Sunday in San Diego. “I’m glad I could help them come here to play in the Little League World Series. That was one of my dreams when I was young.”

One part of the Little League World Series experience is 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.

Canada coach Ryan Hefflick said the excitement of the Venezuelan team was evident as soon as it stepped on the field.

“They’re a great bunch of kids,” Hefflick said. “One of the boys on that team, I think his nickname is ‘Spark Plug.’ They’ve got a lot of energy.”