The greatest moment in Yordano Ventura’s baseball life is now the one that most rips the heart.
He stood on that mound at Kauffman Stadium 27 months ago, looking exactly like himself except more — an assassin’s stone expression on a baby face, cutting into Game 6 of the 2014 World Series, the hat that always looked two sizes too big with a scribbled message for his friend who had died the night before: RIP O.T. #18.
And, boy, was he fierce that night. That leg kick, that finish, that stare down after strikeouts, with the energy of sports’ most invigorated fan base literally shaking the ground he walked on.