Yordano Ventura MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 12: Yordano Ventura #30 of the Kansas City Royals delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of the game on August 12, 2016 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MLBBy Joe Lucia on

Tragedy struck the baseball world once again on Sunday morning with the news that Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura had died in a car accident in his native Dominican Republic. Ventura was just 25.

Dominican police confirmed Ventura’s death on Twitter (also posting photos of the accident that we’re not going to share here), and American media also began to confirm as the morning went on, leading to a confirmation by the team.

As mentioned, Ventura was just 25, and played a huge role in Kansas City’s 2014 AL pennant and their 2015 World Championship. Over his four-year major league career, Ventura pitched to a 3.89 ERA in 547 2/3 innings, punching out 470 and walking 211. Ventura was known for a fastball that could hit triple digits at times, and was expected to play a huge role on the Royals for years to come after signing a five-year, $23 million extension in April of 2015.

This is yet another tragic loss for the baseball world, still licking its wounds from Jose Fernandez’s tragic passing in September. Since the end of the 2014 regular season, we’ve lost Fernandez, Ventura, Cardinals prospect Oscar Taveras, and former Braves starter Tommy Hanson, all before the age of 30.

In his final start of 2016, which would later prove to be the final start of his young career, Ventura paid tribute to both Fernandez and Taveras.

He’ll be missed.

About Joe Lucia

I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.

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