Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com reports that Wilson Ramos intends to start playing for Aragua Tigres on Wednesday. This is one of those deals where, after you get over the initial reaction -- dude, I’d be the heck out of Venezuela, like, yesterday if I were him -- it makes a ton of sense.
After Ramos’ ordeal, you have to figure that some normalcy is in order, and it doesn’t get more normal than playing ball. Also, as we learned on Friday, the security for players who are actually with Venezuelan ballclubs is pretty fantastic. It’s inescapable that Ramos was way more vulnerable at home doing his own thing than he would be hanging around the clubhouse.
Finally, you can’t discount the “lightning doesn’'t strike twice” theory. Kidnappings happen in Venezuela every day. Ramos’ was one of the few that led to such a wide and swift reaction among the populace and the government. You have to figure that would-be kidnappers are going to consider Ramos and his family hands-off. Heck, would-be kidnappers may decide to lay off major leaguers overall because the heat is too hot. At least you’d hope so.
Anyway: have a good winter league season, Ramos. See you in Florida come February.
