Manny Machado isn’t the only player Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura wanted to drill in the back with a 99-mph fastball.
Ventura told teammates inside the Kansas City Royals’ clubhouse he planned on plunking Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista the next time he faced him, according to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan. Bautista, of course, was on the receiving end of that Rougned Odor punch last month. The guy can’t seem to catch a break.
When Ventura told teammates about his desire to bean Bautista, they reportedly rolled their eyes in disgust. The 25-year-old right-hander has shown signs of hotheadedness and immaturity one too many times for their liking, and Tuesday’s brawl in Baltimore put the icing on the cake.
When the dust settled from Ventura v. Machado, it was revealed the Royals organization is considering trading away their once-prized young pitcher. It has become clear that not only is Ventura’s immaturity becoming a major issue, but also his on-field performance is leaving much to be desired. A 5.32 ERA and 1.53 WHIP isn’t going to cut it, especially when you factor in his questionable behavior.
The Royals and Blue Jays begin a three-game set against one another on July 4. After the Machado incident, it would surely be a bold move if Ventura kept his promise to drill Bautista. But then again, could you really put it past him at this point to do such a thing?
Regardless, the matchup will be must-watch television if and when the time comes. Remember this whole ordeal last season?
After that game, Ventura went on a Twitter tirade threatening Bautista in a series of Spanish-language tweets:
Here’s the English translation, per Blue Bird Banter:
"(Tweet 1) what you have to is play how it is and stop sending “sena” (‘beef’), that now with me you have some, because you cool and don’t come from nothing(Tweet 2)you got saved because of things that come with life but the major leagues don’t get cancelled this year (as in mlb hasnt finished this year) keep saying everything you want(Tweet 3) later we will see each other so you do it to me so you can see that with me i don’t care about anyone and i respected you but you are nobody for me now"
Next: Yordano Ventura gets needed wakeup call
That doesn’t translate to English all that well, but you get the point. Ventura and Bautista aren’t best friends. If the two get the chance to face off, it’ll be intriguing to see whether Ventura can keep his cool or if he’ll selfishly go through with hitting Bautista, thus disappointing his team even more than he already has.
Mark that Royals/Blue Jays series on your calendar, folks. All signs point toward it being a doozy.