Former major league pitcher Ugueth Urbina is out of jail. Urbina, 38, has already hit the baseball fields in his native Venezuela and hopes to earn another shot to pitch for a big league team.
Urbina served less then half of the 14-year sentence that was handed to him for attempted murder at his families ranch. Urbina was found guilty of attacking and injuring workers with a machete. Several other men participated in the attack at his family’s ranch, located about 25 miles from Caracas. The incident is said to have started over a gun that Urbina claims was stolen from him.
It was not the first hair-raising event to happen to Urbina.
In September of 2004, Urbina’s mother, Maura Villarreal, was kidnapped and held for ransom. While Urbina’s family refused to pay a $6 million ransom, she was eventually rescued.
Before playing in his first game back with the Lions of Caracas, Urbina described himself as “very excited to play baseball again.”
Urbina’s son Juan posted the following message on twitter.
A two-time All-Star, Urbina saved 237 games from 1995-2005. He was a key addition of the 2003 Florida Marlins picking up two saves in the World Series win over the Yankees.
