| Yordano Ventura | |||
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Ventura with the Kansas City Royals in 2015
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| Pitcher | |||
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Born: June 3, 1991 Samaná, Dominican Republic |
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Died: January 22, 2017 (aged 25) Juan Adrián, Dominican Republic |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 17, 2013, for the Kansas City Royals | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 30, 2016, for the Kansas City Royals | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 38–31 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.89 | ||
| Strikeouts | 470 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Yordano Ventura Hernández (Spanish: [ɟʝorˈðano βenˈtuɾa]; June 3, 1991 – January 22, 2017) was a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was twice named to the All-Star Futures Game. Ventura made his MLB debut on September 17, 2013. Known as a power pitcher, his fastball was much valued by the Royals during his tenure with the team. In 2014, Ventura's 96.2-mile-per-hour (154.8 km/h) average fastball velocity (96.4 miles per hour (155.1 km/h) for two-seam fastballs) ranked second-best among MLB starters. He helped the Royals win the 2015 World Series. In 2017, Ventura was killed in a car crash.
Ventura was born in Samaná, Dominican Republic, in 1991. After quitting school at the age of 14, he worked in construction until joining a Kansas City Royals academy.
Ventura signed with the Royals as an international free agent in 2008, receiving a $28,000 signing bonus. He spent the next 18 months training at the Royals' academy. Ventura played for the Kane County Cougars of the Class A Midwest League in 2011. In 19 games started for the Cougars, Ventura had a 4–6 win-loss record and a 4.27 earned run average (ERA) with 88 strikeouts in 84 1⁄3 innings pitched. Ventura began the 2012 season with the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, and was named to appear in both the Carolina-California League All-Star Game and the All-Star Futures Game. He was promoted to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals of the Class AA Texas League later that season.