Nick Adenhart

By -
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.
April 15, 2009 at 9:45 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Galatians 4:1-7 & The Confusing Apostle Paul

By -
Image
Does Galatians 4:1-7 confuse anyone as much as it does me? After studying this for some time, I am prone to agree with the words of 2 Peter 3:16. "There are some things in [Paul's letters] hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures." I hope I'm not one of the ignorant and unstable people. But I'm in the camp of folks who can say that Paul's writings are occasionally hard to understand. Let me clarify what I'm having a hard time clarifying. I don't really think it's difficult to understand Paul's point in Gal 4:1-7. The broader context makes it clear. Paul says that the Law of Moses is inferior to the promise previously made to Abraham. Gentile Christians, he writes, are descendants of Abraham because they share the same faith in God (3:6-7) that Abraham had (Gen 15:6). They therefore don't need to obey Jewish rules and customs. That's his point. from Anthony...
Read more

Love It or List It: We Sold Our Church Building

By -
Image
On October 8, 2023, we held our last worship service in our home of 59 years. We're moving on to a temporary location while we wait for God to reveal where our more permanent home will be. It's been a journey for which there is no solid road map, but we feel blessed by what's happening. We formed a giant circle for the final song at our longtime, northeast Fresno home. In late January, our elders announced a shock decision. We would be selling our church building and moving on. Among the elders, it was an uncontentious and unambiguous decision. They 100% believed it was in the church's best interest to put our property on the market and find a new home. Many congregations have hard choices to make about aging properties that are oversized for today's churches. Selling seemed the most desirable option to our board in our circumstances. I wrote about that decision back in January. You can read about it here . I had an inside seat to their decision-making process. As a...
Read more

In Memoriam of Larry Locke, My Father

By -
Image
My dad Larry Locke took his final breath this afternoon. He was in the comfort of his own home in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was as beautiful a spring day as Middle Tennessee can provide. Lovely breeze. Chirping birds. Blooming flowers. But Dad had been unable for weeks to notice the glory of God's created world. He was ready to go and be with the Lord forever. Over the last 2+ years, Larry had struggled with dementia and previously undiagnosed depression. A lifelong runner, he had never spent a night in the hospital prior to this sickness. The loss of his vitality was a blow to all who knew and loved him. While his first hospitalization returned him to a level close to his old self, subsequent declines and hospital stays left him a shadow of the man we knew. His time for this life would number 76 years. Larry Locke was born in 1942 in Shelbyville, Tennessee. His father, W. H. Locke, owned a small diner. His mother, Pansy Worley Locke, had done office work but as a mother was mos...
Read more