http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/pr...ent_id=1936551&vkey=pr_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl First Kile, now this. What a damn shame.
Updated: April 29, 2007, 12:46 PM ET Cardinals reliever Hancock killed in car crashAssociated Press 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. Josh Hancock Relief Pitcher St. Louis Cardinals Profile 2007 SEASON STATISTICS GM W L BB K ERA 8 0 1 5 9 3.55 The Cardinals postponed their home game Sunday night against the Chicago Cubs. Police said the 29-year-old Hancock was alone in his 2007 Ford Explorer when he struck the rear of a tow truck at 12:35 a.m. The truck was in the left lane assisting another vehicle that was involved in a prior accident, officer Pete Mutter said. Hancock was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the tow truck, whose name was not released by police, was in the truck at the time of the crash but was not injured. The medical examiner's office said Sunday morning that an autopsy had been scheduled. The Cardinals and police were expected to make a statement later in the day at Busch Stadium. Hancock's death is the second of a Cardinals player in less than five years. Pitcher Darryl Kile was found dead in a Chicago hotel room in June 2002. The 33-year-old Kile died of a coronary artery blockage. Hancock, who pitched three innings of relief in Saturday's 8-1 loss to the Cubs, played for four major league clubs. He went 3-3 with a 4.09 ERA 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. Three days before his death, the Cardinals got a scare that some teammates said reminded them of Kile's death -- Hancock overslept and showed up late for a day game in St. Louis. Hancock told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he thought the starting time was later and didn't get up until the "20th call" from anxious teammates. "We were all a little nervous," closer Jason Isringhausen said earlier this week. "We don't care if you're late. That happens. We want to know that you're OK." Hancock made his offseason home in St. Louis. He was the only player to attend the premiere of a DVD documenting the Cardinals' unlikely run to their 10th World Series championship after winning only 83 regular-season games. Hancock joined the Cardinals in spring training last season after the Cincinnati Reds released him for violating a weight clause in his contract. He had been a starter the previous year with Cincinnati, but missed 133 games because of groin and elbow injuries. He also pitched for Boston and Philadelphia. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2853149 Shame, such a young man with so much potental. RIP :sad:
it's amazing that a team has to go through that again so quickly and what is really weird is the Cards were playing the Cubs the last tim it happened as well.
I was at the Red Sox/Yankee game today, and before the game started, there was a moment of silence for Hancock. I didn't even realize he had passed away. Anyway, he died after midnight, so I *hopefully* wouldn't assume it was DWI. Either way, Rest In Peace Josh Hancock. It's really a shame that just a few days ago he probably was pitching (I don't know what his status is with the Cardinals, all I know is he was on this seasons roster).
Well the story has taken a turn possibly for the worse as Hancock was in a serious accident 3 days earlier and showed up late to the stadium and sources say it was because he was hung over. This is being reported in the St Louis Dispatch.
Police: Hancock was drunk, had marijuana in his car Associated Press ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was drunk at the time of his fatal accident, and marijuana was found in the sport utility vehicle he was driving. Police Chief Joe Mokwa also said at a news conference Friday that the 29-year-old Hancock was speaking on a cell phone at about the time of the crash early Sunday on Interstate 64 in St. Louis. "Mr. Hancock was legally intoxicated at the time of the accident," Mokwa said. St. Louis medical examiner Michael Graham said Hancock's blood-alcohol level was 0.157, nearly twice Missouri's legal limit of 0.08. Mokwa said 8.55 grams of marijuana and a glass pipe used to smoke marijuana were found in the rented Ford Explorer. Toxicology tests to determine if drugs were in his system had not been completed. An accident reconstruction team determined Hancock was traveling 68 mph in a 55 mph zone when his SUV struck the back of a flatbed tow truck stopped in a driving lane. Mokwa said there was no evidence Hancock tried to stop. He did swerve, but too late to avoid the collision. Graham said the pitcher died "within seconds" of head injuries. Hancock was not wearing a seat belt, but Graham said the belt would not have prevented his death. Mokwa said cell phone records showed Hancock was speaking with a female acquaintance at about the time of the accident. Mokwa said the conversation ended abruptly, presumably when the accident occurred. Hancock, a key bullpen member on the World Series championship team last season, was driving alone. The tow truck driver was not hurt. Hancock, who pitched three innings of relief in last Saturday's 8-1 loss to the Cubs, left Busch Stadium around 6:30 p.m. and arrived about two hours later at Mike Shannon's, a restaurant and bar owned by the former Cardinals third baseman who now is a team broadcaster. Police said Hancock left Shannon's shortly after midnight. At 12:34 a.m. Sunday, the tow truck came upon a disabled Geo Prism and stopped behind it with its yellow lights flashing to protect the car, Mokwa said. A few moments later, Hancock's SUV struck the rear of the tow truck. "If you drink, don't drive," Mokwa said. "Use a taxi. Have a designated driver. Call a friend." Graham said Hancock had severe chest injuries as well as the fatal head injuries. "There's nothing at all that could have been done for him," Graham said. An estimated 500 mourners turned out Thursday for a memorial service for Hancock in Tupelo, Miss., recalling the pitcher as a goodhearted prankster. Among the mourners were Hancock's teammates, coaches, manager Tony La Russa and general manager Walt Jocketty. Hancock was buried Wednesday in rural Itawamba County, Miss. Hancock made his major league debut in September 2002 and played for four major league clubs. He went 3-3 with a 4.09 ERA in 62 regular-season appearances for the Cardinals last season, leading the bullpen in innings, and pitched in three postseason games. He was 0-1 with a 3.55 ERA in eight games this season. Hancock joined the Cardinals in spring training last season after Cincinnati released him for violating a weight clause in his contract. He also pitched for Boston and Philadelphia. The Cardinals postponed a home game the day of the accident against Chicago and haven't won since. They were swept in a three-game series in Milwaukee and had a day off Thursday. ------ The whole thing is tragic, but I have no sympathy for anyone who gets killed in an accident while: 1) Having a BAL twice the legal limit 2) Talking on the Cell phone 3) Speeding 4) May have been high Call me insensative, but he put everyone else's lives in danger, and we're lucky that no one else got killed by this.
I agree with you, and I hate the fact that no one is "allowed" to ask questions like this when the incident actually happens, and the real facts don't come out until after, when most people aren't even paying attention. What if he had killed someone else in the accident? Would baseball still have been having tributes and moments of silence for a guy that killed himself and others because he was driving drunk?
The Cardinals have now banned alcohol from their clubhouse, and apparently lots of other teams are contacting the Oakland A's (who have banned it from both the home and visiting clubhouses for a while) to ask how they have implemented that ban.
Wow..baseball still has alcohol in the clubhouses? I would have thought that would have gone out at least 10 years ago. I guess they are still living in the 50s. I guess it also shows how baseball really isn't a sport anyway but more a hobby.
Not at all and the fact he was such an enormus douche bag about it and never admitted any fault leaves a real bad taste in my mouth. How is this guy get's away with falling asleep behind the wheel of a car drunk and says he doesn't want to talk about it and everybody just accepts it? No appology, no public service announcements, he just says he doesn't want to talk about it and everybody seems cool with that... 2 monthsa later one of his players makes the same mistake and dies.
