The White Sox have opened the season with a wimper at 1-2 and the Cubs are a more robust 2-1. Suddenly the game of baseball means so little when tragedy strikes just as it did Thursday morning to the Los Angeles Angels.
Just a few hours after the most impressive game of his brief career, Nick Adenhart -- just seven miles from the mound where he threw six scoreless innings -- the 22-year-old right-hander was killed by an alleged drunk driver, the latest calamity in a baseball franchise haunted by a history of misfortunes.
Adenhart and two friends were killed early Thursday morning when their car was broadsided by a driver who police said had a suspended license and a previous drunk driving conviction. The news of the young pitcher's death stunned friends, teammates and fans, some driving to the Fullerton intersection to place flowers and candles in the roadway and others going to Anaheim Stadium, seemingly just to be there.
It's always a shock when a professional player dies during the season. It wakes one up and tells you, these players are human beings too. They die naturally and tragically like everyone else.
I remember when I heard Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash. The same when the Yankees' Thurman Munson died. I went to the Sox-Angels game in 1978 where their outfielder Lyman Bostock was murdered the night before in Gary, Indiana. All of them gave me that pit in the stomach feeling of shock.
I don't know these players personally but as a fan of the game it's just a certain sadness that hits and a reminder that life can be taken from anyone at anytime. Enjoy life while living.
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1 comment:
There's no super agent in the world that can get any player out of a death.
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