Enormous Void Where Yordano Ventura's Passion and Laughter Once Lived

The cars go too fast, the boats speed too recklessly and the tragedies are coming far too quickly. Miami has barely tossed the last shovelful of dirt on the grave of Marlins ace Jose Fernandez, and now comes another wrenching death. Another city mourns, another organization steps up to a casket, another family dissolves in the face of unspeakable grief.

Kansas City Royals star hurler Yordano Ventura was only 25 when he died in a car accident early Sunday morning in the Dominican Republic. Details are still sketchy. When they emerge, all we will know is this: They will not add up. We want reasons, we need reasons. But when you're 25 and the world in front of you remains spacious, inviting and ready to be twisted into whatever shape you want to make it, there are no good reasons. There is just the end, and what could have been, and an enormous void left where passion and laughter once lived.

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This was a supreme talent who helped guide the Royals to two World Series appearances and one world championship in the past three seasons. This was a right-hander who won 38 games over that span and made things easy and fun on given nights. This also was a still-maturing kid who caused the Royals plenty of headaches.

On a somber conference call Sunday afternoon, Royals general manager Dayton Moore said he spent more time talking about Ventura with Rene Francisco, the club's assistant GM for major league and international operations, "than about any player we've had over the last three, four, five years."

"Rene is hurting deeply right now, as we all are..." Moore said. "We're just very blessed to be a part of Yordano's life and have the privilege to watch him compete and grow. It's been a joy to be able to partner with him."

When Ventura sparked a brawl last June by drilling Baltimore's Manny Machado in the back with a pitch, it was not the first time he caused an incident with his fastball. Orioles manager Buck Showalter told reporters at the time that he thought Ventura was trying to hit Machado in the previous at-bat, too.

It was a continuation of an unavoidable theme in Ventura's career. In one 10-day span in 2014, he either argued or brawled with the Angels' Mike Trout, the Athletics' Brett Lawrie and the White Sox's Adam Eaton. With Trout, it was just words. With the A's and White Sox, the Royals waged ugly brawls.

No, you cannot remember Ventura without that appearing somewhere near the center of the picture. But this isn't a negative rush to judgment on him, either. He was always emotional. It was part of the package. With elite athletes, you sometimes have to accept that as part of the deal, because that emotion also fuels them in the good times and spurs them and their teammates to even greater heights. That same passion elicited so much joy in both him and his teammates.

Ventura's fastball lit up stadiums around the country at 100 mph, his power breaking ball stymied myriad hitters and his often devastating changeup was becoming more consistent.

"He was a fearless competitor," Moore said. "That's why fans come to the ballpark, to watch players compete. And Yordano exemplified that."

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Sports often are works in progress, and sometimes the fields are the public classrooms. Players grow. They learn. Not long after those brawls in 2014, I spent time in Kansas City with the Royals for a long profile on beanball wars and what sparks them. During those conversations, I found that on the other side of the still-raw emotions was a tight-knit group of baseball players who loved Ventura and were determined to help him with his hardball education.

Veteran pitchers Jeremy Guthrie, Edinson Volquez and Kelvin Herrera pulled Ventura aside in those days for private counsel. Manager Ned Yost spoke with the team about him, maturity and the sometimes blurry lines that separate heavy competition, winning and professionalism. The Royals were one unit, Ventura was one of theirs and, together, they got through it. On Sunday, Guthrie, who most recently played for the Melbourne Aces in Australia while attempting a major league comeback, had this to say on Instagram:

"My thoughts & prayers were immediately directed to my beloved Royals family who will confront this tragic loss together. And I cannot imagine the sadness & pain that Yordano's immediate family & friends must be experiencing. Yordano 'Ace' Ventura was a young & vibrant kid. He had the world at his fingertips & lived life to its fullest. He was always smiling & always messing w/ the boys. On the field he was a fiery competitor, someone willing to stand up to any challenge & overcome. It was a reflection of the life he lived while growing up in his native Dominican Republic. His spirit will live on, his impact will last, his memory will endure forever."

Without a doubt, Ventura's spirit will live on and his memory will endure. Before he helped bring the Royals back to October in 2014, their playoff drought stretched nearly three decades. Ventura's time and place in Kansas City were singular. It's unimaginable that it is now suddenly finished.

But we've been saying that too often lately, haven't we? In October 2014, top Cardinals prospect Oscar Taveras died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic, and Ventura honored him while pitching in a World Series game that month. This past September, Fernandez died in a boat accident in Miami. On Sunday morning, former major league infielder Andy Marte, 33, died in a separate car accident (not involving Ventura) in the Dominican Republic. And in a macabre twist, Ventura was the starting pitcher in Marte's last big league game, on Aug. 6, 2014.

Moore spoke Sunday of his fond memory of Ventura's first major league start in 2013, when he pounced on a comebacker to start a 1-6-3 double play.

Ed Zurga/Getty Images

"I knew we had somebody who was fearless right there," Moore said. "And Game 6 of the 2014 World Series, facing an elimination game [Ventura pitched seven shutout innings in a 10-0 Kansas City victory to help force Game 7].

"Yordano always had a way when he knew he was pitching the next day and it was an important game. He'd always walk by the coaches' room and let us all know that he had it tomorrow. That's just who he was."

Now, little more than three weeks before Kansas City's first workout for pitchers and catchers, his family and the Royals step into a hollow tomorrow that contains no Ventura.

One of Moore's first calls Sunday was to Michael Hill, Miami's president of baseball operations, looking for direction.

"Michael Hill and the Marlins organization handled the situation with Jose with such grace and heart and innocence," Moore said. "I've known Michael Hill for a long time, and there's no playbook for this, no script."

There only are suggestions and warnings. Proceed with caution. Slow down with whatever you're doing. Too often, we move too fast. Traffic is dangerous. Life is fragile. Whatever we're doing—on the field, off the field, in our homes, on our vacations—please, take care. The thud with which the Ventura news lands is sickening.

"Yordano had a great gift," Moore said. "He was a tremendous athlete with a great arm. He wouldn't back down. This kid was a competitor, a great competitor. That's what made him special.

"He's a huge part of the history of the Royals, and we're going to miss him."

Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow Scott on Twitter and talk baseball.