Adenhart: Angel in the Outfield

A day after the sudden tragic death of Los Angeles Angels' young pitcher, Nick Adenhart, the Angels were left with no choice but to bottle up emotions, and get back to business on Friday. I often wonder how hard it is, as an organization, to get past tragedies such as these. Some would say "it's just a business" and "the fans are the only one's who truly care." I'd beg to differ in a scenario such as this, and I'm sure the Los Angeles Angels would too. To express their respects to their friend and teammate, a huge photo of Adenhart was placed on the right field wall of the stadium. His locker will remain intact, and the picture's mound will be graced with his number for the duration of the season. It's a special tribute...to a guy who will be remembered as a special guy with a whole life ahead of him. Seeing Torii Hunter run to the right field wall and fist bump the chest of Adenharts photo left me with a few emotions. As an athlete I empathized with him, and understood the bond one could share with a teammate. Yet at the same time, I felt completely distant from Hunter, knowing that my empathy could never parallel what he felt at that significant moment with Adenhart; still an Angel but no longer from the picture's mound; now an Angel in the outfield. Sure enough, he'll never be forgotten. Barely takes a genius to know that!