Monday, September 21, 2009

San Francisco Giants, Team of Character

The San Francisco Giants' roster of prospects may have had a setback this weekend, as Giants single-A player Angel Villalona, Baseball America's #33 prospect of 2008, allegedly shot and killed a man in a bar over the weekend.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic(AP)—A baseball prospect for the San Francisco Giants is the main suspect in the killing of a 25-year-old man in the Dominican Republic, police said Sunday.

Angel Villalona turned himself in 12 hours after the man was shot at a bar in the southern coastal city of La Romana, Col. Adrian Urbaez told The Associated Press.

“The Giants were disappointed to learn that there was an incident in the Dominican Republic last night in which an individual was killed and one of our minor league prospects, Angel Villalona, may have been involved. We will monitor the situation closely and trust that the judicial process in the Dominican Republic will resolve the matter promptly and fairly,” the team said in a statement released Sunday.

Villalona was signed by the San Francisco Giants in 2006 and received a club-record $2.1 million signing bonus. He played in 74 games with a Giants minor-league team this season, batting .267 with nine home runs and 42 RBIs.

According to ESPN, it was a neck bullet wound that felled the victim. If convicted, Villalona faces 20 years in prison. To be fair, Villalona is not being questioned for attacking someone with a machete and then pouring gasoline on the victim, unlike other MLB athletes (sorry, Karina). (Urbina only got 14 years for that, by the way, I suppose because he didn't actually kill anyone.)

So what does this leave for the Giants' farm system? No pressure, Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey (I swear, I can't even type those names without laughing. I mean, I'm sure they're great people and decent prospects and all, but come on, now).

5 comments:

MR.F said...

Seems like a low blow to make fun of the Giants over this. Still, the baseball repercussions of this would certainly hurt the Giants organization, which is nice for us. Assuming the allegations are true and all.

Josh S. said...

Those guys should trade last names. Buster Bumgarner and Madison Posey sound much better.

Kyle Baker said...

Josh, you're my hero. I'd actually typed this same thought into a post, but then thought I might be seen as pushing a boundary. So I backed up for a moment. Then you piped in. Well done!

If you have a daughter, you have to name her Madison Posey S. because it sounds soooooo trendy.

karina said...

Oh well Steve, Urbina has stories of not being a nice person to fans, teammates and press, which contributed to the situation he's living. Not even all his money (which unfortunately buys lots of innocence on the current judicial system) could save him.

In the other hand, i guess he inspired Robert Rodriguez new film: "Machete". Tagline: Yesterday He Was A Decent Man Living A Decent Life. Now He Is A Brutal Savage Who Must Slaughter To Stay Alive.

karina said...

I read this news very early this morning and it said something very interesting. Villalona is compared to the Big Cat Galarraga, who hit 399 HRs, so it's Giants loss, Villalona's loss and the rest of the NL West win.

To be sincere, i want this guy to be innocent, it's such a waste of a very potential bright future.