Venezuelan Baseball League Condemns Violence, Unsportsmanlike Conduct On Field After Brawls

After two violent incidents on Saturday during baseball games, the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League on Sunday condemned violence and unsportsmanlike conduct on the field.

One brawl included former two-time Major League Baseball (MLB) all-star Asdrúbal Cabrera, who attacked a rival player as he celebrated a home run, reported the Associated Press. In a Venezuelan Winter League game against the Caribes de Anzoategui, Carlos Castro was leading off the eight inning for the Tiburones of La Guaira when he hit his third home run of the Saturday night. As he celebrated rounding the bases, he flipped his bat and stared at the opposing bench.

It seemed that Cabrera took issue with Castro trying to one up the opposing team. As Castro rounded first, he seemed to say something to the players in the dugout, and then they all got up from the bench. They were going to say something to Castro but then Cabrera, who played for the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks last in 2021, swung at him with left arm. He connected his forearm with Castro’s face after which a wild fight broke out between the two teams.

In the Saturday’s game in the port city of Puerto Las Cruz, Venezuela, the Tiburones de La Guaira went on to defeat the Caribes de Anzoátegui.

In 2011 and 2012, Cabrera was an All-Star for the then-Cleveland Indians. Then he made his way to the New York Mets in 2016, and he won the World Series with the Washington Nationals in 2019. But the 37-year-old hasn’t played in the majors since the 2021 season, reported Fox News.

As for 28-year-old Castro, he was in the Atlanta Braves’ from 2012 to 2017. But he never made it to the majors, and he bounced around the independent leagues before playing in the Venezuelan Winter League in 2022.

There was a second violent incident in the central city of Valencia. The players of the Navegantes del Magallanes and Leones de Caracas exchanged shoves and insults for several minutes on the field. It happened after reliever Bruce Rondón got the third out of that inning. Puerto Rican Yadier Molina was among those who were expelled. After a successful 19-year career in the Major League Baseball, he is now manager of the Navegantes.

ESPN reported that following the brawls, the Venezuelan baseball league issued a statement. It said that it was weighing punishments against the players who were involved in the two incidents. Among various players, Cabrera faces a possible suspension for the rest of the season. The statement said that Venezuelan professional baseball is a "spectacle that encourages family enjoyment and its discipline is a fundamental part of our cultural heritage."