Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic (ESPN) – Royals teammates Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez, Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez and retired countryman David Ortiz were among the thousands to pay their final respects to the late Yordano Ventura on Tuesday in his hometown.
The 25-year-old Ventura died in a car crash early Sunday in the Dominican.
A final viewing was held Tuesday morning in the home of Ventura’s mother. From there, a funeral procession began in Las Terrenas and marched miles throughout the country as kids wearing Ventura’s No. 30 watched a truck carrying his casket go by.
Seated in back were Hosmer and Perez, while among those walking behind were Moore, Royals president Dan Glass, manager Ned Yost and teammates Alcides Escobar and Mike Moustakas.
The procession then made its way to Estadio Municipal, where Ventura first played. Perez addressed the crowd that had jammed in there. Ventura’s casket was placed just over the pitcher’s mound, with a Dominican Republic flag draped over it.
The procession ended at the cemetery, where Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto — rotation mates of Ventura when Kansas City won the World Series in 2015 — were among those who flanked the truck carrying the casket as it made its way in.
Yost said Ventura’s death was about much more than losing a baseball player; it was about losing a great human being.
