Nick Adenhart

src: assets.sbnation.com

Nicholas James Adenhart (24 August 1986 - 9 April 2009) is an American baseball player who plays two seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In four career games, Adenhart pitched 18 innings and recorded a 1-0 win-win record, with nine strikeouts and 6.00 resulting in a run average (ERA).

A graduate of Williamsport High School, Adenhart was cited as a high school prospect until his last match injury required Tommy John's operation. He was recruited by Angels in the 14th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft, and began playing in their minor league system after the operation was a success. He spent three full seasons in the minor league before making his major league debut on May 1, 2008. After appearing in three games, Adenhart spent the rest of 2008 in a minor league developing his skills, and in 2009 he earned a place in the early Rotation of the Angels.

After launching his first start in 2009, Adenhart was killed in a collision with a drunk driver. Both Angels and Salt Lake Bees, for whom Adenhart played in 2008, suspended their next game. There have been many awards to him during the season, including his former team-mates celebrating it by spraying champagne and beer in one of his T-shirts after they won the 2009 US League Division championship.

Video Nick Adenhart

Initial years

Nicholas James Adenhart was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, the only son of Janet and Jim Adenhart, former Secret Service officer of the United States. His parents divorced and Janet later remarried with Duane Gigeous, with whom he had a son named Henry, who was a pitcher at the University of Oregon. Adenhart plays Halfway Little League Baseball for Gehr Construction and attends Springfield Middle School in Williamsport, Maryland. He played for PONY League Hagerstown for six years, and became a 1999 team member who won the Maryland District 1 title.

After graduating from high school, Adenhart attended Saint Maria Goretti High School in Hagerstown, Maryland. He plays shortstop and outfield, in addition to pitching. While attending Saint Maria Goretti, Adenhart was a guard on the basketball team who won the Baltimore Catholic League championship. At the age of 14, Adenhart joins Oriolelanders, an exhibit team composed of Maryland amateur players and sponsored by the Baltimore Orioles, where he will stay for four years. In 2003, at the age of 16, Adenhart pitched for Youse's Maryland Orioles, who then won the Amateur Amateur Association All American Tournament for that year.

Adenhart was transferred to Williamsport High School after the second year, where he relinquished the basketball to focus solely on baseball, as a pitcher. The Boy Scouts started following him when he was appointed as a top junior candidate by Baseball America .

Adenhart has a 6-0 record with an average acquisition of 1.04 during the regular season of the first year, and as a result was named Gatorade of the Year in Maryland. In a 1-0 defeat during the quarter-final play-up match, he throws a card without a bat and performs 14 attacks. Entering its last high school season, Baseball America dubbed Adenhart as a high school prospect in the country. In his senior year, Adenhart performed the perfect game in his first appearance, hitting 15 of the 21 batters encountered. Entering the last regular season match of his high school career, he has a 5-1, 0.73 ERA record and an average of 2.2 strikeouts per inning. During his senior year November, Adenhart signed a letter of desire to play with North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team at the University of North Carolina, although his chances of being recruited continue to rise and North Carolina coaching staff saw their chances of acquiring Adenhart slim.

Maps Nick Adenhart

Baseball Careers

In his last high school match, in front of two dozen scouts, Adenhart felt a pop at his elbow after throwing a curveball ball into the third dough. The injury, which suddenly ends the season, is a partial ligament tear on the elbow that requires Tommy John's operation. Although he was originally projected as a first-round pick draft, the injury caused his shares to slump two weeks before the 2004 Major League Baseball draft.

He fell into an overall pick of 413 in the 14th round, chosen by Anaheim Angels. Angels scout Dan Radcliff and director of scouting Eddie Bane convince Adenhart to cancel the scholarship offer from the University of North Carolina and sign it to a $ 710,000 ($ 820,000 in 2010) bonus on July 26, 2004. James Andrews performs John's Operation Tommy, Adenhart spent the following year rehabilitating his elbow at the Angels rehab facility in Tempe, Arizona. During that time, Adenhart also attended classes at Arizona State University.

