The story behind Cody Ransom
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Mar 08, 2009 
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If you want to read a great piece of writing, check out this column Ian O’Connor of The Record did on Cody Ransom.
This is a story I suspect not many of his teammates know and it’s chilling.
UPDATE, 11:19 p.m.: Meanwhile, check out these You Tube videos of Cody: The man really can jump.
I read that this morning. Normally I do not like Ian O’Connor or his writing. But that was a very well done article.
It is a very sad story. And truly amazing how he survived with hardly any injuries. It is very sad about the kid who was driving the van.
O’Connor is Gaelic for Abraham, but I’ll check it out.
I dunno how you put “great piece of writing” and Ian O’Connor go in the same sentence.
After his Pulitzer Prize winning articles from his inside info from a meeting he had with Big Stein last night or about how the Yankees are better off without A-Rod, I think I’ll pass.
Wow, just wow. I’m rooting for this guy now.
just crazy…
‘Oli Perez is down 3-0 for power team Mexico , Luke Hughes and Chris Snelling w/ HRs for AUS’
Venezuela showing the USA they too have star players.
Miguel Cairo 2004 V2
and why does the NY media always seem to hype a player before the season start to begin a whole frenzy if the player doesnt play the way expected.
(ex: Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Shawn Chacon, Aaron Small, Eric Duncan)
Leone is still the better player.
Patrick Just read it! Trust me, it is worth it. Very sad story about Cody when he was in junior college. He survived an unbelievable accident.
Patrick: You’re passing judgment on something without reading it? That makes sense.
No wonder he’s not flustered by having to fill in for Alex Rodriguez. That’s a day at the park (no pun intended).
hey pete, got any ideas on what to do in Tampa? I blew about 20 minutes waiting in line at the kfc/pizza hut/taco bell joint. Fast food here is not so fast. I think theres a few casinos I just cant figure out where they are!
Thanks for posting that Pete. A very good read.
I know most of you aren’t paying attention but that Jorge Vasquez that the Yankees signed this offseason, you know the mexican Pujols hit a GS in the btm of the 1st to make it 5-3 Mexico.
Thats the beauty of America, I can choose the media I want to receive. There is a difference between great writing and shock writing Peter.
Just as you have an opinion on certain players and make your voice heard, I’ll do the same for different types of “journalists”.
Venz is just too much for the USA. Too much experience, pride, and offense. K-Rod available tonight too.
btw a very well written article. I cant imgagine the feeling that cody and the others went through, very sad.
Too bad we got Teixeria… Jorge Vasquez sounds like a beast. Can he play one of the corners?
Patrick you are too hard headed for your own good. If you can’t or won’t read his article read this.
http://www.wfan.com/Yanks-Hope.....ntRating=1
Christina,
Try the Hard Rock Casino, if you have a car it is on I-4 about 5 miles east of Tampa. The Channelside area is a nice place to hang out. There is a trolley that runs from Channelside to Ybor city. Ybor city is Tampa’s version of Bourbon street, or South street in Philly. If you go to St Pete, the BayWalk is a really nice area of shops, restaurants and clubs.
I agree with Sutcliff… no reason to take Rollins out, he’s the only guy who has done anything tonight.
Take Chipper out, he has killed the USA.
The best lineup has Rollins and Jeter in it.
What a story. Thanks for the link, Pete. Good to see Cody land on his feet. I hope he’s ready to fill some big shoes. He’s definitely earned the chance.
UPDATE!!!!!!!
Jorge “Chato” Vázquez, a Minor Leaguer who belongs to Yankees organization, has just hit a grandslam in the WBC. Now, thanks to his bat, my country, México, is winning over Australia 5-3.
Yesterday I said I didn’t believe Jorge was going to play tonight, because Adrián González is our 1B and Erubiel Durazo was supposed to be the DH. But, since aussie pitcher is a lefty, Vinny Castilla, México’s manager, decided that Vázquez, a righty, should be the DH over Durazo, a lefty.
I read that article earlier. How horrible.
I can’t even imagine what Cody went through.
I’ll read the WFAN article. Thanks.
Thanks for posting this Pete. What an incredible story.
‘Too bad we got Teixeria… Jorge Vasquez sounds like a beast. Can he play one of the corners?’
Just give him a glove and find out, that swing was real power.
