Just months after Marlins star pitcher José Fernandez’s life was claimed, another of Major League Baseball’s premier young talents is gone.
Kansas City Royals star pitcher Yordano Ventura Dead At Age 25.
Via ESPN –
A colonel in the Dominican Republic police told ESPN’s Enrique Rojas that the crash occurred in the town of Juan Adrian. Ventura has been with the Royals since 2013, posting a 38-31 career record with a 3.89 ERA.
Ventura was a friend of former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Tavares who was killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic in 2014 at the age of 22. Days after Tavares’ death, Ventura wore a cap with “RIP O.T #18” written on it for his Game 6 start of the World Series against the Giants. He threw seven shutout innings in a 10-0 win.
“From the minute that I found out about Oscar, I said this game was going to be dedicated to him,” an emotional Ventura said then.
The Royals have confirmed the death of Yordano Ventura.
— Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) January 22, 2017
Adding to the news, former big leader Andy Marte, also died in a car crash in the Dominican Republic today, separate from the one that killed Ventura.