Adenhart made his professional debut on June 25, 2005 with Orem Owlz of the Pioneer League, an Angels' Rookie League affiliate. In his own performance for Owlz, he put up six innings, allowing one run without preparation, striking seven, and winning. He spent the rest of the 2005 season with the Angels of the Arizona League that summer. In 13 games for the Angels, he has a record of 2-3, 3.68 ERA, and 52 strikeouts. The following spring, at the age of 19, Adenhart was one of twelve pitchers who got a non-roster invitation to the Angels big league camp. When the 2006 season begins, it is also considered the sixth best prospect of Angels and the best overall 90 ranking by Baseball America. Adenhart was assigned to Cedar Rapids Kernels, an affiliate of Low-A Angels, after spring training. He pitched well to the Kernel. In 16 matches, Adenhart has 10 wins, 1.95 ERAs, and 99 strikeouts in 106 streaks. Her appearance made her an early assignment in the 2006 All-Star Futures Game on June 21 and promotion to Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, the High-A organization, soon after. He continued his efforts with Quakes, winning five games and losing two in nine starts. Adenhart was a member of the US Qualifying Olympic team in 2006, along with prospects for Angels Brandon Wood.

In 2007, Adenhart became the top-ranked prospect in Angels organization. Baseball America puts it as the 34th best prospect in baseball and second in the Angels organization. He was called to the Double-A Arkansas Travelers he played in the 2007 season. In 26 appearances, he has a 10-8 record with 3.65 ERA. The following year, Adenhart was summoned to Triple-A Salt Lake Bees, where he spent most of the 2008 season. He was declared the 24th best prospect of the season's majors. In April, Adenhart had a 4-0 record with 0.87 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 31 innings. As a result, he was taken to Angels premier league list, and is scheduled to make his debut on May 1, throwing on a three-day break. Shortstop Maicer Izturis was placed on the disabled list when Adenhart grew up.

Adenhart made his Major League debut as an early pitcher against Oakland Athletics at home at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. At that time, he was the youngest active pitcher-roster in the major leagues. In his debut, he gave up five runs and walked five in two innings, getting a decision without a decision in a 15-8 loss. Adenhart was disappointed with his first appearance, saying, "I disappoint the first team, you always want to go out and prove yourself to your teammates and your manager and coach, I also disappoint myself." His second start was against the Kansas City Royals, where he got a decision without another decision, allowing three games and attacked three times over 4 1/3 innings in a 5-3 win by the Angels. The reaction to the start is both more positive, with manager Mike Scioscia saying that "it must be early in the right direction." Adenhart grabbed his sole career decision, a victory, on May 12, 2008, against the Chicago White Sox in Anaheim, delivering four wins in 5 2/3 innings on the way to a 10-7 Angels victory. After winning against the White Sox, Adenhart was sent back to Salt Lake Bees. He spent the rest of the 2008 season in Salt Lake, collecting a 9-13 record with 5.76 ERA in 26 games.

Adenhart was declared the best prospect in the Angels organization entering 2009, and ranked 68th overall in the 2009 Baseball America Top 100 Prospect list, citing 158 innings raised annually over the past three seasons. Adenhart earned its place in Angels' early 2009 rotation during spring training. He appeared at six starts and had a 3-0 record with 3.12 ERA over 26 rounds pitched. He only allowed nine runs and five runs, while 18. Adenhart opened the 2009 season as the third starter in the Angels rotation. In his season debut on April 8, 2009, he reached a decision without a decision, gave up seven strokes and did not run while doing five strokes and walked three in six rounds against Oakland Athletics at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

src: media.nbclosangeles.com

Death

Shortly after midnight on April 9, 2009, Adenhart was involved in a car crash in Fullerton, California, just hours after becoming an early pitcher in the match the night before. Police reported that someone driving a Toyota Sienna red minivan ran to a red light and drove a gray Mitsubishi Eclipse where Adenhart was a passenger, sending him crashing into a telephone pole. Eclipse driver Henry Pearson and a passenger, Cal State Fullerton cheerleader Courtney Stewart, were declared dead on the scene.

Adenhart and Jon Wilhite, another passenger in Mitsubishi, were taken to the University of California, Irvine Medical Center, where Adenhart died of his injuries at the age of 22. Wilhite suffered internal beheadings and survived after undergoing five hours of surgery to plug his skull back into his spine six days after the accident.

The minivan driver fled the scene by foot, but was later arrested and identified as Andrew Thomas Gallo. On May 27, 2009, Gallo was indicted by a grand jury of Orange County over three counts of murder, each one counting a beat-and-run crime, driving under influence and causing injuries, and driving with blood alcohol 0.08 percent or higher and cause injury and death. Gallo has a blood alcohol content of 19.19 percent two hours after the accident, and also is driving with a suspended license. On June 8, 2009, Gallo pleaded not guilty to his charges. After a two-week jury trial held in September 2010, Gallo was found guilty of three counts of second degree murder, two charges of driving under the influence causing a major bodily injury, and one count of a hit-and-run crime. A trial court found Gallo guilty of driving a suspended license. On December 22, 2010, Gallo was sentenced to 51 years in prison for life.