Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos held a press conference at Nationals Park on Friday to discuss his kidnapping in Venezuela and, as general Mike Rizzo explained, to provide "an exclamation point, finality to the incident," according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
Gunmen kidnapped Ramos outside his Venezuelan home on Nov. 9, and special forces rescued him two days later. Ramos was in his home country playing for Los Tigres de Aragua during the Major League Baseball offseason when the kidnapping occurred. The news made headlines worldwide, with a strong showing of support coming from other players in La Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional and from Nationals fans outside the ballpark.
Ramos will return to Venezuela to resume playing for Aragua on Tuesday, a decision of which Rizzo approves. "He plays for his country, in his country," the GM said. "He’s very prideful about his country, and he feels safe there. He plays for his country. He plays in front of his family. We can’t ask him not to do that." Upon Ramos' return, the Nationals and Major League Baseball "will put in place extra security measures" to ensure his safety.
In his first full professional season, Ramos batted .269 with 15 home runs and 52 runs batted in for the Nationals, making 435 plate appearances over the course of 113 games.