Every death is sad, but when a young person is taken away through a senseless accident no fault of his own, it is truly tragic. Earlier this week 22 year-old Nick Adenhart was just a few hours removed from pitching six scoreless innings for the Los Angeles Angels, and the worst part of his day should have been his bullpen’s inability to hold the lead. Just a few hours after Adenhart’s father Jim, who had flown across the country, sat in the stands and watched his son make just his fourth career start, and an hour after the father and son had spoken in the clubhouse lobby, the car Adenhart was riding in was struck by a drunk driver who had blown through a red light. Adenhart died in a local hospital and two other passengers were also killed in the accident. The fourth and final passenger of the vehicle is expected to survive. The driver of the other car walked away, ran away actually as he tried to flee the scene.
Angels fans paid tribute to the fallen pitcher by placing flowers on a mound outside of the stadium. The team’s game the night after the crash was postponed.
The Thursday tragedy was the end of a career that began after Adenhart was drafted in the 14th round of the 2004 draft. Numerous teams were scared off from taking Adenhart in the top 10 due to an elbow injury the Williamsport (Maryland) High School product suffered just a few weeks before the MLB draft. Adenhart eventually recovered from Tommy John surgery and posted a 37-28 record over four seasons in the minors before making his Major League debut in May of 2008. The righty won one of his three starts last season.
After a strong spring where he struck out 18 batters in 26 innings while going 3-0, Adenhart earned the No.3 spot in the Los Angeles Angels rotation to start the season. Now he is in a different Angels rotation. Far too soon.
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