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Encarnacion supports campaign to prevent reckless driving in Dominican

Jake Roth / Reuters

After the tragic deaths of Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte in separate vehicle accidents this past January in the Dominican, a former big-league pitcher from the country had enough and decided to take action.

Amaury Telemaco started the Ni Uno Mas - translated to mean Not One More - campaign in January, and it's already receiving support from other Dominican ballplayers - both past and present - including Cleveland Indians slugger Edwin Encarnacion.

"Somebody needs to step up and do what they’re doing," Encarnacion said of Telemaco's campaign, according to Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal on Monday. "Because we need it."

Ventura's and Marte's tragedies are just two of many auto-related accidents involving major leaguers that have occurred in the Dominican. Oscar Taveras, a highly touted St. Louis Cardinals prospect, also died, along with his girlfriend, while driving drunk in October 2014. Three other minor-league players also died on Dominican roads during a three-month stretch last year, according to Diamond.

Telemaco's campaign has also received support from former big leaguers Miguel Batista, Octavio Dotel, and Francisco Cordero, who all spoke with teenagers and parents on behalf of the campaign at a special event last month.

"I just want to be a voice to be heard, a voice so people can understand that we need to pay attention," Telemaco said. "We should not be drinking and driving. We should not be driving when we’re tired. We should have someone there when we drink. We should not be texting and driving.

"This is stuff we can avoid."

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