Cards relief pitcher killed in car accident

[Lathum]

http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/story/10156986

Cardinals P Hancock dies in car accident
April 29, 2007
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports




ST. LOUIS -- Josh Hancock, a key member of the bullpen that helped the St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series last season, was killed in a car crash early Sunday.

The Cardinals said they were told of the 29-year-old reliever's death by the St. Louis Police Department. The team's home game against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night was postponed.

The team said the accident happened in St. Louis, but no other details were disclosed. The Cardinals and police are expected to make a statement this afternoon at Busch Stadium.

Hancock has pitched for four major league clubs. He went 3-3 in 62 regular-season appearances for the Cardinals last season and pitched in three postseason games. He was 0-1 with a 3.55 ERA in eight games this season.

Hancock joined the Cardinals before the 2006 season. He has pitched for Boston, Philadelphia and Cincinnati.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2006-2007, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved

[Lathum]

Thats really tragic and a horrible thing to happen to the Cards ( again). I'm glad to see tonights game was postponed

[markprior22]

Thoughts and prayers for the Hancock family. Condolences also to the Cardinal fans.

[MizzouRah]

Ditto MR. Prior. Sad, sad news. :(

[Oilers9911]

Condolences from Blue Jays fans to the family and friends as well as all Cards supporters.

[Sweed]

Tragic news whether a baseball player or not. 29 is just too young:(

Thoughts and prayers to the family.

[JeeberD]

:(

[tucker rocky]

Tragic news for Cards. :(

[Chief Rum]

I feel awful this has happened. The Cards are a fave organization of mine, being a home away from home of sorts for ex-Angels as it is. R.I.P. Josh Hancock.

[Thomkal]

Cards fan who is very sad right now. :(

[Bad-example]

:(

[Poli]

I feel horrible for the Hancock family as well as the Cardinal organization. I think the worst part is that just a few days ago Darryl Kile's death was brought up when Hancock was late to the ballpark.


ST. LOUIS -- Before the Cardinals' game against the Reds on Thursday afternoon, there were only 23 players in the clubhouse.

One, Chris Duncan, was getting stitches and the other, Josh Hancock, was in bed.
---
Hancock's adventures were far less exciting. The right-handed reliever just overslept and didn't receive numerous phone calls from teammates, because his phone wasn't working. Hancock said he's fine, he just lost track of time. Hancock arrived right before the game, similar to Duncan.
It was a brief scary moment for the Cardinals as they have dealt with tragedy before, with a pitcher not showing up to the ballpark. Five years ago, Darryl Kile was scheduled to start a game at Wrigley Field, but never made it to the park after passing away in his hotel room.

"That's why it's so different here, because of what happened," closer Jason Isringhausen said. "We were a little nervous. That's why when he got here, everybody asked if everything was OK. He said, 'Yes.' We could [not care less] if you're late -- that happens. But we were just making sure that he was OK. And he was fine, so that's good."

[Logan]

I feel horrible for the Hancock family as well as the Cardinal organization. I think the worst part is that just a few days ago Darryl Kile's death was brought up when Hancock was late to the ballpark.

Holy crap.

[MikeVic]

:(

[WSUCougar]

:(

[BYU 14]

Very sad.....:(

[BigDPW]

Sad indeed..... I just turned 29 2 weeks ago.... Hard to imagine....

[Senator]

Sad indeed..... I just turned 29 2 weeks ago.... Hard to imagine....

Most people 29 believe it is impossible.

[Ksyrup]

Saw this is a 5-year old article referred to by Neyer in today's blog. I recalled a few of these things, but not all of them:


"Sadly, the Angels' tragic luck has not been restricted to the baseball diamond. Reliever Minnie Rojas was paralyzed in a car accident in 1969. Three years later, infielder Chico Ruiz died in a car accident, as did rookie pitcher Bruce Heinbechner in 1974 and shortstop Mike Miley in '77. In 1975, pitcher Jim McGlothlin died of cancer. Up-and-coming slugger Lyman Bostock was shot to death in 1978. And, finally, Moore -- who never really recovered from that Henderson homer -- committed suicide in 1990."

[Ksyrup]

I thought this was an excellent article, and without knowing the full details, seems to be right on the money based on what we do know.





