Royals honor late Yordano Ventura in pre-game ceremony, mother throws first pitch

The Royals lost their 25-year-old pitcher to an offseason car accident

By Matt Snyder

Apr 10, 2017 at 7:04 pm ET • 1 min read

On Monday afternoon, the Royals had their 2017 home opener in Kauffman Stadium. Normally, that would be high time for a celebration involving BBQ. This time around, though, it was a somber atmosphere to start the game. The Royals honored Yordano Ventura, who was killed in January in a car accident in the Dominican Republic.

The Royals held a pre-game ceremony to honor their fallen teammate while unfurling a flag with “ACE 30” on it -- Ventura’s nickname along with his uniform number. His mother, Marisol, also threw out the first pitch.

Here are the highlights:

Marisol Hernandez, YV's mother, throws ceremonial first pitch. #Ace30 #Royals pic.twitter.com/DHaXeuvz9s
— FOX Sports KC (@FSKansasCity) April 10, 2017

Dusty in here, no?

Good job on Eric Hosmer for taking on what had to be the toughest speaking assignment of his life.