Kansas City Royals: Reflecting on Loss of Yordano Ventura

Meet the Royals

Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Alex Gordon and Zack Greinke (whom Moore later traded in part for Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar) were all famed first-round draft picks. Jarrod Dyson, Greg Holland and Danny Duffy were all later-round additions. And perhaps most notably, the Royals finally succeeded in the waters of international free agency, signing Kelvin Herrera, Salvador Perez and Yordano Ventura.

A city watched as these prospects and high schoolers morphed into men in front of our eyes. We observed as they developed and stockpiled accolades on their way through the minor league system. Upon their arrival to the big league club, the chemistry throughout the clubhouse was clear and palpable. We fell in love with them from the onset. We waited patiently as they struggled, learned and grew. Finally, we watched with bated breath as they defied statistics and conventional baseball wisdom to capture a World Series championship.

It is easy to see why this city and this team feel so close. We have experienced such a wide array of emotion during the past decade of Kansas City Royals baseball, and the only other thing in life that brings you such emotion is your family or those whom you love. They have brought us frustration, anticipation, anguish, elation and, especially, pride. Something that we, and any family, would have willingly done without, is the complete desolation that we experienced last offseason.

Kansas City and the entire baseball landscape awoke to heart-wrenching news on the morning of Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. Beloved pitcher, son and brother Yordano Ventura had tragically passed away in a vehicle accident in his native Dominican Republic.