Yordano Ventura, Baseball’s Newest Villain

The Kansas City Royals have been playing with a big chip on their shoulder so far this season, which escalated during their game against the Chicago White Sox.

Yordano Ventura pitched 6.2 innings of two-run ball before Adam Eaton hit a comebacker to Ventura, and words were exchanged as he tossed the ball over to first to record the out. Words led to thrown punches, cleared benches and Ventura, Chris Sale, Edinson Volquez, Jeff Samardzija, and Lorenzo Cain being ejected.

Flashback to Sunday, Ventura and Mike Trout got into it, but it was it wasn’t much. Ventura stared Trout down after he lined a single into center, and once trout came back home a few batters later, they were jawing at home plate.

Last Saturday, Ventura plunked Brett Lawrie, which was definitely on purpose. That was more justified, since Lawrie more than likely slide into Alcides Escobar to stop the turn to first base. However, Lawrie slid directly into Escobar’s leg, injuring him and causing him to leave the game.

Ned Yost had this to say of Ventura, “he pitches with a lot of emotion, you know? He’s a real intense competitor.”

However, no one is arguing his competitive nature. Ventura is talented, but like a lot of flamethrowers in MLB history, he’s  emotional. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but Ventura needs to pick his spots. There’s nothing wrong with a retaliatory inside pitch, but there’s also nothing wrong with a little trash talk.

Ventura is listed at 6’0, 180 pounds, both of which are very generous. He throws a fastball that tops out at 102mph, and in his first full season, he had a 3.20 ERA with 159 strikeouts and finished sixth in the ‘Rookie of the Year Award’ voting. There’s nothing wrong with playing with a lot of emotion, as long as production doesn’t drop.

The problem with being a player with a lot of emotion, is they run into athletes who play with more emotion. Trout is becoming one of the ambassadors of the game, there was a little trash talk between them and both parties were pulled away, and no one was hurt, no fights happened, nothing.

More from AL Central

• Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf finally cleans house, removing GM and EVP
• Minnesota Twins: The 4 players who are on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Chicago White Sox: Who belongs on the franchise’s Mt. Rushmore?
• Kansas City Royals: John McMillon call-up is a development win
• A guide for Cleveland Guardians fans with eyes on 2024

The issue that happened with the Oakland A’s wasn’t so baffling, those things happen. The part people can’t seem to understand is why the jawing at Trout and Eaton? It wasn’t frustration trash talk, Ventura had only given up two earned runs in 5.2 IP while striking out seven again the Angels, and as mentioned, threw a gem against the White Sox.

Ventura has very quickly painted himself as a villain. MLB fans hated Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens for similar reasons. Not every action needs a reaction. Just because Ventura starts barking, doesn’t mean players have to react. He’s immature, he’s only 23-years-old, but he has time to grow. But that doesn’t mean the trash talk needs to stop, where would sports be without it? He definitely needs to learn when to and when not to.

The target on Ventura’s back is fairly large at this point, batters might not be afraid of him yet, but it’s in the back of their mind that they could be next in line to get their tower buzzed, or just get hit by a pitch in general. Batters didn’t just fear Rocket and Pedro because they were good, but the mind-tricks they played were legendary. Rocket picking up a piece of the broken bat and sending in the direction of Mike Piazza will forever be remembered.

Clemens was a big guy, though, but Martinez wasn’t. Martinez was a supreme trash talker, and everyone who faced him, hated him. He was only around 5’9 (listed at 5’11, but was thought to be considerably shorter) and brought it every night. That’s not to say that Ventura is the next Rocket or Martinez, but the art of being a trash talking has worked in the past.

The problem is, that everyone assumes Ventura needing to grow up means he needs to stop playing with the fire and emotion he plays with. He does need to grow up, he needs to learn from these past few games, and eventually, he will. Until then, he’ll have to learn the hard way how to handle the situations he puts himself in, but there’s something to be said for playing with a lot of heart. However, there’s nothing wrong with being the villain, more than a few hall of famers may agree.

Next: Baltimore Orioles SP Chris Tillman's AL East woes continue