<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Phil Sheridan | Truth might have saved Hancock

By Phil Sheridan

Inquirer Columnist

http://media.philly.com/images/20070502_inq_sheridan02-b.JPG
JONATHAN DANIEL / Getty Images
Manager Tony La Russa answers questions about the death of pitcher Josh Hancock before a game against the Brewers.
RELATED STORIES

Hancock had earlier accident (http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/20070502_Hancock_had_earlier_accident.html)
Tony La Russa wants to talk about agendas. That's his word: agendas.

The St. Louis Cardinals' manager said he warned his players about the media and possible "agendas" as reporting continued on the death of relief pitcher Josh Hancock early Sunday morning. Reporters, he said, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, might "want to turn this into . . . some kind of story that's not all sweet. I've already seen signs of that. I'm sitting here listening."

La Russa gestured with the fungo bat he happened to be holding.

"The first time I hear insincerity," he said, "I'll start swinging this fungo, because it doesn't have its place."

Let's keep it sincere, then, when we examine La Russa's own agenda and how it might have factored into the events that led to Hancock's fatal accident.

The Post-Dispatch reported in yesterday's editions that Hancock was involved in another serious accident about 5:30 a.m. Thursday. That's a little under three days before he died. According to police officials, Hancock's SUV rolled into an intersection on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River and was struck by a tractor-trailer.

Hancock, 29, was not cited by the officer on the scene. He was driving near a cluster of nightclubs and strip bars that stay open until 5 a.m. - three hours after last call on the Missouri side of the river.

The truck sheared off Hancock's front bumper and damaged his radiator. That's why he was driving a rented SUV when he died.

"Just another inch or so and he could have died two days earlier, because that tractor-trailer was traveling about 45 to 50 m.p.h.," the police chief of Sauget, Ill., Patrick Delaney, told the Post-Dispatch.

The Cardinals had a day game Thursday. Hancock was late for it. Teammates, remembering all too well the sudden death of pitcher Darryl Kile in 2002, nervously called Hancock a number of times. When he showed up, team sources told the Post-Dispatch, he was too hung over to pitch.

It is not clear whether La Russa knew the full story of the Thursday accident. He declined to answer a direct question about that on Monday. According to the paper's story, Hancock told people he was fined $500 for being late.

The official word from the Cardinals on Thursday: Hancock thought the game was later and, having just purchased a new, comfy bed, simply overslept. La Russa himself, according to the Post-Dispatch, said: "It's not worth discussing. It's personal and not baseball-related."

Toxicology reports from the night of Hancock's fatal accident are not yet ready. But the newspaper's account of the hours preceding the crash, citing eyewitness accounts, reads like any typical night out after a major-league game. The pitcher had been seen drinking in one bar-restaurant - the manager felt compelled to ask if he wanted a cab, which tells you something - and left for another. He was on his way to meet teammates at a third when the SUV crashed into the back of a 26,000-pound tow truck.

It is part of the game's culture. You play hard, you go out and drink. Sometimes you drink too much. It is also part of the game's culture to cover up when someone makes a mistake. Hung-over players are sometimes scratched from the lineup for some vague reason. A sore ankle. A case of the flu.

The point is that everyone went out of his way to cover for Hancock on Thursday.

Reporters with their agenda - to find out what really happened and write about it - were given a cheerful lie. Keep that in mind if you're uneasy about reporting what unnamed sources said. The team had a chance to be forthright, and chose not to.

Here's the picture that emerges. After a scary near-miss that may have involved alcohol, Hancock went out drinking two nights later and got killed. There is no "sweet story" here, whatever La Russa thinks. Of course, on Thursday, he thought Hancock's absence from the ballpark was "not worth discussing."

A few months ago, La Russa was cited for driving under the influence while in Florida for spring training. The publicity that caused had to be a terrible, humbling experience for such a proud man. Could that make him want to spare a young player from the same kind of experience? Maybe. Or maybe he really didn't know what happened. It's possible.

You wonder if a newspaper story about Hancock's first wee-hours accident, or a DUI arrest, would have changed his behavior just a couple of nights later.

You wonder if, had the agenda been to hold him accountable instead of to cover for him, things might have been different.

You wonder how many rules were bent for him before Hancock ran into some of those rules that don't bend for anyone.

It's enough to make you want to swing a fungo bat at something.

<HR>
Contact columnist Phil Sheridanat 215-854-2844 or [email protected] (http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/mailto:[email protected]). Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/philsheridan (http://go.philly.com/philsheridan).



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[Logan]

Wow.

[st.cronin]

Really sad if true.

