CARACAS, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Jose Castillo and Luis Valbuena, two popular Venezuelan baseball players, died early Friday morning in a car accident, according to local media outlets.
Castillo and Valbuena, who had both played for various Major League Baseball teams in the United States, were returning from the city of Barquisimeto, state of Lara, after a game with their club Cardenales de Lara against Leones de Caracas in the Venezuelan capital.
The official station, Venezolana de Television (VTV) said in a report that also "traveling in the vehicle was analyst Carlos Rivero and the driver (...) who both survived."
The club they played with, said, "We are living a horrible tragedy in Cardenales de Lara. We lost our players Luis Valbuena and Jose Castillo in a traffic accident."
The Venezuelan Federation of Baseball said, "The entire baseball family is in mourning over the deaths of Luis Valbuena and Jose Castillo."
"We deeply regret the tragic deaths of Jose Castillo and Luis Valbuena, Venezuelan baseball figures," said the baseball league of the South American country.
Both Castillo and Valbuena had an extensive professional baseball career in Venezuela.
Valbuena played with various Major League teams, most recently for the Los Angeles Angels and had also played for the Houston Astros.
Castillo also spent five seasons in the Major Leagues most of those with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He also played for professional leagues in Mexico and Japan.