To the gentleman above who suggested that this story was just another bit of the Yankee hype machine,
I will kindly disagree with your assertion. The story linked by Mr. Abraham was certainly newsworthy. A story about a journeyman baseball player thrust into the spotlight is always a good read for a baseball fan. Isn’t it what all older baseball fans like to read? The possibility that years of frustration and a life-long dream realized, is what makes this sport great. To suggest that the story of a ballplayer who bounced around the minors and overcame a horrific tragedy is only marketing, is a terrible charge to make.
Cody Ransom nearly died and has nearly achieved his goal of becoming a major league ballplayer. An article about him being on the cusp of success, juxtaposed with the tragedy of his fallen teammates is good journalism and a tremendous insight into the fragility of the human experience.
i know details are important to convey the message accurately, but I also think this article could have done without being so graphic. Think about the people who might read it that might know people involved in the accident. It just seems kind of impolite.
It seemed like it focused more on the violent nature of the accident more so than it focused on the fact that Cody Ransom’s survival was great luck and now he is living to see a better day.
But I dropped English after my first semester and switched to engineering so what do I know.
He was such a great fit for our lineup and did nothing but produce great numbers and hit in the clutch.
He’s going to be invaluable to the Angels lineup.
Lindstrom is so nasty. Can’t believe the Mets just got rid of him… what an arm, hitting high 90s with ease, filthy breaking stuff.
A chilling story, indeed. I’m hoping Cody Ransom has a fantastic season.
Patrick:
Given your blog name, I guess I should not be surprised you’re a psycho. Too bad, you’re missing a great column. What’s funny is you’ll read it and pretend you won’t just to look tough.
I’m sure Ian is losing sleep.
Abreu on the Angels. As if the Angels weren’t already a problem for us.
Ybor city, thats in downtown tampa right? I think I got lost there earlier. if thats the place, it looked pretty interesting from the outside. Alot of shops that seem to range in different cultures
Has Jorge Vasquez ever played 3b, or is he a right-handed Miranda?
Jeter in a red cap just looks wrong.
Sorry, Brandon. It seems my “update” was 4 minutes late.
66 stripes: No, Chato does not play 3B. He has, let’s say, a huge body.
Trisha the crowd was cheering Chato chato chato , on 1-2 and he did it almost on cue. Almost like he was introducing himself.
I’ve worked on fatal accidents involving cars versus humans and cars versus cars (with humans inside). All I can tell you is that physics makes sense in a classroom, but not always when you are looking at an accident scene.
In one case I tried, a young man was crossing a quiet street with a box of Dunkin Donuts in his arms after being out late. A car came ripping down the street and the kid didn’t have time to react. The driver hit him without swerving or braking and took off. The kid survived but was disabled. After the carrying detective located and impounded the car, the crime scene unit searched the passenger compartment and found a piece of the Dunkin Donuts box in the back seat of the car. It was theorized by the accident reconstruction expert that the donut box piece had entered through the open sunroof of the defendant’s car milliseconds after impact. (When I questioned the expert’s theory, the carrying detective told me that was not the most bizarre example he had of such a thing. He once found the scarf of a person struck and killed inside the defendant’s car: once again it was apparently via an open sunroof).
So, Cody can thank God – and physics – for still being here.
The place here is going wild for Britney Spears. All you people in downtown tampa, stay inside!!!!!!
Jorge can he COF ? you know like RF ?
O’Connor piece was excellent. Thanks for posting the link, Pete. How can one not root for Cody?
Good story about Cody. Hopefully he’ll get a shot.
At least he might be able to tell his grandkids he started in the first game in the new Yankee Stadium.
I wonder what is going thru Eric Duncan’s mind these days.
This really should have been his one chance to shine *if* he had just shown anything the last couple of years.
From the #1 prospect to not even a ST invite.
I wouldn’t call Ransom’s story a column. Usually, O’Connor’s column are full of his *ahem* opinions. There are actual facts involved in the Ransom story.
So kind of you Peter.
I’d love to see those pictures that O’Connor has of you if you’re going to stoop to insulting me because I don’t think he’s a good journalist.
Professionalism at its best.
How much are the Mets paying Oli Perez this season ?
Abreu gives up around 25 runs a year with his glove, I wouldn’t sweat it.
And no I won’t read it, just as I didn’t read his last great opus on how the Yankees would be better without A-Rod.
I do see his foolish headlines in my RSS reader though.
murphydog:
I remember watching something on the history channel about the debris from the WTC and where it ended up. There were instances of perfectly folded jeans from the basement malls being found 7 blocks away. Chaos Theory….
