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: 

Dusty in here, no? 

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