Kidnapping hits home

Venezuelan Twins closely followed plight of Urbina's mother

BY GORDON WITTENMYER
Pioneer Press

FORT MYERS, Fla. — When Detroit pitcher Ugueth Urbina's mother was rescued by a police task force in southern Venezuela on Friday, it hit home for Twins pitcher Carlos Silva.

Or at least close enough to home to chill his spine.

Urbina's mother, Mauro Villarreal, was kidnapped Sept. 1 in Caracas, well to the north, but had been held since then in a remote mountain hideout about an hour from Silva's home in the southern state of Bolivar. Venezuelan police, who killed at least one of the kidnappers and captured two others in Friday's daring raid, said the camp was used by drug traffickers. A cache of cocaine also was seized.

"The last few years there's been more kidnappings in my country, and for the last couple years, they talk about Bolivar," Silva said Sunday, the day Twins pitchers and catchers reported to spring training in Fort Myers. "But in Venezuela right now, wherever you live and wherever you stay, if they want to kidnap you, they're going to do it."

Although Venezuela is one of several South American countries plagued by kidnap-for-ransom plots in recent years, Urbina was the first ballplayer known to have been targeted, and the hundreds of professional players from that country have waited anxiously for the outcome — hoping, as much as anything, he wouldn't pay the ransom.

"The good thing that he did was not pay," said Twins pitcher Juan Rincon, whose home is in the northwestern city of Maracaibo. "Otherwise, he would be showing those people we're willing to pay for our family. He was the first, so if he would have paid... . Now, he's showing we're willing to fight instead of pay."

The implications of the Urbina case affect the Twins like few other major league teams. The Twins had more Venezuelans (seven) play last year than any other big-league team, and they have seven in camp this spring (down from nine last year).

That presence, along with the notoriety brought by three straight playoff seasons and Johan Santana winning the American League Cy Young Award, has attracted more attention for the Twins who live there in the winter than any of them can remember.

"I was jogging down the street, and a guy got out of his car and waved and said, 'Good job!' " Rincon said. "The team's getting more famous... . Now that makes you more open to people trying to take away your stuff."

Or family members. Silva, who said he was surprised how many people back home recognized him this winter, said he takes some comfort in his home being near a major military facility. But he also said that before he left for spring training, "I said to my whole family, 'Just be careful where you guys go.' "

Twins minor league catcher Gabby Torres, a Maracay, Venezuela, native who's in the big league camp this spring, said he doesn't think the resolution of Urbina's case means the fears in his country will subside. In fact, he just learned that a friend was kidnapped at gunpoint off the street Thursday, and that the family was contacted with a ransom demand. The friend was not a player, but the family is wealthy.

"It's crazy," he said.

"Hopefully, it will get better," said Rincon, who hopes one day to move his family to the United States. "But it's so sad."

Briefly: Twins officials and medical staff discussed a gradual, supervised work schedule for catcher Joe Mauer during their annual spring preparation meeting Sunday. Mauer, who missed all but 35 games last year because of a left knee injury, said the knee feels strong. But the team plans to keep a close watch on him and keep him on a limited schedule until he shows he has no problems with it.

Pitchers and catchers reported Sunday, but workouts don't begin until this morning. The position players are scheduled to report Friday, but most already have shown up.

First baseman Justin Morneau is recovering from pneumonia and isn't expected to be at full strength when he arrives next week. Morneau, who originally was scheduled to travel to spring training this past weekend, has spent much of the winter waylaid by chickenpox, appendicitis, the flu and now the deeper infection.