FORT MYERS, Fla. — Three Minnesota Twins players are feeling fortunate after narrowly avoiding a car crash while driving to Monday’s road exhibition game.
Reliever Jorge Alcala was in the lead car and outfielder Matt Wallner and infielder Edouard Julien were driving together behind him when, a speeding vehicle, coming from the opposite direction, drove through a grass median and went flying through the air, barely missing both cars, the players said.
The three Twins were en route to Port Charlotte, Fla., where they were scheduled to play the Tampa Bay Rays, and had just left the team’s spring training site when the incident occurred, they said.
Julien said he was alerted to the near-miss when Wallner, who was at the wheel of their car, began to scream obscenities.
“I’ve never heard Wallner scared like that,” Julien said. “I look up, and I just see a car that’s in a ditch, like in the middle of the road, just going through bushes and going through trees, smaller trees. And all of a sudden, (the car) just jumps up, like six feet in the air. … He almost collided with Alcala, and he almost collided with us at the same time. It was kind of crazy. I saw under the car, too, that’s how far up he was.”
Alcala was a passenger in a vehicle driven by his brother, Juan. He said his brother was driving approximately 40 mph when the other vehicle nearly hit them.
“I saw everything,” Alcala said through an interpreter. “It flew over us. It was something really scary, a little traumatizing. But thanks to God. Every time I leave my home, I thank God for another day.”
Afterward, Wallner pulled even with Alcala’s car as they headed for Interstate-75 and the pitcher tapped his chest as if to indicate his heart was racing, Julien said. Following the car flying past them, Julien said he looked back and didn’t see any signs of an accident.
“There wasn’t any car behind us, so I think he kind of got back on the road,” Julien said of the vehicle that nearly hit them. “I don’t know what happened to him, but he needs to lose his driver’s license.”
With no incident to report, both vehicles continued driving for Port Charlotte.
Wallner played in Monday’s game and flew out to deep right field in his only at-bat, a no-doubt home run on most days that was knocked down by heavy wind. Julien also started in the game, but never had a chance to hit as the contest was rained out after two innings. Following the game, Julien jokingly requested that Twins media report he looked good at the plate, which drew a laugh from his teammates.
Alcala pitched an inning in Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, walking a batter and striking out one.
(Photo of Edouard Julien: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)