[Ksyrup]

Updated: May 4, 2007, 11:27 AM ET
Police: Hancock was legally drunk at time of crash

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-TOP: 10px" vAlign=top><!-- begin leftcol --><!-- template inline -->ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Cardinals (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=stl) pitcher Josh Hancock (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7000) was legally drunk at the time of his fatal accident, Police Chief Joe Mokwa said.

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Ksyrup]

Personally, I have lost a lot of respect for Tony LaRuss'a handling of this. His pre-emptive attempt to threaten or shame the media into not reporting this is sickening. It would be somewhat understandable if it could be justified as an attempt to shield the player and his family from an uncomfortable situation (although that's ridiculous, because the wider issue of alcohol in sports is completely relevant), but given his own DUI arrest a few months ago, this comes off as an attempt to sweep the whole thing under the rug to save HIMSELF from further embarrassment.

[MizzouRah]

It's sad, but the truth of the matter is it happens all the time and I still have no f'n clue why sports figures can't pay someone to drive them home or stay at a hotel.

The public should know why the accident happened and I don't blame the media one bit for reporting the police findings.

[Eaglesfan27]

Personally, I have lost a lot of respect for Tony LaRuss'a handling of this. His pre-emptive attempt to threaten or shame the media into not reporting this is sickening. It would be somewhat understandable if it could be justified as an attempt to shield the player and his family from an uncomfortable situation (although that's ridiculous, because the wider issue of alcohol in sports is completely relevant), but given his own DUI arrest a few months ago, this comes off as an attempt to sweep the whole thing under the rug to save HIMSELF from further embarrassment.


Exactly. My respect for LaRussa went from very high to very low based on his handling of this in combination with his own recent incidents.

[stevew]

LaRussa is an asshat, has always been one too. Look at all the players he coached that have roided, and then you have this type of situation as well.

[Oilers9911]

The ultimate stupid, irresponsible act. RIP Mr. Hancock, but you were a dumbass.

[Fonzie]

Personally, I have lost a lot of respect for Tony LaRuss'a handling of this. His pre-emptive attempt to threaten or shame the media into not reporting this is sickening. It would be somewhat understandable if it could be justified as an attempt to shield the player and his family from an uncomfortable situation (although that's ridiculous, because the wider issue of alcohol in sports is completely relevant), but given his own DUI arrest a few months ago, this comes off as an attempt to sweep the whole thing under the rug to save HIMSELF from further embarrassment.

I'm a Cardinals fan, and I must say that I entirely agree with you. This whole episode has been shameful.

[JPhillips]

I wonder if his release from the Reds last year for "weight issues" was really a cover for his alcoholism?

[MizzouRah]

LaRussa is an asshat, has always been one too. Look at all the players he coached that have roided, and then you have this type of situation as well.

Don't act like you're not on roids anymore.

[moriarty]

I haven't followed the story that closely, but is it that unbelievable that after LaRussa suffered his own shame for getting busted for DUI that he didnt' want it to smear people's memory of Hancock and didn't disclose it to protect his memory/family?

[Ksyrup]

I haven't followed the story that closely, but is it that unbelievable that after LaRussa suffered his own shame for getting busted for DUI that he didnt' want it to smear people's memory of Hancock and didn't disclose it to protect his memory/family?

There is ample evidence that he was drunk 3 nights before, got into an accident at 5:30am that almost killed him, coming back from some bars/strip clubs, failed to report to the stadium on time the next morning, got everyone scared because of the Daryl Kile thing, and then when he showed up, apparently told someone, if not LaRussa directly, that he was too hung over to pitch. Three days later, he does it again and dies.

The accident 3 nights earlier was purposely covered up by LaRussa. I understand that happens all the time, teams want to protect their players, etc., but given LaRussa's own issues, one would expect him to have acted in the complete opposite manner than he did. If not publicly, then damned sure privately. He shouldn't have been anywhere near a bar 3 nights later. Then, after he gets killed, LaRussa tries to cut off discussion of everything that happened before it got started, knowing full-well what the facts were.

This has everything to do with LaRussa failing to intervene where he saw an obvious issue. But since he apparently likes to drink and drive, maybe he thinks it's no big deal? I'm sure protecting Hancock and his family was part of his goal, but given the overall circumstances, I don't doubt for a second that it was an extremely small part of it.

[moriarty]

This has everything to do with LaRussa failing to intervene where he saw an obvious issue. But since he apparently likes to drink and drive, maybe he thinks it's no big deal? I'm sure protecting Hancock and his family was part of his goal, but given the overall circumstances, I don't doubt for a second that it was an extremely small part of it.

