On January 22, 2017, I found an article on MLB.com, containing some very sad news. The article titled, Baseball mourns Ventura, Marte, announced the tragic deaths of Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte. The article told of how both players died in separate car accidents in the Dominican Republic.
Yordano Ventura, who was only 25 years old, had a whole career ahead of him. Anthony Castrovince, a reporter for MLB.com wrote, “He was a little guy with big stuff, big confidence, and big dreams.” The Royals referred to Ventura as their Ace, and that is reflected in tweets by Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas.
ACE I love you my brother. I'm in disbelief and don't know what to say. I love you ACE 🙏🏽 @… https://t.co/ky3lw2eSoh
— Eric Hosmer (@TheRealHos35) January 22, 2017
I love you Ace. I don't know what to say other then I'm going to miss you a lot. RIP ACE.
— Mike Moustakas (@Mooose_8) January 22, 2017
Ventura was much like Jose Fernandez, who was killed in a boating accident off the beach of Miami. Both of them were full of life, young, talented, and had great potential. Both of them, it seemed, had a long career ahead of them. This loss will be very hard for the Royals, who have lost not only an Ace, but also a dear friend.
Andy Marte, who was 33 years old, was signed by the Atlanta Braves in 2002, and made the top 10 prospect list one time. He never reached his full potential, but played for 5 seasons in the major leagues, then played in Korea. Former teammates of Marte also announced their feelings on twitter.
Wow! Sad to hear former teammate of mine Andy Marte passed away. Rest In Peace my friend! My thoughts and prayers are with your family.
— Archie Bradley (@ArchieBradley7) January 22, 2017
Sad to learn that my former @Indians teammate Andy Marte was killed in a car accident this morning. RIP🙏 keep his family in your prayers
— David Dellucci (@DavidDellucci) January 22, 2017
Heartbreaking. Incredible teammate and man. One of my all time favorites to manage. RIP Andy Marte. https://t.co/meIbaIW4wg
— Phil Nevin (@philnev23) January 22, 2017
No matter how much we want to believe it, athletes are not invincible. It is very hard though, to be reminded of that so often. This will be very hard for the Royals when Spring Training starts in February. They will truly miss their Ace and good friend. I truly understand how hard this must be for their families.
