NewsTorrealba discusses kidnapping ordeal
Rockies catcher's family, including son, recovered safely
By Thomas Harding / MLB.com
06/14/09 7:14 PM ET
DENVER -- Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba recalled the sadness, worry and vengeance that filled his soul."You want to be one of those guys in the movies and just kill everybody," he recalled feeling as kidnappers in Venezuela held his 11-year-old son and two of the boy's uncles June 2 and 3.
But it turned out young Yorvit Eduardo Torrealba was standing up to the criminals in defense of his dad.
"He was actually arguing with one of the guys, because the guy said his dad sucks because he's hitting .220," Torrealba said with a smile on Sunday, in his first public comments since his son, his brother-in-law and his wife's brother-in-law were released, without the kidnappers picking up any ransom.
"Obviously now it's fine. I told my son, 'It probably was the truth. I was hitting .220.'"
It was a small bit of lightness during two days of fear, tense negotiation, and some strategic trickery from the Torrealba side as his family members were being held on an unknown hill in Venezuela. But ultimately, kidnappers caved and allowed the three to escape, who ran to someone's house and called Torrealba's wife.
During a tearful reunion, Torrealba's son once again added levity.
"I gave him a hug, everybody was crying," Torrealba said. "He was cool, he was good. He was so cool he even asked me how the team was doing.
"I said, 'You don't need to worry about that. You need to worry about yourself right now."
Torrealba, his son and his wife are in the U.S., having spent a few days in Miami and now in Denver for an adjustment period. Sunday marked the first time Torrealba has been around his teammates since the ordeal, who supported him with text messages from the day he left the team in Houston.
Torrealba said his son was treated well, but the criminals were mean to his brother-in-law and his wife's brother-in-law.
Torrealba said there are some aspects of the case he cannot discuss. Police have told him five or six people were involved and they know who two or three are. Information leads Torrealba to believe "maybe a close friend of mine, maybe a family member" was involved. The police want to catch "all of them at the same time."
Here's how Torrealba laid out the events:
• Torrealba's wife's brother-in-law was driving the boy to school, and his brother-in-law was along for the ride. Two minutes into the trip, they saw a car that blocked their path. Three men came from the car with guns drawn and ordered the boy and his uncles out of their car and into the backseat of the car they came from and told them to cover their faces. About 90 minutes later, Torrealba's wife received the call informing her that her son had been kidnapped.
• Torrealba left the Rockies and joined his wife in Venezuela. As part of the strategy, however, Torrealba's wife led the kidnappers to believe Torrealba was not there. "Every time they asked for me, she just said, 'You know what, he couldn't come -- the Colorado Rockies, they haven't given permission," Torrealba said. "She was making excuses because they figured if they talk to me, knowing how close I am to my son, they could get more money."
The whole time, however, Torrealba was at his wife's side. But it wasn't easy for her.
"They were saying to my wife, 'We just care about your son, we're going to kill you brother-in-law, we're going to kill the other two guys.' It was really hard for her, too."
• Torrealba said he would never wish "on my worst enemy" the suffering his family endured.
"For three days I couldn't sleep, I couldn't drink water. I felt like my hands were tied and I couldn't do anything.
"It was really, really, sad, hard, seeing my wife try to negotiate with these guys, crying every two seconds. Seeing my dad next to me, usually a strong guy, crying like a little baby. It's hard. I was trying to be the strong guy but I couldn't. Those hours, they felt like days."
Torrealba also said he told his mother to stay inside her house, with doors locked.
• Torrealba said he was ready to hand over whatever kidnappers wanted, but police, who worked closely with him, noted that it could be a recipe for disaster since kidnappers likely would have delayed for more money with no guarantees of releasing the captives.
With his wife doing the talking, kidnappers went from their original $500,000 demand to $150,000 to $50,000. Then, with some money actually on the way, the kidnappers simply released the three.
"By the second day, they were tired and didn't want to deal with three people," Torrealba said. "It wasn't even a house where they kept them. It was on a hill. They figured they can't keep three people so that's one of the reasons they let them go."
The house that the three escaped to was about a half-hour from Torrealba's Venezuela home.
Torrealba joins the list of Venezuelan players who have been touched in recent years by a country that has become increasingly violent, partly because of political instability and hard economic times in the oil industry.
Former Tigers pitcher Ugueth Urbina's mother was kidnapped and held for five months in a jungle in 2004-05. Tragically, the brother of Cubs catcher Henry Blanco was killed by kidnappers this offseason while the Blanco family was negotiating for his release. Several players or their family members have been carjacked or robbed in recent years. Before his death in 2005, beloved former All-Star Chico Carrasquel was robbed while walking with family members. A daughter of Hall of Fame shortstop Luis Aparico was killed in a carjacking.
Torrealba said after he brought his son and wife to Miami, where he has an offseason home, his son made several visits with doctors. Each time he was more relaxed. They've taken walks in a park and trips to the mall, just trying to return to normal life. Now they're in Denver, and soon he'll bring his son to the clubhouse to visit with players.
Torrealba will be given a five-game Minor League rehab assignment, but he's not sure when that will begin.
Among Rockies fans, Torrealba will forever be remembered for his three-run homer off the D-backs' Livan Hernandez in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, a 4-1 victory that put the Rockies one win away from the sweep they eventually achieved.
Torrealba is hitting .230 with two home runs and seven RBIs this season, mostly as backup to Chris Iannetta. A hamstring injury to Iannetta in late May increased Torrealba's playing time until the kidnapping incident.
"He's one of us," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "Prior to the very, very bad things that took place in his life over in Venezuela, he was very much a part of us turning a corner and going down a different avenue.
"He's also a guy that was with this team back in 2007, and knows once you turn and you start heading down a different avenue and the light starts getting really bright how things are supposed to go and what you're supposed to do."
Torrealba said there will not be a repeat of the kidnapping of his son.
"My wife and son are here so they can't hurt them in the future," Torrealba said. "I don't want to give them a chance to do anything more. They'll stay here in the states for a while. We're looking for a school for my son down in Miami."
Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
