More thoughts on Adenhart

It’s going to be tough for the Angels to play that game tonight.

I didn’t personally know Nick Adenhart, but I’ve still been sad about his tragic accident since I heard about it yesterday, keeping Adenhart and the other three who died in my thoughts. I can only imagine how tough it’s going to be for the players and coaches who knew him well to focus on tonight’s game.

My thoughts continue to go out to the families and friends of those who died. It’s still shocking to me that someone I saw pitch so brilliantly on Wednesday night and who had so much potential died only hours later, his life over at 22.  Life is truly fragile and it can be taken from us, instantly and unjustly.

I don’t have much else to say, but there has been some very good perspective on this from around the Halosphere. All of these posts are recommended reading:

From Rev Halofan at Halos Heaven:

So we had another guest in our house last night, he had just joined the family and we were excited to have him. These kids are so fantastic to have over in the living room, the game taking all of our attention except for a dinner break while they keep playing. It is always a quick run back to see how they are doing.

But a tragedy means he will never be back at our house, at your house, across the homes of this sprawling, tangled neighborhood, this nation, the world even as this sport we love grows in our hearts and imagination. He had an open invitation from every fan in every home, and that invite was a manifestation of the love and hope and competitive drive in each of us. We are sports fans because it allows us to spend time with the absolute best in their prime.

From Ashley at Everyday Life:

Now everyone has to struggle with allowing life to go on after such a loss. How can you justify laughing or grocery shopping when you know how painful this is for all that were so close to him? Anyone who has lost someone knows that it’s just as painful watching everyone else move on when it’s the one thing that controls your life and haunts your every second. It’s so soon.

From Marcus at In Play, No Outs:

Nick, in particular, was a player many of us watched from his draft at age 18 to his major league debut at 21. The fact that we’re the same age made his journey particularly fascinating and his death infinitely more depressing.

The Angels play the Red Sox tonight in a game which now feels completely different.

From Seitz at L.A. Seitz of Chicago:

I can’t really explain how this hit me, although I suppose it was probably the same for most of you. I actually found out from a friend via email, who’s initial message was simply “Holy Crap, Nick Adenhart!” Not having heard the news, I responded with my take on his performance from the night before. He then said “You must not have heard the news…” From that point on, the next three hours were just kind of an unproductive blur, and I can only say that fortunately I had some real work to do to pull me out of it. I’m still shocked, stunned, and I don’t know how I’ll react when the game starts tonight.

From Three Days of Cryin’:

Still, we love to crack wise, we love to infuse the snark that for some strange reason entertains us more than it really should.  And, obviously, we love to comment about Angels baseball in that spirit.

The events of the last 24 hours, however, have taken the enjoyment out of all of that.  We are reminded, amazingly as if we could have forgotten, that life is tenuous and, of course, that baseball is a mere game, a distraction for those of us in need or want of one.

From Chone Smith at Anaheim Angels all the way:

I don’t know what to say about how horrible I feel about what happened to Nick and 3 other occupants of his car last night. I’ve never met Nick, but have followed his career for a few years now. Because he was a highly regarded talent, that was one reason to follow his career closely, and that he was from Maryland, where I live, was a bonus.

And then, as multiple blogs have found, this video of Scott Boras (Adenhart’s agent) crying at the press conference yesterday still gets to me.