Josh Hancock lost in car crash, Game cancelled.

[cabby7588]

Pic of his crashed car



mod edit - linked pic

[fanforever]

This is why Rosenthal is a great baseball writer

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6755210

Hancock's death puts game in perspective
Ken Rosenthal / FOXSports.com
Posted: 2 hours ago

The death of a young major leaguer is no more tragic than the death of a student at Virginia Tech, the death of a soldier in Iraq, the death of any young person anywhere in America on any given day.

The only difference is that Josh Hancock, even as a journeyman reliever with the St. Louis Cardinals, was an identifiable name, a member of the 2006 World Series champions.
People know who he was.

His death at 29 — like Cory Lidle's death last fall, like Darryl Kile's death in 2002 — is another jarring reminder that no one, not even a gifted athlete, is immune from the unpredictable, fleeting nature of life.

The clichés always come out at times like this — the games are only so important, this sure puts things in perspective, etc. After a while, it all sounds trite, but those sentiments actually are appropriate for such awful moments. Appropriate, because they ring true.

Hancock's death is a heck of a lot more important than, say, Joe Torre's job status. Then again, if not for the game's popularity — represented, in part, by the fixation on things such as Torre's job status — Hancock never would have gained a measure of fame or a major-league salary. For better or worse, that's how the world works.

In the end, Josh Hancock was part of a no-name bullpen that helped the Cardinals become an unlikely World Series champion. He can be replaced in a baseball sense — relievers at his level often are interchangeable — but tell that to his family.

Tell it to the Cardinals, whose early struggles seem rather trivial in the face of tragedy.

Tell it to any family that loses a young person, anywhere in America, at any time.

Ken Rosenthal is a senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com.

[Joe Wells]

<picture deleted>

Cabby, I'm sure you had the best of intentions, but some of us (OK, me) really didn't want to see that.

<Edit- Thx mods>

[Capt_Morgan]

here is a Josh Hancock wallpaper

i'm trying to find a link for it

here's the link to, it
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h223/ ... CKWALL.jpg

[heyzeus]

I was at a crawfish boil in Houston with my girlfriend this afternoon when her mom called her.

"Tell Josh that I think a pitcher for the Cardinals was killed in an accident last night. I don't know the name of the player."

Horrible, horrible, horrible. Knowing something terrible had happened to one of the players I feel like I know so well, and not knowing who.

I immediately asked around and found out it was Josh Hancock. We shared the same name, the same year of birth, and the same team. He was a young guy and by all accounts a good person. We couldn't have done what we've done without him.

We'll miss you, Josh. This season is now something else entirely. We're in your shadow.

[Dwtlr]

What can you say?

Just awful..

Prayers..and God be with you Josh..

[Jake]

Wow. This is just awful.

Let me add my condolences to all those posted here....

[cabby7588]

<picture deleted>

Cabby, I'm sure you had the best of intentions, but some of us (OK, me) really didn't want to see that.

<Edit- Thx mods>

Sorry for posting the picture of his car, I should have posted a link. Most of you probably saw it on the Post Dispatch article. Makes you really think twice about buying a safe car next time.

I hope whatever caused Hancock to crash is never released. What happened, happened...And we don't need any more information.

[Dillagii]

Quotes on the death Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock

April 29, 2007

Reaction to the death of Josh Hancock, the St. Louis Cardinals reliever who was killed in a car crash early Sunday:

"All of baseball today mourns the tragic and untimely death of St. Louis pitcher Josh Hancock. He was a fine young pitcher who played an important role on last year's World Series championship team." -- baseball commissioner Bud Selig.

"There's a big hole that's going to be there. This is brutal to go through." -- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.

"It's kind of mind-boggling. Just a few days ago I had talked to him on the phone, touching base again because we were pretty good friends at the time." -- Seattle Mariners pitcher Jeff Weaver, who won the World Series clincher for St. Louis in October.

"The young man had done so well last fall and had a promising career. It's just terrible." -- Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle.

"Josh was just a super kid. I couldn't have been happier for him getting to the big leagues because he was such a humble, hard worker." -- New York Mets closer Billy Wagner, who knew Hancock from the 2004 Phillies.

