Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US Supreme Court Lifts Order That Blocked Trump’s Mass Federal Layoffs

17 hours ago

Trump to Attend Club World Cup Final, FIFA Opens Office in Trump Tower

18 hours ago

Trump Says Pharmaceutical Tariffs Could Reach 200%

18 hours ago

Rescue Teams Find Three More Bodies After Central Texas Floods

18 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rigoberto Simental Aguilar

18 hours ago

Trump Says He Is Not Happy With Russia’s Putin, Considering Sanctions

18 hours ago

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to Be Sentenced on October 3

18 hours ago

Israeli Military Says It Struck Key Hamas Figure in Lebanon’s Tripoli

19 hours ago

Madera County Sheriff Logs 29 Fire-Related Calls on Fourth of July, Most in 5 Years

19 hours ago

Trump Says He May Take Over Governance of Washington, DC

19 hours ago
Former MLB Pitcher Octavio Dotel Dies in Dominican Republic Nightclub Collapse
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 months ago on
April 9, 2025

The baseball world mourns the loss of former MLB pitcher Octavio Dotel, who died at 51 in a catastrophic nightclub collapse in the Dominican Republic. (AP File)

Share

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Octavio Dotel, who pitched for 13 major league teams in a 15-year career and won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals, was among the dead after a roof collapsed at a nightclub in his native Dominican Republic where he was attending a merengue concert. He was 51.

Officials initially said Dotel was rescued from the debris and transported to a hospital, but spokesman Satosky Terrero from the Professional Baseball League of the Dominican Republic confirmed to The Associated Press that Dotel died later Tuesday.

At least 79 people died and 160 were injured after the collapse at the Jet Set nightclub, officials said. Tony Blanco, who played one MLB season and eight years professionally in Japan, also died following the collapse, Terrero said. Also killed was Nelsy Cruz, governor of the Monte Cristi province and the sister of Nelson Cruz, a former MLB player and current MLB special adviser to baseball operations.

MLB Community Mourns Tragic Loss

“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,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “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.”

MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark said the union stands united with the Dominican community “amid the incomprehensible sadness.”

“We grieve for all the victims and send a special message of support to the families of Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco, who leave an unspeakable void with their passing, and to Nelson Cruz, whose family lost a shining light with the death of his sister, Nelsy,” he said in a statement.

Dotel’s Remarkable Career

Dotel signed with the New York Mets in 1993 as an amateur free agent and made his major league debut in 1999. A starter early in his career, he turned into a reliable and at times dominant reliever while appearing in 758 games from 1999-2013.

When he took the mound for the Detroit Tigers on April 7, 2012, he set the record playing for the most major league teams at 13. Edwin Jackson broke the record in 2019 when he pitched for his 14th team.

The Mets held a moment of silence for Dotel before their game Tuesday against Miami, and a Dominican flag was shown on the video scoreboard.

Dotel’s best years were with the Houston Astros in the early 2000s. He was a setup man for star closer Billy Wagner, making 302 appearances and posting a 3.25 ERA in four-plus seasons. He was the fifth of six pitchers to combine on a no-hitter against the New York Yankees in 2003. The next year, he was part of the three-way trade that brought Carlos Beltran to the Astros.

World Series Champion and International Star

Dotel pitched for nine teams before he landed with the Cardinals, who acquired him from Toronto at the 2011 trade deadline. He appeared in 12 postseason games, including five in the World Series against Texas.

In 2013, he pitched on the Dominican Republic team that won the World Baseball Classic with an 8-0 record.

Dotel finished his major league career with 1,143 strikeouts in 951 innings, a magnificent rate of 10.8 per nine innings. He had a career 59-50 record, 109 saves and 3.78 ERA.

In 2019, Dotel and ex-major leaguer Luis Castillo were among 18 people taken into custody during a large U.S. and Dominican law enforcement operation against drug trafficking and money laundering. Dotel and Castillo were released when a Dominican magistrate judge found insufficient evidence to connect them to the operation.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Union Files Ethics Complaint After College Chancellor’s ‘Goddaughter’ Receives $161K In Contracts

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect Tied to Two Shootings, Firearm Recovered

DON'T MISS

Are Former Measure C Execs Pushing Their Own Ballot Measure?

