Written by Paul Hoynes at Cleveland.com
Indians players, along with the rest of the MLB, continued to remember and honor Andy Marte and Yordano Ventura and their families Sunday. Marte, a former Indians infielder and Ventura, one of the best young pitchers in the big leagues, were killed Sunday morning in separate car accidents in their native Dominican Republic.
Marte, 33, played with the Indians from 2006 through 2010 after being acquired from the Red Sox prior to the 2006 season. He spent the last two years playing in Korea.
Ventura, 25, helped pitch the Royals to the World Series in 2014 an 2015. In parts four seasons, Ventura went 38-31 with a 3.89 ERA in 94 games, including 93 starts. He averaged 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
Commissioner Rob Manfred released this statement on Sunday, “Today is a very sad day for our entire game and particularly for the many loyal fans in the Dominican Republic, the home of both Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte.
“Yordano was a key figure in the Royals recent success. His electric talent on the mound helped lead the Royals to two American League pennants and a World Series championship in 2015. Andy was a respected member of six organizations who played seven Major League seasons, including six for the Cleveland Indians from 2006-2010. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to the families, teammates, friends and fans of both players.”
Tony Clark, executive director of the MLB Players Association, said in a statement, “We are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic passing of Andy Marte and Yordano Ventura. It’s never easy to lose a member of our fraternity, and there are no words to describe the feeling of losing two young men in the prime of their lives. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families, friends, teammates and fans throughout the United States and Latin America.”
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