If Abreu were able to be the DH then he would have been fine to keep. The fielding he did was not very good and cost a lot of runs last season.
Victor Zambrano. What an enigma.
Brandon, Mr.Pringles: ‘It’s an acquired skill to play hard’
March 8th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Jorge can he COF ? you know like RF ?
===========================================================
It could be a possibility, Brandon. But I don’t remember him playing as a COF any game. And I’ve seen him play a lot, since he played for a team (Tigres de Quintana Roo) which is in the same division of my home team (Leones de Yucatán) in the AAA Mexican League. He is a DH or a 1B.
But, you know, maybe coaches can make wonders at Scranton and make him a reliable RF. But, I insist, he’s got a huge body.
We need to find a position for the Mexican Pujols. Maybe make him the DH next year when Matsui’s contract is up
Zambrano got jobbed there.
Hey,
Why didn’t my comment show up? Am I not welcome here?
I thought that I was being kind and insightful. I guess there’s no place on the internet for people like me.
Murphydog, the physics still work, but the variables involved in such cases are too many to compute.
Think butterfly effect.
Sometimes there is no real explaining why someone escapes while another doesn’t. Living through a major life threatening incident does change your outlook on all things though.
If Zambrano gets lit up, will ESPN refer to him as “former Yankee Victor Zambrano”?
Very nice read about Cody Ransom. I think he’s going to make the team going north. With all you read about pro athletes, he seems like someone you can really root for.
Tom:
Ah yes. Chaos theory. Things thrown together that don’t otherwise have any logical connections.
Explains how I ended up with my ex-wife ; )
Putting in Zombrano is like Torre putting in Jeff Weaver
Jorge he better learn the corner. His power is legit, it wasn’t even a full swing and it probably went 345- 350 down the line.
Jorge (Mexico)
Were you happy when the Yanks signed Vazquez? He had some outstanding numbers in Mexico.
“If Zambrano gets lit up, will ESPN refer to him as “former Yankee Victor Zambrano”?”
LMAO!
Count on it.
Does Zambrano still have a team? Who is he with these days?
The USA is angry. I don’t see anyone derailing them in this tournament.
Jete is upset because he definitely wanted some ducks on the pond when he came up!
Jorge Vasquez going to be at Trenton. I’ll have to go see him.
murphydog
I know someone friend of a friend who was hit by one of those luxury buses in NYC. She was hit from behind (somehow), thrown feet (not sure how far) from the accident. She survived, didn’t break any bones but was bruised badly. By some miracle she didn’t have her daughter with her.
Wind, speed and water can make strange things happen. Tornadoe blow through a town and hits a street after skipping three, moves a brick building 20 feet completely off of it’s foundation with no broken windows, and leaves mobile homes next door untouched, straw shoved into oak trees.
Earlier they were saying that anything less than winning the WBC was unacceptable for Team Panama. Almost makes you feel bad for them because it’s the same kind of pressure the Yankees must feel every season.
Agree, Brandon and yes, Phil. You surely can bet it. It was good news for us, mexican Yankees fans.
Last season these were Vázquez’s stats:
56 Games (He couldn’t start the season, and he only played the second half)
.339 BA
1.010 OPS
.612 SLG
.398 OPS
18 HR
59 RBI
45 SO
20 BB
And, unbelievable, he soled one base!!!!!!
This definitely gave Team USA some breathing room.
soled = stoled. Sorry
Much Ado:
Butterfly effect.. fair enough. Put another way:
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Hamlet, scene v
‘Jorge Vasquez going to be at Trenton. I’ll have to go see him.’
He hits like that I definitely will go see him.
Team USA finally starting to play ball, but don’t sleep on Venezuela.
Team Mexico’s offense is for real, Almazega, Gonzalez, Vasquez, Cantu, Hairston
“Does Zambrano still have a team?
Who is he with these days?”
Zambrano is an unsigned free agent.
As of tonight he was with Venezuela, but he might not be able to go back there now.
Shakespeare had such a cool way of saying human knowledge is limited.
DT that made me laugh and yet I feel bad for the guy!
Thanks for the answer, Jorge (Mexico)!
