Yordano Ventura's Game 6 cap, with Oscar Taveras tribute, headed to Hall of Fame

Tom Gatto

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Yordano Ventura's Game 6 cap, with Oscar Taveras tribute, headed to Hall of Fame image

Yordano Ventura pitched the biggest game of his life a little more than 48 hours after the sudden death of a friend.

The memory of that friend, Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras, was never far from Ventura when he was on the Kauffman Stadium mound Tuesday night. Ventura's thoughts were written boldly on his Royals cap.

MORE: Must-see photos | Moment of silence for Taveras | Cardinals pay tribute | Reflecting on Taveras' death

After pitching seven shutout innings in Game 6 and dedicating the victory to Taveras, the cap is headed to Cooperstown:

There was a moment of silence before the game in honor of Taveras, the 22-year-old killed in an automobile accident Sunday in the Dominican Republic. Ventura brought a Dominican flag to his postgame interview.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.