Two former major league baseball players, Luis Valbuena and José Castillo, were killed in a car crash in Venezuela on Thursday night.

“I will miss Luis’s banter, smile, genuine love for his teammates, and, of course, his bat flips,” said Astros Manager A.J.

Castillo, 37, played as an infielder in the majors from 2004 to 2008 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants and Astros.

“Luis was always smiling and was one of the happiest players in baseball,” Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow said.

They were traveling from Caracas, where they had won a game, back to the team’s home base, Barquisimeto.

The players’ deaths recall a January day in 2017 when two ballplayers, Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte, died in separate car crashes in their home country, the Dominican Republic.