That piece by O’Connor may very well be the first decent columnI’ve ever read by him….I remember the incident, just didn’t that Ransom was part of that terrible event….Heart felt support goes his way….He’ll do fine as confidence is building every game….Man opeining day 3rd baseman for the NY Yankees..Hope his dream is fullfilled……O’Connor is a hack by the way……
jennifer:
Sorry to hear about your friend, but glad it wasn’t any more serious.
FYI, buses are generally very safe for riders, pedestrians and other vehicles, thanks to advanced designs and lots and lots of real good driver training in most big city transit systems. But there is a blind spot on the front right side of most buses. When they are turning right, give them lots and lots of room and back away from the curb.
Vázquez also played during the Mexican Winter League.
54 Games (This is a much shorter calendar than the Summer League)
.348 BA
1.052 OPS
.636 SLG
.416 OBP
15 HR
46 RBI
50 SO
23 BB
And I made a mistake on his Summer League numbers. It’s .398 OBP, not OPS. His OPS was the listed above (1.010)
VEN looks done right now.
i’ve never been so happy to see pedroia get a hit.
Wow. This is now not so much about Team USA’s offense as it is about Team Venezuela’s lack of pitching.
Trisha,
Don’t worry about Victor. Mrs. Zambrano has his back.
murphy-
That would probably explain how he hit her when she has the light to walk across.
I try to be so careful now crossing the streets in the city.
Jorge I heard he developed even more patience in Winter Ball although seeing him tonight he looked a bit nervous in his first WBC AB and still answered the bell.
The Venezuela fans look like their dressed (paint on faces) more for a soccer game or football game.
I’m not used to seeing baseball fans wearing paint on their faces.
Hey guys, is it true that Rivera is a coach for the WBC, i am assuming for Panama?
Seatbelts save lives.
“Trisha,
Don’t worry about Victor. Mrs. Zambrano has his back.”
DT, this is the schizophrenia I live with daily! (not literally of course). I want Team USA to win but am feeling sorry for Team Venezuela because they look so sad.
I know that’s pretty pathetic but it’s truth as I speak. I go through this stuff all the time.
Rivera was on the bench for Panama, maybe not an official coach but I’m sure he was share his wisdom w/ the young Panamanian team
was there to share
“Hey guys, is it true that Rivera is a coach for the WBC, i am assuming for Panama?”
Christina, if he is, he was. Panama was eliminated.
YOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUK!
First time I’ve cheered during a Youkilis HR.
Yeah, Brandon. He made two awful swings at the first throws he saw. But, then PUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!
i’m gettin into it. i can’t help it.
Holy crap. Venezuela getting anihilated.
If Venezuela comes back props to them but I just don’t see this one turning into a classic.
Wonder how many times will Joba be hitting Youklis this year.
Alex helped Ransom get ready to fill in for him.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/.....9988.story
And here comes Jorge to bat again. Let’s see what happens this time
No wonder he looked so humbled last year.. horrible story, very glad he’s alive and in pinstripes .. he’s gonna be one of my favorite Yankees this year.. I’ll be rooting for him hard.
GO YANKEES.. and CODY!!
Trevor, I was just thinking about how funny it would be if Joba was on Team USA and was there in the dugout to greet Youkilis.
hey Pete:
ask that question again. You know the one: Does anyone care about the WBC?
more patient now takes 2 – 0 takes a swing w/ the runner running looked like a hit and run. 2 – 1 FC.
It was a grounder to SS this time. You can expect a homer each at bat, don’t you?
I’ll tell you about Vasquez his out was a hard hit ball to the left side of the SS.
man I hate the Red Sox but I had to cheer for the Youk and Pedroia coming up w/ huge hits for the USA; sucks we have to deal w/ those guys all summer
I gotta leave. see you all tomorrow
Who knows Trish maybe they’ll be on this year’s All*Star game.
Take care Jorge.
Don’t worry about Victor. Mrs. Zambrano has his back.”
DT, this is the schizophrenia I live with daily! (not literally of course). I want Team USA to win but am feeling sorry for Team Venezuela because they look so sad.
I know that’s pretty pathetic but it’s truth as I speak. I go through this stuff all the time.
Trisha, I’ll never send you to the vet to put my sick pet asleep. You wouldn’t make it there!
Zambrano, Venezuela, schizophrenia – all in one post!
You get double Scrabble points.
This game is just about over.
Seriously Trevor, I can’t wait until Joba starts his first game against the Sox! You know that every person watching that game is going to wait to see where the ball goes when he faces Puke!
“UPDATE!!!!!!!