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Near New Cuyama Grows to 80,615 Acres, 35% Contained

DON'T MISS

US Justice Department Scrambles to Defend Its About-Face on Release of Epstein Files

DON'T MISS

US Supreme Court Lifts Order That Blocked Trump’s Mass Federal Layoffs

DON'T MISS

Trump to Attend Club World Cup Final, FIFA Opens Office in Trump Tower

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Pharmaceutical Tariffs Could Reach 200%

DON'T MISS

Rescue Teams Find Three More Bodies After Central Texas Floods

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rigoberto Simental Aguilar

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect Tied to Two Shootings, Firearm Recovered

UP NEXT

Are Former Measure C Execs Pushing Their Own Ballot Measure?

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Scrambles to Defend Its About-Face on Release of Epstein Files

UP NEXT

US Supreme Court Lifts Order That Blocked Trump’s Mass Federal Layoffs

UP NEXT

Trump to Attend Club World Cup Final, FIFA Opens Office in Trump Tower

UP NEXT

Trump Says Pharmaceutical Tariffs Could Reach 200%

UP NEXT

Rescue Teams Find Three More Bodies After Central Texas Floods

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rigoberto Simental Aguilar

UP NEXT

Trump Says He Is Not Happy With Russia’s Putin, Considering Sanctions

UP NEXT

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to Be Sentenced on October 3

Are Former Measure C Execs Pushing Their Own Ballot Measure?

15 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Near New Cuyama Grows to 80,615 Acres, 35% Contained

16 hours ago

US Justice Department Scrambles to Defend Its About-Face on Release of Epstein Files

17 hours ago

US Supreme Court Lifts Order That Blocked Trump’s Mass Federal Layoffs

17 hours ago

Trump to Attend Club World Cup Final, FIFA Opens Office in Trump Tower

18 hours ago

Trump Says Pharmaceutical Tariffs Could Reach 200%

18 hours ago

Rescue Teams Find Three More Bodies After Central Texas Floods

18 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rigoberto Simental Aguilar

18 hours ago

Trump Says He Is Not Happy With Russia’s Putin, Considering Sanctions

18 hours ago

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to Be Sentenced on October 3

18 hours ago

Fresno Woman Sentenced to Prison for DUI Crash That Killed One, Injured Three

A 23-year-old Fresno woman was sentenced Tuesday to more than a decade in state prison for a 2021 drunk driving crash that killed one passen...

13 hours ago

13 hours ago

Fresno Woman Sentenced to Prison for DUI Crash That Killed One, Injured Three

14 hours ago

Union Files Ethics Complaint After College Chancellor’s ‘Goddaughter’ Receives $161K In Contracts

Jershawn Worthy was identified as the suspect in two Fresno shootings and is now facing multiple firearm-related charges. (Fresno PD)
14 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect Tied to 2 Shootings, Firearm Recovered

15 hours ago

Are Former Measure C Execs Pushing Their Own Ballot Measure?

The Madre Fire near New Cuyama has burned more than 80,615 acres, injured one firefighter, and prompted multiple evacuation orders as crews work to contain the growing wildfire. (CalFire)
16 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Near New Cuyama Grows to 80,615 Acres, 35% Contained

U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photograph taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' sex offender registry March 28, 2017 and obtained by Reuters July 10, 2019. New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
17 hours ago

US Justice Department Scrambles to Defend Its About-Face on Release of Epstein Files

A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2024. (Reuters File)
17 hours ago

US Supreme Court Lifts Order That Blocked Trump’s Mass Federal Layoffs

President Donald Trump holds the key to the FIFA Club World Cup trophy in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 7, 2025. (Reuters File)
18 hours ago

Trump to Attend Club World Cup Final, FIFA Opens Office in Trump Tower

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend