Dominican pelotero Yordano Ventura is one of the best pitchers in the game. Even with his skinny figure and innocent disposition, the Royals’ ace can throw flames. It’s not uncommon for his fastball to reach the 100 mph mark, and you’ll often see him finish on one of his opponents. In fact, he is as good of a pitcher as he is a hothead.
No one was surprised when Ventura beaned the Orioles’ MVP Manny Machado in the fifth inning of last night’s game. In fact, the two exchanged charged words a few innings before, when Ventura got extremely close before getting Machado to fly out. What many didn’t expect was Machado’s boxing skills. As you can see in the video, he did land a couple of very good punches before the fight was broken up by both benches.
Not only did Ventura hit Machado on purpose, he put a little extra on that pitch:
It’s time for Ventura to grow up. At 25 years old, he can no longer use his youth as an excuse. We have seen him intentionally hit rivals again and again. In just one month last year, he managed to hit Brett Lawrie, exchange words with Mike Trout, and even clear the benches after an easy groundball in a game against the White Sox. Fans can be irrational for some time (and many enjoy the punches) but the epidemic of pitchers going after batters is damaging the image of the game and frustrating real baseball fans. Punishing Ventura would be a good way to start.
Reports say his own team is growing tired of his immaturity. In fact, they came on the losing side of the fight and the game. The Orioles hit two home runs after Ventura’s ejection, and the Royals lost 9-1.
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