Royals GM defends Ventura, team: 'When you win ... people are coming for you'
Kansas City Royals right-hander Yordano Ventura was once again in the middle of baseball's latest brouhaha Thursday night. But Ventura's general manager isn't about to turn his back on the electric 23-year-old pitcher.
Ventura got into a war of words with Chicago White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton during the series opener, setting off a benches-clearing brawl just days after he was front and center in an incident with the Oakland Athletics.
The Dominican native threw at Brett Lawrie in retaliation for a hard slide before the Athletics' third baseman had a ball go sailing by his head by Ventura's hard-throwing teammate Kelvin Herrera. Dugouts cleared after that incident as well, and Thursday marked the second consecutive start Ventura was ejected from.
"I think our guys have done an incredible job of managing some of the things that have came their way, early on in the season," Royals GM Dayton Moore told the Kansas City Star's Andy McCullough. "It's not unexpected. When you win, those types of things happen. People are coming for you. That's part of it."
Ventura also got into a verbal exchange with defending American League MVP Mike Trout during his second start of the season.
Related: White Sox-Royals brawl leads to 5 ejections
While Moore stopped short of criticizing the pitcher he handed a five-year, $23-million contract to during the offseason, he does at least admit it's in Ventura's best interests to reign in his temper.
"If you're going to have long-term success, it's crucial that you manage your emotions well, in a way that's constructive for the team," he said. "So you have to be able to do that. There's no doubt, it's something that you have to manage."
Royals manager Ned Yost echoed similar sentiments, but also placed blame on his staff ace and said Ventura can't let teams complete their goal of getting under his skin.
"He understands what he did wasn't right. He has to continue to work to handle his emotions," Yost told MLB Network Radio. "You have to be smart enough to understand what the other side is doing, using psychological warfare to disturb you."
If Ventura avoids suspension for his latest dustup, he'll make his next start Tuesday versus the Cleveland Indians.