Orioles third baseman Manny Machado reached out to the family of Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura in the days following the right-hander’s death in an automobile accident in the Dominican Republic this offseason.
During a June game against the Royals at Camden Yards, Machado charged the mound after Ventura drilled Machado in the back with a pitch. That prompted a benches-clearing brawl and a continuation of bad blood between the Orioles and Royals that was born when the teams met in the American League Championship Series in 2014.
But when the game was rocked by last month’s death of the 25-year-old Ventura, a gifted flame-thrower who had a promising future if he could harness his talents, Machado was among the those who supported his grieving baseball fraternity, reaching out to Royals players and Ventura’s family.
“I was just trying to reach out to the family and see if they needed anything,” Machado added. “I wanted to send some stuff out. It’s just sad to see a great guy like that and a great baseball player who had a bright future ahead, go down like that.”
Machado said that despite the fact he had a history with Ventura, he left that on the field.
“It’s sad what happened,” Machado said before Saturday’s workout in Sarasota. “My condolences go to the family and I know they’re still grieving. I know it just sucks. I know we had our altercations on the field but you know what, you leave stuff on the field. Once you step between those lines, its [the] gridiron. We’re out there grinding, playing for each other, playing for our team, playing for the name across our chests. You know, once you step [off] the field, those are things you don’t [ever] want to happen.
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