Twins minor-league pitcher Yorman Landa died early Saturday morning in an auto accident in Venezuela, according to the team.
Landa was 22 and had been in the Twins organization since being signed in 2010.
Landa had been on the Twins' 40-man major league roster but was dropped after the season. He was signed to a minor-league contract by the organization last week.
He pitched for Class A Fort Myers in the Florida State League in 2016. Landa was 2-2 with a 3.24 ERA and seven saves in 31 appearances. He injured his shoulder in late July and did not pitch for the rest of the season.
Landa played for Cedar Rapids, in the Class A Midwest league, in 2014 and 2015. It was there than the Twins organization converted him from a starting pitcher to a reliever. Working out of the bullpen, he struck out 109 batters and walked 51 over 102 2/3 innings over the last three seasons.
In a statement released Saturday morning, Twins executive vice president Derek Falvey said: “The Minnesota Twins are deeply saddened by the heartbreaking loss of Yorman Landa early this morning in Venezuela. On behalf of the entire baseball community, we send our sincerest condolences to the Landa family as well as Yorman’s many friends, coaches and teammates.”
That "early Saturday morning" part makes one think of the condition Jose Fernandez was in on his fateful early encounter with mortality. Don't want to presume, but I would not be surprised if drugs or booze were found to be involved.
ReplyDeleteTom -
ReplyDeleteI remember telling my daughter when she was a teenager... only bad people are out on the streets at 3am... the good people are at home, asleep with their family.
True to a large degree - more in some places than others. I'd imagine much more so in Venezuela.
DeleteAfter reading a respectful article, the comments here aren't. A 22 y.o young man died - a tragedy regardless of the cause which by the way occurred during a storm when a tree fell on the young man riding in the passenger seat. His father was driving. Chew on that.
ReplyDeleteAnd for anyone who doesn't know the pain of losing a young, primary family member in an auto accident during the night or at anytime, - I do. May you never know such pain including that of a parent having to bury a child.
Sorry for your loss, LongTermFan, and theirs as well.
ReplyDeleteLongTermFan -
ReplyDeleteThe comment you referred to has been removed.
Comments are just that... comments... and one person's thoughts can turn out to hit home with another reader.
They NEVER are meant to upset or insult anyone here on Mack's Mets. I remove them the second after reading them.
The comment that upset you were deleted by the person that wrote it. That was their choice.