Yordano Ventura Dedicates Game 6 Start To Oscar Taveras
By Hayden Kane
Yordano Ventura is starting Game 6 of the World Series for the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night. He has dedicated that start to the late Oscar Taveras.
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It has been hard for the baseball world to focus on the World Series in recent days. The tragic death of Oscar Taveras this past weekend has made it just a little bit more difficult to enjoy the action on the field.
The news has surely hit hard for players league-wide, and certain players in particular are playing with heavy hearts due to close friendships with Taveras. One such player is Yordano Ventura, the starting pitcher for the Royals on Tuesday night as they try to extend their series with the San Francisco Giants to a seventh game.
Ventura will dedicate his start in Game 6 to Taveras. From MLB.com:
"Scrawled on his spikes and on his glove will be the No. 18 and the initials “R.I.P.” in memory of countryman Oscar Taveras, the 22-year-old Cardinals outfielder who died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic on Sunday.“It’s going to be hard to put that aside,” Ventura said in Spanish on the eve of the most important start of his life, “but I’m going to throw everything I have out there. I’m dedicating that game to him.”"
Ventura honored Taveras on his cap as well.
Yordano Ventura honors Oscar Taveras pic.twitter.com/qAm1tFw1Vx
— Baseball Photos (@Baseball_Photos) October 29, 2014
At just 23 years old, so much was already being asked of Yordano Ventura in this spot in Game 6. To now add this to the list, something much bigger than baseball, only makes it easier to cheer for him to pitch well in such a big spot.
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