On Sunday, news broke that Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura had been killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic.
As the news began spreading, fans across the world began tweeting out messages and creating photos in memory of Ventura. The latest photo to emerge includes Ventura and former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder, Oscar Taveras walking toward a cornfield, like in the movie, Field of Dreams.
This makes me cry 😭 pic.twitter.com/jwlPrlRdj7
— Baseball King (@BasebaIlKing) January 25, 2017
Taveras died in a car accident in 2014, also in the Dominican Republic. It was later found out that he was intoxicated at the time of the crash, which also took the life of his girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo.
Following Taveras death, Ventura honored him by inscribing “RIP O.T. #18” on his cleats, hat, and glove prior to Game 6 of the 2014 World Series.
Their friendship was forged not in the Dominican, but in the minors. It reached the point that Ventura would sleep in the apartment of Taveras when the Royals’ Class AA affiliate played the Springfield Cardinals, according to one article. Ventura told MLB.com reporter Alden Gonzalez that he and Taveras would stay up late during these visits. They would discuss their major league dreams. The story makes them sound like kids. Then you remember. They were kids. El Fenomeno and Ace.
In a separate tragedy, former Major Leaguer Andy Marte also died in a car accident on the same day in the Dominican Republic, he was 33.
