Minnesota Twins minor league pitcher Yorman Landa was killed in a car crash on December 9, 2016 in his native Venezuela.
His agent, Daniel Szew, said Landa was in the passenger seat of a car with his father driving in heavy rain with minimal lighting when a tree fell and struck Landa in the head. Landa was the only passenger among the four or five in the vehicle to suffer major injuries, and it took a long time before an ambulance arrived.
Landa, only 22, who had been with the organization since signing for $220,000 as a 16-year-old in 2010 and was a two-time Minor League All-Star, had just agreed to re-sign a Minor League deal with the Twins this week after being taken off the 40-man roster on December 2.
Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey released the following statement on behalf of the organization.
“The Minnesota Twins are deeply saddened by the heartbreaking loss of Yorman Landa early this morning in Venezuela,” the statement read. “On behalf of the entire baseball community, we send our sincerest condolences to the Landa family as well as Yorman’s many friends, coaches and teammates.”
“He was one of those guys that really did everything we asked of him,” Jake Mauer, who managed Landa for two seasons (2014-15) at Class A Cedar Rapids,” told the Pioneer Press. “He always had a quiet confidence about himself. He would go out and get the job done. His future was pretty bright.”
During the 2016 Florida State League All-Star Game, Landa’s fastball sat at 98-99 mph, and one was measured at 102. However, he didn’t pitch after July 24 because of a lat strain, finishing 2-2 with a 3.24 ERA in 31 games with Class A Fort Myers.
It is a sad time for the Minnesota Twins organization, Yorman Landa will be missed more as a person and friend than the pitcher he was striving to become. We at Twins Trivia would like to send our condolences to all of Yorman Landa’s family and friends.
RIP Yorman Landa