Ledezma Stuck In Venezuela Due To "Washing Incident"

When the Altanta Braves traded for relief pitcher Wilredo Ledezma on June 20th, they didn't really get what they had hoped for. In eight appearances with the Braves he's 0-1 with a 6.43 ERA. But when the team allowed Ledezma to return to his native Venezuela over the All-Star break, they really didn't anticipate what would happen next.

The sole lefty in the Braves bullpen is getting a longer break than he or the team had expected. Ledezma is stuck in Maracay, Venezuela after what the team referred to as a "washing incident." It seems as if Ledezma was a little careless during the course of doing his laundry.

Ledezma apparently forgot to take his passport out of his pants pocket before tossing it into the washing machine. The rest, they say, is history.

Braves GM John Schuerholz said Ledezma's passport was damaged and his visa, which had been attached to the passport, was lost. As a result, the left-hander had to reapply for both documents and is not expected to return to Atlanta until the middle of next week.

"It's unfortunate, but it will be dealt with," Schuerholz said. "He's trying to get it expedited as quickly as possible."

It's not uncommon for foreign players to return home during the All-Star break. But they almost always return back to their clubs on time.

"This is the first time it's ever happened to me," Schuerholz said. "It's never happened in 42 years, so I'm fine with it. Those are pretty good odds. I'd like them to keep a close watch on their passports though. [It's] unfortunate, but it'll be dealt with."

Who knows what really happened with Ledezma's passport. The premise does seem to have some "Jeff Kent breaking his wrist while washing his truck" elements to it, but I've fallen into the same trap of leaving things in my pockets before as well.