The Kansas City Royals will wear an “Ace 30” memorial patch during spring training in honor of the late Yordano Ventura.
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweeted out an image of the patch, which bears a tribute to Ventura’s nickname, “Ace” (in reference to the Jim Carrey “Ace Ventura” character) and his jersey number.
Ventura was killed in a car accident in his native Dominican Republic in January at the age of 25.
The Royals, with the opening of spring training, are once again being confronted with the realization that Ventura is really gone, only three weeks after his death.
“It’s tough,’’ says Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer, via USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. “It’s not something we will get over. It’s not something we will forget.
“But we will continue to live our lives, and play for his family, and himself.’’
A reminder of Ventura’s absence will be how his locker in the Royals clubhouse at the team’s spring training facilities in Sunrise, Ariz., sits empty.
The Royals have not yet decided what will be done with Ventura’s locker at Kauffmann Stadium once spring training breaks and the team heads north for the regular season.
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