Jorge “Chato” Vázquez, a Minor Leaguer who belongs to Yankees organization, has just hit a grandslam in the WBC. Now, thanks to his bat, my country, México, is winning over Australia 5-3.
Yesterday I said I didn’t believe Jorge was going to play tonight, because Adrián González is our 1B and Erubiel Durazo was supposed to be the DH. But, since aussie pitcher is a lefty, Vinny Castilla, México’s manager, decided that Vázquez, a righty, should be the DH over Durazo, a lefty”
Jorge:
wonderful story. Happy for you (and the yankees). Good luck to TEAM MEXICO
“Trisha, I’ll never send you to the vet to put my sick pet asleep. You wouldn’t make it there!”
I’d have to put myself asleep with it! I am like a walking sponge. Everyone’s sadness becomes my sadness.
It’s not the most fun way to be assembled!!!
Jorge Vasquez 1 for 2, 1 GS, 4 RBI, 5 R
I really don’t think Venezuela has what it takes to put 6 more here, could they
hhhmmm Venezuela
I’m not hmm’ing anything until there is something to hmmm about
pat
March 8th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Alex helped Ransom get ready to fill in for him.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/.....9988.story
————————————————————
It would appear that Rodriguez may be more comfortable with the young kids and utility type players, like Cabrera and Cano. There are star players that are like that. Mantle was one of those that took care of the rookies and 2nd and 3rd stringers like Clete Boyer, Phil Linz, Pepitone, Bobby Cox and Jim Bouton.
DJ!
good hustle from those boston boys
pat,
Thanks for the link. This was my favorite part:
Said Ransom: “He’s a great guy. More than anything, he’s a very loyal guy. If he says he’ll do something, he does it. He really treats people well. He treated me great.”
Rasner, Cano, and Melky said similar things, and I’ve never seen actual quotes from a player, as opposed to reporters’ opinions, saying the opposite. But, somehow, the story persists that he’s a bad guy in the clubhouse.
“good hustle from those boston boys”
show offs!
Oh well
I think it was Andy Warhol who said that in the future, every country will have its own Pujols.
Was that Andy Warhol’s quote or Jack Kerouac’s?
test.
Cont.
Oli Perez gave Mexico nothing surrendered 3 runs by HRs, Jorge Vasquez put them on his back w/ his GS and now it’s the 7th inning Mexico doesn’t have it to come back, thier crowd sounds like a Yankee crowd after they strand runners for 6 innings. Austrailia got the Netherlands thing going right now, I didn’t think they’d be anywhere near that good, if your Oli Perez how you got whipped around by Luke Hughes, Chris Snelling and who the heck knows.
thanks, Pete!
http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/…her_aj_bu.html
Burnett said he felt physically strong and successfully mixed his curveball in for strikes. But he said his primary focus during the spring will remain honing his fastball.
“I want to establish the No.1, that’s my bread and butter,” Burnett said. “I threw a lost of fastballs today, but that’s what I do. I get ahead with the fastballs. That’s one of my main goals this spring is to get that down and away locked in.”
http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/…k_yankees.html
Tex is obsessive-compulsive, too…..yet another reason for me to like him, lol!
This is an article about Alex, but I LOVE this part – this team is just exuding confidence:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03.....f=baseball
But Damon also expressed a sentiment that is a quiet backdrop to this camp: confidence in the starting pitchers since the free-agent acquisitions of C. C. Sabathia and A. J. Burnett.
“The thing we have this year is two more aces and a healthier Chien-Ming Wang,” Damon said. “Pitching wins you games.”
Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain make up the back end of the rotation.
Burnett made his first start Sunday, allowing no runs and one hit with no walks or strikeouts in two innings. He worked so efficiently that he had to finish throwing in the bullpen.
“Nice to get out there and finally throw for this club,” Burnett said. Of Rodriguez, Burnett added: “It’s going to be a loss, of course. We have to hold the fort. It’s obviously a big blow. But Alex is a hard worker. He’ll be back.”
Embarrassing for MEX, they better wake up like the Dominican team did.
Dolphins’ Stadium is going to be rocking for the Latin American countries in the next round
17 – 7 Austrailia, y ke swing de mambo le segun dando.
This Francisco Rodriguez isn’t K-Rod but he has Jose Veras type stuff.
the 2nd round in Miami will be an insane semi final; most likely usa, puerto rico, dominican republic, and venezuela
The winner of the Miami pool should beat whoever comes out of the San Diego pool (Australia, Mexico, Cuba, Japan etc.)
