Wilson Ramos Kidnapped: What Can MLB Do to Help Protect Its Players

A tragic story is developing in Venezuela. Late last night it was reported by El Nacional, a Venezuelan newspaper, that Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos has been kidnapped.The promising 24-year-old catcher was approached by four armed men near his home in Santa Ines and taken away.

He was playing in a Venezuelan winter ball league. The reports were confirmed by his team there, Tigres de Aragua and then later by multiple U.S. media sources.

The Washington Nationals released the following in a statement,

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 "Our foremost concern is with Wilson Ramos and his family and our thoughts are with them at this time. Major League Baseball's Department of Investigations is working with the appropriate authorities on this matter. Both Major League Baseball and the Washington Nationals have been instructed to make no further comment."

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According to USA Today, officials in Venezuela have found the vehicle the player was kidnapped in. This as of 10:34 p.m. last night. So far, there are no reports of communication between the kidnappers and officials, so it is unclear as to what the motive is. However, Venezuela is known to have a rampant kidnapping-for-ransom underground industry. 

This brings up a very alarming issue that is often left unchecked. How does MLB go about guaranteeing the safety of their players?

Certain players are always going to be targets for over zealous fans to go to any means they can to get close to their heroes during the season, but there is a deeper problem brewing for the average player when they go home in the offseason.

The countries some of these players hail from are filled with poverty-stricken, desperate people. This may be part of the motivation here.

Players are in constant danger when they are in public. Short of the player hiring their own personal army for their protection, there is little a player can do without the help of Major League Baseball.

Venezuela, like other similar poor countries, has a thriving, underground kidnapping-for-profit trade that has developed over the past several years. This is not news.

MLB needs to not only educate their players to this very real worldwide threat, but they also can do a few things to help.

First, they can take a page out of the NFL playbook and educate their younger players. The NFL holds a rookie forum during draft week every April. In this forum, they teach these young athletes of the dangers of being unwise with their new found wealth and they discourage continued interaction with low-character acquaintances.

In other words, they show these rookies how they need to handle themselves in life. It starts with being accountable by surrounding yourself with good quality, credible people and avoid being in a position where bad things can happen.

Secondly, MLB can reach out to the players that are from the countries where this type of threat is most relevant and discourage them from going back. These players have to change their mindset. It's wonderful that they want to help their homeland or the neighborhood they fought to get out of, but if it will put their life or the lives of their loved ones in danger, it may not be worth the risk.  

This is the most difficult, but the most effective approach. It would be difficult to tell a person not to go home. MLB really can't enforce a complete ban for their players to go to specific countries. It has to come down to the players themselves realizing that they are being viewed differently from those in their homeland.

Finally, teams can ban their players from participating in particular offseason instructional leagues or create another offseason league in the U.S. or in a safe country that these players can go to. They can place stipulations in the contracts of players that state they can only attend Arizona Fall League or a comparable affiliation. 

If the player is playing in this country all 12 months, there will not be an opportunity to go home as frequently. When they are able to return home, the breaks will be much shorter and more sporadic. The less these players are able to plan scheduled trips to these troubled countries, the safer they will be.

Any other scenario would certainly be against the rights of these players. There is no way that MLB can force a player not to go home on their down time or in the offseason months. They can only help the players stay safe by providing alternative options.

Alternatives like education, formal requests to stay in the U.S. and optioning them to other instructional leagues in safe countries during the offseason would be beneficial to the players and would help ensure their safety.

If MLB truly cares about the players they invest in, they need to adopt some type of plan. It doesn't have to be any of these, but there has to be some step forward in this process.

In the meantime, players and families of players like Wilson Ramos suffer. This is not a time for MLB to strikeout looking.