This story takes place when I was playing winter ball in the Dominican. To set the background, it was Christmas time and the teams allowed American players to go back home for 3 days see their families. The airport was a couple hours away so I had our team driver drop me off

On our drive, I reminded him over & over the time I’d be returning so I’d have a ride back. He assured me he would be there and that it was no problem. Fastforward a few days when I land at around 10pm like I said... he’s nowhere to be found. I also didn’t have much cash on me

I had a game the next day so as you can imagine, I start to get pretty upset. This airport wasn’t necessarily the greatest spot to be at either. After I had grabbed my bags, I sat outside and there were a lot of beggars asking for my hat, clothes, if I needed a place to stay, etc

After shooing them off and for over an hr, I realized that he wasn’t coming and that I had to figure something out quickly. Buses were done running and I needed a place to stay so I could figure it out in the morning. Desperate, I went back to the beggars to help me out

The guy told me to hop into a cab and told the driver to take me to a bar and that I should go inside and ask for Freddie. No other context besides that. Mind you, I don’t know if I’m being set up to be robbed or what, but I also had my big suitcase and 2 other bags...

The cab ends up driving to the outskirts of Puerta Plata and it’s pitch black. Luckily, I see a bar as we approached, I got out, lugging my 3 bags into a crowded bar. The Dominican bartender started speaking German to me, catching me off guard. What the hell is going on

I later found out a lot of Germans hung out there, but I digress. I can speak a decent amount of Spanish, so I told him that I speak English too. In English what I wanted to drink but I told him “I’m looking for a Freddie” and about 5 min later, Freddie actually shows up

I told him that someone at the airport told me to find him in order to help me get a place to stay tonight. He said no problem and disappeared for about 30 min. I have absolutely no idea where he went and still was worried whether or not I was walking into an absolute shit show

When he returned, he said he had a place for $10 and to follow him. With my 3 bags, we began walking down the pitch dark streets to god knows where. Again, I wondered if I was about to be jumped, but we ended up walking into a neighborhood where construction was taking place

We walked to a condo that was still under construction. He opened the door and there was a cot in the entrance and I realized that was it. No plumbing, no sinks, no curtains on the windows, just a bed. Wasn’t sure if the door even locked, but I made the most of it and fell asleep

That night before, I told Freddie I needed a ride to the bus station that next morning and he said to meet him back at the bar. In the morning, I gathered my stuff and began walking. I quickly realized I had no idea where to go since everything looked different in the sunlight

Clueless & standing in the middle of the street, an old man approached and grabbed my bags looking to get a tip. I figured he may have an idea where the bar was, so the two of us began our journey walking aimlessly. We eventually got to an intersection & had to turn left or right

At that exact moment I noticed Freddie approaching on a moped, but he didn’t recognize me and flew by. I started screaming, luckily got his attention, and he turned back. I asked if he could still get me to the bus station, he said sure but that he had to run errands first

Eventually, we found the bar and I ate some breakfast there while waiting for Freddie. He ended up taking about an hour, hopped into his car, but it wouldn’t start... He didn’t know what to do, so he insisted I hopped on the back of his moped with about 100 lbs of luggage

I mean shit, I had no other choice, so I got on and grabbed Freddie tight. The rules of Dominican traffic are that their ain’t no rules... it’s utter chaos. As we weaved through traffic, included an old woman riding on a donkey, his moped began straining and stalled out

We had to walk the last mile and as we got close, he pointed to the bus station... it was essentially a shack with a tin roof. He helped me get my ticket and let me know the bus was coming in 2 hrs. Don’t forget, I had a game that day, but there was no way I was going to make it

Eventually the bus arrived, I hopped on, and we made our way back. I hauled ass back to our team hotel, called my GM and let him know that our driver f’d up and never came to pick me up that night before. I didn’t know how he’d react, but he was totally understanding

I wasn’t due to pitch that day, so he let me miss the game, but told me to call my wife ASAP because she thought that I had been kidnapped. The team had called her thinking I was ditching the team and not returning, but that wasn’t the case. As you can imagine, not a great convo

My wife was in tears and relieved that I was safe, but my god, what a journey that was. Long story short, and I’ve eluded to this before, playing overseas is a wild ride. I tell these stories and they almost seem fake b/c they happened so frequently, but it’s all part of the fun