Chicago Cubs: Willson Contreras and MLB’s Venezuela crisis

Chicago Cubs: Contreras saves family

Contreras was surfing the news of Venezuela online and saw a local group doing things for his country and contacted them. Just so happens the group is run by John Pence, nephew of Vice President of the United States Mike Pence. Although there is no known tie reported between Contreras and the White House (no one asked), (John) Pence was able to secure the Northside catcher’s folks out of harm’s way, smuggling the infamous parent’s of the social media activist and baseball celebrity out of  a foreign country under the nose and watchful eye of a dictator. I want to see the movie how they did it!

But this is typical local Indiana political consultant stuff. The website Ballotpedia says John Pence has a job pretty close to the White House and President:

As of September 2017, he was the deputy executive director for Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign.

But apparently, there was no help from the White House. Got it.

Regardless of how the Contreras family escaped or if the White House, C.I.A. or any part of our government helped, the result is that they are now safe in the U.S., which is totally fine with Contreras according to Wittenmyer. Now that Contreras has gotten his parents out of the country, some of his stress has gone away:

John Pence, who since has worn Contreras’ shirt in videos, helped Contreras get his parents — who were without power for a week — out of Venezuela and into the United States last week. ‘‘It means a lot, especially having Mom and Dad in town,’’ he said. ‘‘That takes a lot of weight off my shoulders, a lot of pressure off myself, and lets me be a little more free and happy.’’

Many news reports were talking about Contreras being affected on the field by the problems in Venezuela. Contreras admitted there was a weight on his shoulders but now with his parents out of harm’s way, Contreras can’t help thinking about how his life changed from being on the streets of Venezuela to having the opportunity to be a professional ballplayer. Contreras more than others, knows that dream is dying for young children throughout Venezuela. Even MLB is facing an impact of the widespread hunger throughout the country. Crisis conditions in the country have made it difficult to carry on MLB recruiting operations or even get qualified candidates.

Chicago Cubs: Venezuela Crisis Affects MLB Recruiting

But what impact can Willson make in a country that has been starving for almost four years. The Chicago Cubs and other MLB organizations have assets in these countries to help in recruiting but the current regime’s efforts are starving the pool of viable future MLB players. Maduro is effectively starving baseball out of Venezuela while blaming the tight sanctions imposed by the U.S. as the culprit of the country’s famishment. Hugh Bronstein of Reuters reported in 2017:

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Venezuela is home to superstar players…With a record 76 Venezuelan nationals playing on Major League Baseball (MLB) teams at the start of this season, the country’s agent-operated baseball academies are expected to keep steering high-performing prospects to big league scouts. But the country’s food shortages are taking a toll, as malnourished kids from low-income families are denied entry to academies that have become the only way to guarantee the kind of diet needed to build a world-class player.

I don’t mean in any fashion to negate the real problems the people in Venezuela are facing right now which include but are not limited to starvation, homelessness, poverty and sickness without aid. However, I am a sports writer and so my focus is also the impact that this crisis is having on MLB and the Chicago Cubs recruiting prospects. If Bronstein was concerned in 2017, how bad have things gotten in 2019? Apparently, the crisis is now a national emergency and so every part of life including MLB / Chicago Cubs recruiting has been affected. Heck, there isn’t even any electricity! It is this aspect that makes Willson the most frustrated at the situation.

Chicago Cubs: Freedom for Venezuela – Contreras for President?

Having grown up a ballplayer in Venezuela and the pride he has for his home country, makes the situation very difficult for Contreras. During the Spring Season, Contreras wore and asked his team mates to wear, a T-shirt he was selling that read “Freedom for Venezuela”. The proceeds from the sale of the shirt are to go toward providing help to his countrymen and children in Venezuela with food and medicine. It’s Contreras’ way of fighting back and fighting for the kids and old people that can’t fight for themselves in Venezuela as he told Wittenmyer:

‘‘We have a dictatorship going on in Venezuela; we hope it’s over soon,’’ Contreras said early in spring training. ‘‘I’m just tired of seeing a lot of kids dying because they don’t have nothing to eat. Venezuela’s tired of seeing a lot of old men dying because they don’t have medicine or because people cannot [afford] food.’’

Perhaps Contreras will take a page from the book of Filipino boxing icon, Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao and run for elected office himself. Pacquiao who started as a mayor has made challenges toward current President Rodrigo Duterte as the next elected leader of the Philippine pacific nation. Contreras surely knows the Venezuelan people, landscape and could make an impact beyond his celebrity in baseball back in his home of Venezuela.

The Chicago Cubs don’t want to lose a great catcher and so I’m only suggesting this as a retirement job, but Willson seems the perfect temperament to hold office and lead Venezuela into a future that is bright for the children of Venezuela and baseball. He is the perfect MLB ambassador.

A free Venezuela might just need Contreras someday, for now, his focus remains the Cubs; we know there is a need for him here.