Alcides Escobar shares how he learned of former Royals pitcher Ventura’s death
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Alcides Escobar recalled Yordano Ventura’s aggressive pitching and mindset.
- Escobar described Ventura as fearless, willing to challenge elite hitters.
- Escobar marked the ninth anniversary of Ventura’s 2017 fatal car crash.
In an alternate universe, Royals fans might be debating whether Yordano Ventura would reach 2,000 strikeouts in the upcoming season.
Unfortunately, fans instead marked the ninth anniversary of Ventura’s death last month. Ventura died in an automobile accident on Jan. 22, 2017, in the Dominican Republic.
Former Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar spoke this week about Ventura while on the Abriendo El Podcast. That’s in Spanish, but I used Google Translate and asked my niece Citlali to help with the translation.
Escobar shared his insights on Ventura’s mentality on the mound. Ventura had an electric arm. He could hit 100 mph with his fastball and he wasn’t afraid to go after a batter.
“He was a great guy,” Escobar said. “A lot of people thought he was arrogant, that he had a bad attitude, right? That’s what happens. When he was pitching, he would say from inside the lines that none of them were my friends. I want to devour them like they want to devour me. After the game is over, you're my friend, but here you're not my friend.”
Escobar, who last month won the MVP award with Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Winter League Series Final, said Ventura was fearless.
And Escobar recalled how the Royals had a series of brawls with opponents in the 2015 season.
“He wasn’t afraid of Miguel Cabrera when he was batting, whether Albert Pujols was batting,” Escobar said. “He’d go for it and if he had to hit someone with a pitch, he’d hit them.
“In 2015, we had a moment when we were fighting almost every day of the week. ... In one month, in two months, the benches were emptying all the time, something was always happening. And when Yordano was pitching, we called him ‘the crazy one.’”
Escobar said if a batter was looking for a pitch on the outside corner, Ventura would throw it up and in.
Ventura personified the toughness of that 2015 team that won the World Series.
“And those guys would look out for us too; when we got hit by a ball, they’d come for us and hit their guy with a ball,” Escobar said. “It wasn’t just Yordano. That group was fierce. To put it bluntly in Dominican slang, we all protected each other. We were always ready.”
Escobar shared the story of the 2016 brouhaha between the Royals and Orioles. Ventura threw inside to Manny Machado in one plate appearance. When Machado came to the plate the next time, Ventura hit him, triggering a brawl.
“Do you know what he said? ‘I’m going to get him, I’m going to get him, I’m going to get him, I’m going to get him,’” Escobar said. “And he did. You’re not afraid of anyone.
“We knew he was going to hit him because in the previous at-bat he threw a sinker, but it didn’t hit him. And he threw again but said, ‘I don’t want to hit him because if I’m going to hit him, I’m not going to waste three pitches. If I’m going to hit him, I’ll just do it in one.’
“And in the next at-bat he sits down and says, ‘OK, I’m going to hit him hard.’ He went and hit him.”
Learning of Ventura’s death
During the podcast conversation, Escobar talked about learning of Ventura’s death. Escobar was in Las Sabanas, Venezuela.
“My mom started banging on my door, bang, bang, bang, and shouting, ‘Alcides!’ I opened it and asked, ‘What happened, Mom?’ She said, ‘Ventura died!’
“I was stunned. ‘Mom, what are you talking about? Which Ventura?’ She replied, ‘The one who plays with you in Kansas City.’ I grabbed my phone right away, searching and calling people, and it was true the news was everywhere. I just said, ‘My God, I can’t believe this.’”
Escobar joined teammates Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez and Eric Hosmer at Ventura’s funeral in the Dominican Republic. Manager Ned Yost and Royals president Dan Glass were there.
“The next day, the Kansas City Royals organized everything,” Escobar said. “They brought a group of us to the Dominican Republic for the funeral. When I saw Ventura’s mom and she saw me, she ran over and hugged. That moment really broke my heart.
“It wasn’t easy coming back and carrying him to the cemetery. He was just a kid, so young, so full of life. With the potential he had, at that time and in that moment, there wasn’t another pitcher like him.”
