Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Crashes kill Ventura and Marte
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura and former major leaguer Andy Marte died in separate traffic accidents early Sunday in their native Dominican Republic.
Highway patrol spokesman Jacobo Mateo said Ventura died on a highway about 40 miles northwest of Santo Domingo. He said it was not clear if Ventura had been driving.
Metropolitan traffic authorities said they had opened an investigation into the crash, as well as that of Marte, 33, who died when the Mercedes he was driving hit a house along road about 95 miles north of the capital. Traffic authority spokesman Diego Pesqueira said results of the investigation would be released in the coming days.
The country, whose roads are among the world’s most dangerous, has now lost four current or former major leaguers to traffic accidents in recent years.
Ventura, 25, burst onto the baseball scene with a 100 mph fastball and an explosive attitude to match.
He went 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA in 2014, his first full season in the big leagues, and the next year helped the Royals reach the World Series for the first time since 1985. He proceeded to dominate San Francisco in both of his starts, though the Royals would ultimately lose in seven games.
“Our prayers right now are with Yordano’s family as we mourn this young man’s passing,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said in a statement.
The right-handed Ventura went 11-12 with a 4.45 ERA last season, and wound up pitching his entire career for the Royals, going 38-31 with a 3.89 ERA.
Marte, an infielder, played 2005-2010 in the majors with Atlanta and Cleveland, and returned in 2014 with Arizona. He hit .218 with 21 home runs and 99 RBIs in the big leagues. He spent the past two seasons in South Korea, where he hit 22 homers last year.
Ventura is the second young star pitcher to die in the past four months. Marlins ace Jose Fernandez, 24, was killed in a boating accident in September.
Two other Dominican mahor leaguers have died on the country’s dangerous highways since 2000.
St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras — a close friend of Ventura’s — died in 2014 when he crashed in his hometown of Puerto Plata. He was 22. Shortstop Andujar Cedeno, 31, died in a 2000 crash in the city of La Romana.