Miami will be like Puerto Plata
Wow. Another idiotic piece by Wally Matthews.
He’s basically in the same boat as O’Connor suggesting that the Yanks are probably better off without A-Rod because they won during the dynasty years without a big slugger.
Unreal. And these chumps actually get PAID to write this nonsense?
http://www.newsday.com/sports/.....995.column
Imagine how many more titles the Yanks could have won without that dead weight slugger Babe Ruth.
Wally Matthews is brain dead.
Meanwhile, how great is it to have veteran pitchers coming in with good personalities? After the parade of Pavano’s, Johnsons and Browns that have underwhelmed and underperformed since 2003, isn’t it nice to have a couple of outgoing souls who are excited to be Yankees, don’t have back or butt trouble, and want to be on the big stage?
I hope ARod has a big date, tonight.
He won’t be in the saddle for a few weeks.
Well, injury has claimed it’s first victim in the WBC. Atlanta 3rd baseman Larry Jones left the game in the 6th inning with a slightly strained right exterior oblique muscle. The Braves will be only slightly less annoyed if William T. Sherman came marching down Peachtree Street again.
what’s new. :arry Jones has been injury prone for 4 straight years. Gotta give to him, though. Remember when he questioned ARod and roids and everyone shouted him down.
I’m not sure if this has already been brought up and shot down, but what about Swisher at 3rd? Is there any prospect of that happening?
Andrea,
Apparently, left handed throwers can’t field the position.
Although we have lots of movable parts, I think the best situation is to change as little as possible. In the field and the lineup. The team can survive for the first 4-6 weeks, especially if the starters give the team what they’re capable of.
m–good point. I never even thought about the left-handed thing. I just thought of Swisher because he’s kind of the odd man out, and I was thinking if he could do 1st base maybe he could do 3rd. But you have a point.
Swisher will probably be the rightfielder come opening day.
Here’s a list of every left handed throwing third basemen in history.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Has_.....man_in_MLB
Only one ever made a career at 3rd base. More left handed third basemen than left handed catchers.
List of left handed catchers
http://members.tripod.com/bb_c.....hleft2.htm
april headline: 300 million dollar man wally-pipped.
Patrick Bateman: Typical garbage American.
I was actually wondering that….about left-handed catchers. Seems an awkward situation.
Has Girardi said if he’s planning on skipping Joba’s starts throughout the season? With the 2 off days in April, Joba could be skipped twice without starting anyone on short rest. I guess the negative in that would be Joba not getting consistent work and that could hurt his performance and chances of staying healthy.
I want to get tickets, but I’ve seen Wang and Pettitte pitch a few times, so I’m trying to figure out when CC, AJ, and Joba will be throwing.
I probably don’t need to say it, but Arod is not just a slugger like Giambi or Dunn, he can hit for average and power to all fields.
The dynasty teams had more balance throughout the lineup than recent teams. Paulie, Bernie, Tino and more hit for decent, if not Arod, power. I like this year’s team because it has a more balanced look to it. That mostly comes from replacing Giambi with Tex. I think Swisher gives that OPS look that can help get a pitcher out of the game.
i will be rooting for this guy without a doubt!
great story!
I cant wait till the pre season is over so i can buy me a “GARDNER MLB 2009 PRE SEASON HOMERUN CHAMP” t-shirt. Whos with me!!
To Jack Knight – Thank you for your comment considering those of us who would find the article hard to read. Tommy (the driver of the van that Cody was in) was my younger brother. The story did contain inaccuracies, but the story itself is sadly very true…and yes, parts of the article were very, very hard to read. My brother’s name was spelled incorrectly (it’s Tommy with a “y”) and he was an amazing, amazing catcher…not a pitcher…as I believe the article stated (I can’t read it again to know for sure). My brother’s talent and perseverance leave no doubt in my mind that he would have become a professional catcher…he was being scouted by several teams when he was killed. If you are interested in reading some accuracies about my brother, I posted a tribute to him on my blog on the 13th anniversary of his death. You can read it here:
http://treasurethetime.com/blo.....-bradshaw/
I am grateful for Cody’s survival of the accident…I met him only one time and he seemed like a very nice kid. My brother would be thrilled for his success.
Pat M. – You mentioned that you remember the accident. Are you in AZ?
Happy Mother’s Day,
Sandi Bradshaw