Ok, I agree with everything you said. I'm just wondering if we know that LaRussa didn't take any action. I mean it's possible he told the guy to get acohol counseling, whatever ... but if a grown man wants to drink, there's pretty much no stopping him.

[spleen1015]

Ksyrup, I agree with what you're saying, but Josh Hamilton was a grown man. I don't think we need to hold someone else accountable for his actions.

[Shkspr]

Ksyrup, I agree with what you're saying, but Josh Hamilton was a grown man. I don't think we need to hold someone else accountable for his actions.

Nor can we hold Josh Hamilton accountable for Josh Hancock's actions. ;)

[Ksyrup]

I think the organization can be held responsible. I have to admit, I wasn't aware until this occurred that pretty much every MLB team serves alcohol in clubhouses. Not just that alcohol is allowed...they make it freely available. I had no idea. I assume the lawyers for every team have papered their files with CYA letters/memos about the insanity of a business making alcohol freely available to its employees, and then after a late game, sending them on their way to drive themselves home. Insanity.

I'm not saying we know that he got drunk in the clubhouse or anything, but I think there was enough of a warning that they could have done something here. If LaRussa did try to take action, his public actions certainly don't suggest it. If anything, they suggest the opposite. Teams have placed players on the DL for all sorts of reasons (dependency, psych issues), so they could have forced his hand. The league did do something about Hamilton, which is why he hasn't been playing for 3 or 4 years.

[Ksyrup]

Nor can we hold Josh Hamilton accountable for Josh Hancock's actions. ;)


Not true. The Josh Rule governs here. They're all guilty!

[SackAttack]

Hey! I resent that!

[dawgfan]

It's sad, but the truth of the matter is it happens all the time and I still have no f'n clue why sports figures can't pay someone to drive them home or stay at a hotel.
No kidding - the amount of money these guys make, even the minimum salary guys, and they don't have the sense to cab it when they go out drinking, or have one of their posse act as designated driver? I just don't get it...

[DanGarion]

No kidding - the amount of money these guys make, even the minimum salary guys, and they don't have the sense to cab it when they go out drinking, or have one of their posse act as designated driver? I just don't get it...

Because they are just normal people just like you and me.

[dawgfan]

Because they are just normal people just like you and me.
I don't know about you, but I don't make a minimum of $350K a year. That kind of scratch would make cabbing to my nights out a hell of a lot more palatable.

[moriarty]

I think the organization can be held responsible. I have to admit, I wasn't aware until this occurred that pretty much every MLB team serves alcohol in clubhouses. .

Wow. All this time I just assumed they kept ducking out of the dugout to watch batting film. :eek:

[Ksyrup]

They were. With a 12-pack.

[DanGarion]

I don't know about you, but I don't make a minimum of $350K a year. That kind of scratch would make cabbing to my nights out a hell of a lot more palatable.

I don't think it's a money thing. I have friends that use cabs and they make normal money, it just depends on the person. It's a judgment thing, they guy was stupid to think he'd always arrive alive. If I was his wife, I'd be gracious that the guy he hit hasn't pressed charges yet for the mental distraught it's probably going to cause him.

[DeToxRox]

Can we quit being sad for him now?

I'm just glad it wasn't a case where some jackass drunk driver didn't kill an innocent person while they get away unhurt.

[dawgfan]

I don't think it's a money thing. I have friends that use cabs and they make normal money, it just depends on the person. It's a judgment thing, they guy was stupid to think he'd always arrive alive.
It is a judgment thing, but money can play a part in that. No matter who you are, if you're drinking too much you should call a cab rather than drive, but if you're a major-league level professional athlete you really have no excuse - you can't claim poverty as a reason to not call a cab.

[Toddzilla]

I think the organization can be held responsible. I have to admit, I wasn't aware until this occurred that pretty much every MLB team serves alcohol in clubhouses."Go get 'em boys! Then pound that Budweiser!"

[dawgfan]

Shitfuck - what kind of ballplayer doesn't like to pound the Bud?!?

[DanGarion]

So this is why they charge $8.50 for cups of beer, because the players drink so much of the free stuff!!!!

[stevew]

I'm pretty sure you could easily get an on-demand driver for like a grand a week during the season. That's pocket change to a multimillionaire.

[DeToxRox]

Well, no wonder LaRussa didn't ask his players for a ride home.

[Ksyrup]

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=stl) banned alcohol from the clubhouse on Friday, five days after the alcohol-related fatal accident of pitcher Josh Hancock (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7000).

