On Jan. 22, Kansas City Royals fans across the nation were shocked to find out that pitcher Yordano Ventura died in a car crash. He was only 25 years old, and was in his home country, the Dominican Republic, at the time of the crash.
Ventura was born in Samana, in the Dominican Republic on June 3, 1991. He dropped out of school at the age of 14 and started to work for a construction company. One day, he heard someone mention a baseball try-out. He figured he would give it a try, and that probably was the best decision he ever made. It led him to start his training for the Royals academy. In 2008, he signed with the Royals as an international free agent.
Ventura played his entire career with the Royals. In his four years of playing, he has had 38W-31L, which is not that bad! His era was 3.89 and he had a total of 470 strikeouts.
His debut with the Royals was on Sept. 17, 2013. He pitched in the World Series in 2014 and 2015, and in 2015, he helped Kansas City win their second World Series. He had been a key part of the rotation for the past three seasons. He was signed to a five-year, $23 million contract with the Royals.
Ventura was known for his high-speed fastballs, which could easily reach 100 mph. He was nicknamed “Ace Ventura” due to his strong fastball and his unbelievable talent, which easily made him the Royals’ ace. He also was excellent at throwing curveballs and changeups.
Regarding the accident, reports state that there was no alcohol present at the scene, but since toxicology reports take a few weeks, it will take a while to determine whether alcohol or some other substance was a component in the cause of the accident.
Ventura was driving in an area southwest of his hometown of Las Terrenas, which is known for having thick fog that makes for dangerous driving conditions. It is possible that he lost control of the car due to the weather.
The Dominican Republic is also known for having a high number of deadly accidents per capita. Two theories claim that speed could have been a factor in the accident, but as stated by family friends, Ventura was not known to speed, considering a previous accident killed one of his friends.
It is scary to think that Ventura is the second major league baseball player who has tragically died within the past five months. Marlin’s pitcher Jose Fernandez passed on Sept. 25 in a boat accident.
Ventura’s fellow teammate, right-hander Chris Young, stated that Ventura was polite and respectful. Young mentioned that whenever he was on the mound, the one thing he focused on was winning. Young viewed him as an ideal teammate.
At Kauffman stadium, many fans have placed flowers, hats, small gifts, and cards in memoriam of Ventura. Ventura will be buried in the Dominican Republic, and his fellow teammates are planning to attend the funeral. My thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and friends, and the Kansas City nation during this extremely difficult time.