One of Venezuela’s most promising baseball talents, former New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners player Jesús Montero, died on October 19, 2025, two weeks after being hit by a pickup truck while riding his motorbike in his hometown of Valencia.
The accident happened on October 4, 2025, when Montero was riding his motorbike near the city of Valencia — about 150 kilometers west of Caracas. He was hit head-on by a pickup truck, and the driver was unable to brake in time. The accident left Montero with a broken femur, ribs, a punctured lung, kidney failure, and cardiac arrest. Miraculously, he was saved through resuscitation, but he had to remain in a coma for two weeks.
Due to severe brain damage and irreversible organ damage, Montero passed away on the night of October 19 in a hospital in Valencia. This news shocked Venezuela and the world baseball community.
Born on November 28, 1989 in Guacara, Montero is considered one of the youngest legends from Venezuela to ever join MLB. When he signed a contract with the Yankees in 2006 at the age of 16 for $1.6 million, experts called him “the young Miguel Cabrera” — referring to his rare talent as a catcher and main hitter.
In the 2011 season, Montero left a strong impression: .328, 4 home runs in just 18 games. However, his career did not last long. In 2012, shortly after being considered the “brightest gem” GM Brian Cashman had ever traded, Montero was traded for pitcher Michael Pineda. Despite a strong start, he ended up playing in MLB until 2015, with a .253 average, 28 home runs, and 104 RBIs.
Montero attempted to revive his career by playing in the Venezuelan Winter League for a few years before retiring at age 31 — after the 2020-21 season. But his journey was not without its ups and downs: neglecting his diet, losing form, an alleged discriminatory ice cream-throwing incident from a scout, and a doping penalty that further distanced him from MLB.
The hot-tempered young man once pulled an ice cream cone from the freezer and threw it back at the sender — a humorous and unusual scene in sports, but also a reflection of his genuine and sensitive soul. All of which makes Montero an imperfect but forever unforgettable figure.
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