KC Royals: So Many Yordano Ventura Memories In So Little Time

Celebrating Ventura’s life

Now, the trip to Fan Fest is an annual must. Less than a week away, this year’s event has been marred by Ventura’s death. Or so I thought.

Throughout Sunday, I saw several social media posts about Ventura’s legacy. I heard comments from Moore, Lefebvre, and Hudler. I saw Danny Duffy and Christian Colon hug fans in the parking lot at Kauffman Stadium.

Wait a minute, Fan Fest is going to be amazing. Ventura was far from a perfect young man, but he was at the heart of so, so many great memories. My girlfriend’s kids have been to one Royals game in their life: it happened to be a game I ruined by rushing everyone to the gate so we could get our bobbleheads. Yordano Ventura bobbleheads.

I’ve looked at my Ventura bobblehead many times today. I’ve held the baseball he signed. I looked up pictures from that first Fan Fest. By no means was I his biggest fan. I’ve written about his antics on this website before. But he was part of the Kansas City Royals Royals family. He was just a kid.

And that’s what ultimately brought me to tears. What could Ventura have been? Now we’ll never know.

Next: Yordano Ventura Tragedy Need Not Ruin 2017 Season

Looking ahead to this weekend’s Fan Fest, I’m hopeful to see a tribute to Ventura. Here is a young man, albeit a complete stranger, despite his faults, who brought light to my life in a time of darkness. I will never get to thank him for that, but I hope I get the opportunity to celebrate his life with his teammates.