For the second time in 4 months, a young pitching star in Major League Baseball saw his life tragically come to an end.  Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura was killed in a car crash in his native Dominican Republic earlier this morning.  He was 25.

Ventura, who joined the Royals in 2013, was 38-31 with a 3.89 ERA in his career, helping the team to back-to-back World Series appearances in 2014 and 2015.  His death comes on the heels of Marlins star Jose Fernandez, who died in a boating accident this past September.

I saw Ventura pitch 3 times, where he went 1-1 with a 4.24 ERA.  He had a bright future in front of him, if he managed to control his temper, but will now join the list of major leaguers tragically cut down in their prime.  My condolences go out to his family and the Royals nation.