Nick Adenhart

I'm not an Anaheim (or Los Angeles @ Anaheim or whatever) Angels fan. Nothing personal. Just not an American League guy. The Pirates were always my team. Growing up near Pittsburgh in the 70s made for some great MLB moments. Remember Willie Stargell, Kent Tekulve and "We Are Family"? It's okay if you don't.

Anyway, I was pulled into the story of Nick Adenhart this week. He's the 22-year-old pitcher who threw 6 beautiful scoreless innings against the Oakland A's on Wednesday. The bullpen blew it though, giving up 6 runs. Think they wish they still had K-Rod?

I read several long stories in the LA Times about the tragedy that unfolded that night after he pitched. Another 22-year-old, whose life was headed in the opposite direction, got behind the wheel of his minivan with a blood alcohol level of 0.24. He ran a red light and plowed into Adenhart's car, killing him and two friends.

The tight-knit community of baseball execs, scouts & agents were all in shock the next day. Here was a first-round draft pick who was just figuring out what it took to be successful in the majors. And just like that, in such a meaningless way, his life was ended.

"This kind of tragedy takes place all the time," manager Mike Sciosca commented. "This one just happened to hit us."

Vin Scully, broadcaster for the Dodgers, said, "The one thing I've figured out is that you'd better not waste your time trying to figure out life."

Life can be cruel. But life can also be beautiful. One thing we know: None of us is guaranteed a tomorrow. This is not an invitation to live recklessly, but a reminder of the importance of every moment. We spend so much time worrying about tomorrow or wishing we could fix yesterday. Life is filled with a million "now" moments, when can either choose to be present or to have our mind and our energy wasted elsewhere.

I don't know much about Nick's life or the kind of decisions he made. But I know what opportunties life is presenting me with. What will I do with them? Isn't that the real question?

Comments

Thurman8er said…
I'm a bit out of it, blog-wise, but I wanted to thank you for your words about Nick. I was surprised how hard his death hit me last week. As you know, I AM a diehard Angels fan and I've followed Adenhart's career from the time he was signed. I looked forward to watching him grow, mature, learn his craft, and dominate hitters in an Angels uniform.

Now that won't happen.

I read an article from a fellow fan that said best what I was feeling. We have these players into our home 4-5 times a week. They're part of our extended family. We expect them to be there and when they're not, something is missing. I'm sad for my team, sad for what we'll never know, and mostly sad for the family of a 22-year old kid who had just become a real major leaguer.

And sure, I remember those Pirates. I loved the stars on the crazy hats and watching Tekulve submarine the ball up to the plate. I thought Stargell was awesome. But for whatever reason...I've always been an AL guy.

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