"He was a nice guy, a gamer. He wanted the ball." -- Cleveland Indians outfielder Jason Michaels, who was Hancock's teammate in Philadelphia.

"I remember meeting him in spring training and got the impression that he just loved the game. You could tell he had good stuff and was going to be in the bigs. I remember watching him on TV in the postseason last year and saying how he was a key part of the Cardinals' bullpen." -- Indians outfielder Trot Nixon, a member of the Boston Red Sox when Hancock made his major league debut in 2002.

"Obviously, it touches everybody when something like that happens in baseball. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and the Cardinal organization." -- Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia.

"It was good to see him go over there last year, because the Reds released him before position players even got to camp. He got picked up by St. Louis, had a really good year for them and ended up getting a World Series ring. I was glad to see him enjoy some of that success." -- San Francisco Giants infielder Rich Aurilia.

"It's kind of a little turn in your gut. It's one of those reality checks that you never know when your time is." -- Cincinnati Reds pitcher Matt Belisle, a former teammate.

"Josh was a part of arguably the best pitching staff and arguably the best team ever to play at Auburn." -- Tigers coach Tom Slater, an assistant at the school when Hancock played there.

"This is the sort of sad reminder of how fragile life is. A lot of times, we think of ourselves as invincible. This shows us we're not." -- Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Tony Clark, who was in Red Sox camp with Hancock in 2002.

Link

[planet planet]

Thanks, D. Update from Bernie

Just some general notes and thoughts from a sad day at Busch:

* Very somber as you would think.

* La Russa gathered the players together, and encouraged them to tell stories about Hancock, and share some memories, and yes, laughter.

* As you know, La Russa and Jocketty and DeWitt spoke at the media briefing, but did not field questions. Joe Strauss was able to have about a 10-minute visit with La Russa in private. ESPN was also able to get a separate interview with Tony.

* I was able to talk to Bill DeWitt on the phone. Tony is taking his hard, real hard. He told Strauss that making the call to Hancock's dad was the most difficult thing he's ever had to do. DeWitt is upset, which is natural. He expressed thanks for having a leader like La Russa, who is strong in these situations, and can help the team cope.

* I thought Lou Piniella was wonderful today; compassionate and warm and completely genuine in his comments about this, and about Tony. He reflected back during his days as a Yankee player, and they lost Thurman Munson in 1979. Piniella talked about his good friend Tony and said that he planned to visit with him before he left the stadium. He said he didn't have the words for Tony; he thought the best thing he could do was give him a hug.

* Jason Marquis was down.

* Fans are still dropping off flowers and other items at the little memorial to Hancock near the Musial statue.

* Cardinals players were kept away from the media -- which I believe is appropriate -- but I was told that some TV stations were staking them out in the parking lot. Don't know if that is true; I haven't seen TV.

* The death, as we all hope, was instantaeous. Joe Walsh, the team's security director, and a good man, had to ID the body. This had to be his worst day, ever, on the job. I feel for Joe.

* After the accident, the police found papers in Hancock's SUV, indicating that it was his. The STL PD contacted Joe Walsh, who after it was official, called Walt Jocketty, who then called La Russa at 4 a.m. and La Russa called Josh's Dad at about 5 a.m.

* I kept thinking back to Thursday, when Hancock was late getting to the stadium, and how worried Isringhausen was.... because it made him think of Kile, and June 22, 2002. Unbelievable, given Izzy's concern over Hancock on Thursday, that this would happen three days later.

* Hancock's dad, Dean, grew up as a Cardinals fan. He was really proud of his son, and thrilled that he became a Cardinal. Josh's younger brother was a pitcher at Ole Miss. His younger sister is a highly-recruited, highly-regarded high school basketball star, being recruited by SEC schools.

* The Cardinals plan to charter a flight to Tupelo, Miss. to be at the funeral Thursday.

* It's 9:15 as I type this from the pressbox at Busch, and the stadium lights are on, and the field looks great, but there are no people, no game, and it's just very depressing.

--B

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