Milwaukee Brewers: Julio Mendez moved to Venezuelan hospital

Milwaukee Brewers minor league infielder, Julio Mendez, has recently been moved to a Venezuelan hospital.

A ball hit Mendez in the chest last month, hospitalizing him. Upon family request, the native Venezuelan’s treatment will continue in his country of origin. Milwaukee Brewers GM, David Stearns relayed messages of Mendez being stable, but still in critical condition, per a press release on ESPN.

The incident caused a cardiac issue for Mendez. The 20 year old is still fighting though. There is no more information readily available, as understandably his family is asking for privacy.

It is sad to see any player go through what Mendez is. These types of scary moments are a dark side to the game. When a team sees the type of potential the Brewers saw in Mendez, it makes it that much harder.

At the age of 17, Mendez began his career with the Milwaukee Brewers organization. He was steadily improving, but still playing for the Arizona League Brewers. He was hitting .255 at the time of the accident.

That being said, Mendez started the year with the Helena Brewers in the Pioneer League. He made it two games, with one hit in five tries, and found himself in Arizona. It was a slow development, but the trend of development was on the rise. He was still very young. He is set to turn 21 in late October. Unfortunately things like this happen.

This is not the only scary incident throughout the minors this year. A pitcher in the St. Louis Cardinals system, Daniel Poncedeleon took a line drive off of his head back in May.

Unexpected events like what happened to Mendez and Poncedeleon don’t necessarily end careers, but they make it hard to come back. The psychological aftermath is the biggest issue. Bodies can recover to near what they once were, but the mind takes awhile.

Not to get ahead of the game here. Mendez still needs his body to make that recovery. Things still seem to be good as far as his health is concerned. Here at Reviewing the Brew, we send our best wishes in hopes for a full recovery.

Next: The potential Wild Card matchup vs. Arizona

As a baseball fan, things like this are just terrible. It is the dark side to an otherwise beautiful game. Events such as this are tragic, and they shouldn’t happen. But the important thing is making sure Mendez is healthy. Hopefully things can progress quickly.