Doubly Tragic

Shockingly, the baseball world was again jolted on Sunday by the loss of a young star in his mid 20s. Only four months after that September Sunday where we learned of Jose Fernandez' death in a late night boating accident, word spread about Yordano Ventura's fatal car wreck.
While he'd yet to reach the pinnacle of the sport the way Jose had, Yordano was clearly a big time talent. Having already played on a World Series champion, here was a 25-year old with 38 career victories and tremendous promise. It was all snatched away on a roadway in his native Dominican Republic. Unspeakable.
If that news wasn't tragic enough, within minutes we learned of another fatal car wreck in the Dominican. Andy Marte, an infielder who never quite became a regular with the Braves and Indians, last played in the majors in 2014 and spent the last two years in Korea.
You're never prepared to hear this kind of news. The first time I recall such an off-season shocker was the plane crash death of Cubs rising star Ken Hubbs two days before Christmas 1963. Another aviation tragedy took Roberto Clemente as he left on a mission to fly relief supplies to Nicaragua on New Year's Eve 1972. Danny Frisella, best remembered as a Mets reliever, was killed in a New Year's Day dune buggy accident. And Ventura's friend, the Cardinals prospect Oscar Tavares was killed in a DUI-crash during the 2014 World Series.
The off-season should be a time of optimism, with fans looking forward to a new season with stories to be told, and memories to be made. What we heard Sunday shattered that dreamy optimism -- not just once, but twice. Doubly tragic.

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