The Angel Who Got His Wings

Anyone who knows me is well aware of the fact that I am a huge Red Sox fan. In fact you don't even have to know me that well, if you have ever had a conversation with me, or even seen me walking down the street, you probably know this about me. What you may not know is how seriously I take my baseball. The list of things in life that are more important to me than Red Sox baseball is pretty short, certainly shorter than it should be, but that's just the way it is. That being said, on the eve of the start of the 2009 Major League Baseball playoffs, I have a confession to make; I am not wholeheartedly rooting for my beloved squad from Boston.

Back in early April, the baseball loving world was buzzing about the arrival of a 22 year old pitcher named Nick Adenhart. Adenhart was the top prospect in the Los Angeles Angels' farm system and was considered by most one of the top pitching prosepcts in all of baseball. In his first start of the season, Adenhart threw six shutout innings for the Angels, no small feat for a rookie. So much for growing pains or adjusting to the big leagues huh kid? However the celebration didn't last long. Later that same night after Nick had pitched so brilliantly, someone else in Southern California made a very poor decision. This individual got behind the vehicle of their car while heavily intoxicated, and to make matters worse, they also had a suspended liscense. The point being, this person in no way belonged behind the wheel of a car, but they chose to drive anyway. Nick and his friends were hanging out that night after the game and while en route to some place or another, had their car sent sailing into a telephone pole by the aforementioned drunken driver who had run a red light shortly before hitting the vehicle containing Adenhart and three of his friends. Two of the passengers in Adenhart's car were killed instantly while Nick and the third friend were rushed to the hospital. Nick later succumbed to his injuries and passed away at the hospital. The lone survivor in Adenhart's car was only able to make it after having his skull surgically reattached to his spinal column. The drunken driver? They were fine apparently. At least fine enough to flee the scene of the accident on foot.

Normally this would just be a sad story of a ball player dying too young, but ultimately that story would fade and be forgotten. After all, the kid was a rookie, he hardly had enough time to make an impression on the sport of baseball. But that is part of the tragedy isn't it? The ceiling that he was never given the opportunity to reach? The life that he was never allowed to finish living? There's more to it than that though. Every game this season, the Angels hung Nick Adenhart's jersey in the dugout with them. They left his things in his locker. He was very much still a part of that team. When the Angels clinched the American League West title, they celebrated with Adenhart, holding his jersey in the middle of their joyous circle and showering it with beer and champagne; the same postgame shower everyone else on the team got. I do not know anything about Nick Adenhart the person, not a thing. By all accounts he was a good guy, but I have no evidence of that. I do know one thing though, a group of grown men do not act this way about someone who did not leave a lasting imprint on their lives. The fact that Adenhart did it in such a short amount of time is even more impressive.

For the third year in a row the Red Sox are matched up with the Angels in the first round of the playoffs. The Angels have never beaten the Red Sox in a postseason series. In my head I want Boston to win the series and if they do I will absolutely be rooting for them to win another World Series. I've got to tell you though, I don't think there is an inch of my heart that doesn't want to see the Angels present Nick Adenhart's parents with his World Series ring on Opening Day 2010. I'm not a fair weathered fan, and I'm certainly not switching my allegiance from the Red Sox to anyone else. Like I said, there is a very short list of things that are more important to me than Red Sox baseball, but seeing Nick Adenhart become a World Series champion is absolutely on that list.