Former MLB reliever Dotel among victims in DR nightclub tragedy
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Former Major League reliever Octavio Dotel, former utilityman Tony Blanco and Nelsy Cruz -- sister of former big league slugger Nelson Cruz -- were killed early Tuesday morning when the roof collapsed at a popular nightclub in the Dominican Republic. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 58 confirmed dead and up to 160 injured, according to Dominican newspaper List¨ªn Diario, which cited data released by Juan Manuel M¨¦ndez, director of the Center for Emergency Operations in the country.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred issued a statement Tuesday afternoon:
¡°Major League Baseball is deeply saddened by the passings of Octavio Dotel, Tony Blanco, Nelsy Cruz, and all the victims of last night¡¯s tragedy in Santo Domingo. We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of all those who have been affected and to our colleague Nelson and his entire family. The connection between baseball and the Dominican Republic runs deep, and we are thinking of all the Dominican players and fans across the game today.¡±
Just before 1 a.m. Tuesday at the nightclub ¡°Jet Set¡± in the capital city of Santo Domingo and during a concert by merengue singer Rubby P¨¦rez ¨C brother of former Major League infielder Neifi P¨¦rez, who was not present at the club ¨C the roof collapsed on the stage, the dance floor and table areas.
After some initial posts on social media stated that Pedro Mart¨ªnez and David Ortiz were present, it was later reported by multiple outlets that the two former Red Sox stars confirmed that they were not at the club Monday night.
The death of Nelsy Cruz, who was in the middle of a term as governor of the Monte Cristi province in the Dominican Republic, was confirmed by her brother Nelson on Tuesday afternoon.
Dotel, 51, was initially found alive and pulled from the rubble, but later died while being taken to a local hospital.
A veteran of 15 Major League seasons from 1999 to 2013, Dotel pitched for 13 different teams, a record he held when he retired and that was subsequently broken by Edwin Jackson in 2019 when he signed with the Tigers, his 14th and final MLB club.
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Dotel finished his career with a 3.78 ERA in 951 innings. He appeared in two World Series, in 2011 and 2012 with the Cardinals and Tigers, respectively, winning a ring with St. Louis in its victory over Texas in the 2011 Fall Classic.
Blanco, who appeared in 56 games for the Nationals in a utility role in 2005, was confirmed dead on Tuesday by Tigres del Licey, one of the teams he played for in the Dominican Winter League (LIDOM).