Manager Tony La Russa said general manager Walt Jocketty made the decision earlier Friday without consulting players. La Russa said it was a largely symbolic move since players don't drink much in the clubhouse anyway.

The team is also considering an alcohol ban on the road and debating whether to ban alcohol on certain charter flights, but no decisions had been made.

"It's meaningful," La Russa said. "But it's not a significant factor in our clubhouse because our guys don't stay in the clubhouse to drink."
<!--buster info begins-->
Executives from 12 to 15 teams have been in contact with the Oakland Athletics (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=oak)' general counsel in the last 48 hours to inquire about the team's alcohol policy, ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney reported Friday. Oakland is the only team known to have prohibited alcohol distribution in both its home and visiting clubhouses, and the team's intention moving forward is to ban alcohol outright.

At least three other teams -- the New York Mets (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=nym), New York Yankees (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=nyy) and Pittsburgh Pirates (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=pit) -- have banned alcohol from their home clubhouses, and Major League Baseball is currently in the process of surveying teams to determine what their respective policies are. There is some question for baseball about whether the banning of alcohol from clubhouses may be subject to collective bargaining with the union, because it is related to work conditions.
<!--ap from here down-->
Center fielder Jim Edmonds (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5151) was unaware of the change when approached by reporters about 2½ hours before Friday's game against the Houston Astros (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=hou). He didn't seem to mind, although he didn't believe it was a problem in the clubhouse.

"I didn't know anything about it. But if that's what they want to do, fine with us," said Edmonds, the longest tenured Cardinal who has been with the team since 2000. "They're our bosses, they're the ones who make the big decisions. We just work here."

La Russa didn't think alcohol abuse was a problem on the team in general, noting that many of the players are married with children. The bullpen is an exception.

"Look at our roster," he said. "The game is over, guys go home to their family. So it's a limited scope issue."

The Cardinals were owned for decades by Anheuser Busch Cos. Inc., and their stadium is named after the brewery. The team has traditionally made alcohol available to players after games. Even after Anheuser Busch sold the team to a group of mostly local businessmen in 1996, the practice continued.

Edmonds said Hancock's death was a shock to the system for players, and should be for the public in general also.

"I'd hate to single out our team, because I don't think it's a baseball issue. I think it's an issue all over the place, and hopefully people will be more aware of it because of what happened."

The Astros do not provide alcohol to players in their clubhouse. Manager Phil Garner recalled the Brewers, where he began his managerial career in 1992, banning alcohol that season.

Garner sees that as a reflection of a healthier society in general.

"The drinking as a whole has dropped off significantly in the clubhouse, and from what I see, just generally, in baseball as a whole," Garner said. "I think there was a drinking culture in baseball years ago, and I don't think it's there anymore.

"Guys work to condition themselves, and it's a 'round the clock deal."

At Yankee Stadium, manager Joe Torre said he thought individual teams had addressed the issue.

"Obviously it's more of a problem at home than it would be on the road because when you're on the road you're on a bus and you're not driving," Torre said.

Hancock was drunk and talking on his cell phone at the time of his fatal accident early Sunday on Interstate 64 in St. Louis. His sport utility vehicle hit the back of a tow truck parked on the highway to assist a driver from a previous accident.

Hancock's blood-alcohol level was 0.157, nearly twice Missouri's legal limit of 0.08, the medical examiner said.

[Ksyrup]

The whole issue of whether players getting free alcohol is subject to collective bargaining...boy, thank God for unions, huh?!

[MizzouRah]

I don't know about you, but I don't make a minimum of $350K a year. That kind of scratch would make cabbing to my nights out a hell of a lot more palatable.

Exactly. It's not like he couldn't have someone take him home or just spend the night somewhere within walking distance. I mean, he'd probably get the room for free to boot.

Give me $350,000 a year and I'll test the theory out.

[Rizon]

No alcohol in Oakland? Strange.

[DanGarion]

Exactly. It's not like he couldn't have someone take him home or just spend the night somewhere within walking distance. I mean, he'd probably get the room for free to boot.

Give me $350,000 a year and I'll test the theory out.

Money does not cure stupidity, nor does it cure pride and cockiness, which all tend to be factors into people not calling a cab.

[MizzouRah]

Money does not cure stupidity, nor does it cure pride and cockiness, which all tend to be factors into people not calling a cab.

No, my wife would kill me to spend the cash on a cab..... just joking.

I understand what you are saying, I just think he had so many options that night - more so than the normal drunk at a bar on any given night.