Major League Baseball

Yordano Ventura was the starting pitcher in Andy Marte's final MLB game

Published Jan. 22, 2017 5:37 p.m. ET

Lindsey Foltin

The baseball community is mourning the deaths of Yordano Ventura and Andy Marte, two MLB players who both died tragically Sunday morning.

Ventura, a 25-year-old pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, and Marte, a 33-year old former major-leaguer, died in unrelated car accidents in the Dominican Republic.

It's surreal to think that two members of the MLB community passed away just hours apart, less than 150 miles away from each other and by the same cause.

To make things even more bizarre, it turns out that another improbable coincidence ties the two players together. Ventura was the opposing starting pitcher in Marte's final major-league game.

According to Baseball Reference, Marte's last major-league appearance came with the Diamondbacks on Aug. 6, 2014, against the Royals. Ventura was the starting pitcher for the Royals, in a game that ended with Marte striking out. Ventura earned the win in KC's 4-3 victory. While the two didn't face each other — Marte's only at-bat as a pinch-hitter against Greg Holland — it's still an eerie twist of fate.