Josh Hancock

Infobox MLB retired
name=Josh Hancock

---

width=300
position=Relief Pitcher
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=April 11, 1978
deathdate=death date and age|2007|4|29|1978|4|11
debutdate=September 10
debutyear=2002
debutteam=Boston Red Sox
finaldate=April 28
finalyear=2007
finalteam=St. Louis Cardinals
stat1label=Win-Loss
stat1value=9-7
stat2label=ERA
stat2value=4.20
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=110
teams=
*Boston Red Sox (by|2002)
*Philadelphia Phillies (by|2003-by|2004)
*Cincinnati Reds (by|2004-by|2005)
*St. Louis Cardinals (by|2006-by|2007)
highlights=
*World Series ring with 2006 Cardinals

Joshua Morgan Hancock (April 11, 1978 – April 29, 2007) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals. Born in Cleveland, Mississippi, he lived in St. Louis during the off-season. [cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2853149|title=Cardinals reliever Hancock killed in car crash|date=2007-04-29] He was killed in a car crash during the 2007 season.

Career

After graduating from Vestavia Hills High School in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, Hancock was selected in the fourth round of the 1996 amateur draft by the Milwaukee Brewers, but did not sign. An Alabama fan, he instead attended college at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama because the Tigers offered him a better scholarship. He was taken by the Boston Red Sox in the fifth round of the 1998 amateur draft and signed with the Red Sox, making his major-league debut on September 10, 2002. In December 2002 he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jeremy Giambi. On July 30, 2004, he was traded along with Andy Machado to the Cincinnati Reds for Todd Jones and Brad Correll. The next day, Hancock was the winning pitcher for the Reds in a game against the Houston Astros, a suspended game that began the day before while Hancock was still with the Phillies.

On the first day of Spring Training 2006 Hancock was released by the Reds for being 17 pounds overweight, violating a clause in his contract. He promptly signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and had his best season, pitching 77 innings, compiling a 4.09 ERA, and appearing in the 2006 postseason with the Cardinals. He performed in a variety of roles for the Cardinals' bullpen, from short term relief appearances to less desirable roles when the game was out of hand.

Hancock was on the Cardinal roster for the 2006 World Series but did not get a chance to pitch. St. Louis won the Series in five games over Detroit.

Before coming to the Cardinals, he had a penchant for giving up home runs. He gave up 17 homers over 68 innings pitched in 2005. He improved in 2006, giving up only nine over 77 innings. In 2007, Hancock had pitched 8 games with an 0-1 record and a 3.55 ERA.

Death

On Sunday, April 29, 2007, Hancock was killed in a motor vehicle accident when the 2007 Ford Explorer he was driving while intoxicated struck the rear of a flat bed tow truck at 12:35 a.m. Central Time. The truck was reportedly in the left lane assisting another vehicle that was involved in a prior accident. [ [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070430/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbn_cardinals_hancock_killed Associated Press: "Cardinals reliever Josh Hancock killed in car crash"] ] [ [http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20070429&content_id=1936551&vkey=pr_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl St. Louis Cardinals press release] ] [ [http://www.kmov.com/video/topvideo-index.html?nvid=139519 Cardinals News Conference video on Hancock's death from KMOV-TV part 1] ] [ [http://www.kmov.com/video/topvideo-index.html?nvid=139521 Cardinals News Conference video on Hancock's death from KMOV-TV part 2] ] [ [http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/3B293F8C2726D713862572CC00534F93?OpenDocument Saint Louis Post-Dispatch 4-29-07 : "Cards gather at Busch to mourn Hancock's death"] ] [ [http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingsports/ci_5818472 Mercury News May 5, 2007 : "Cops: Hancock drunk at time of accident"] ] A police report revealed that Hancock was intoxicated at the time of his fatal accident with a blood-alcohol level of 0.157, nearly double the legal limit in Missouri. Police also found 10.95 grams of marijuana along with a glass smoking pipe in his vehicle, although toxicology reports came back revealing that there were no drugs in his system. In addition, Hancock was texting on his cell phone when the accident occurred and was not wearing a seatbelt. An accident reconstruction team determined that Hancock was driving 68 mph in a 55 mph zone. [ [http://sports.myway.com/news/05042007/v4539.html "Police: Cardinals' Hancock Was Drunk at Time of Fatal Accident"] ]

The Cardinals' scheduled game with the Chicago Cubs later that day, that was supposed to air nationwide on Sunday Night Baseball, was postponed due to his accident. The game was eventually made up on September 10, 2007, a 12-3 Cubs victory.

Hancock's death marked the second time in five years the Cardinals have mourned the loss of a teammate, the first being the death of pitcher Darryl Kile in 2002 with a coronary artery blockage (which coincidentally also caused a game with the Cubs to be postponed). He was also the second active MLB player to be killed in an accident in less than a year, the first being the plane crash of Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle.

Three days earlier, his teammates were worried when they couldn't reach Hancock after he had overslept and had not shown up for the game on time, likening it to the events leading up to the sudden death of Kile. Hancock didn't answer until the "20th call", having thought the start time was later than it actually was. Hancock was expected to be fined by the Cardinals after the incident. [ [http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/6DD32DFE615BEB86862572CA0013E95A?OpenDocument "Hancock shows up late"] , St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 27, 2007]

On May 31, 2007, it was reported that Hancock had been involved in another accident involving his GMC Denali three nights before his fatal crash involving a rented Ford Explorer. Additionally, witnesses from the restaurant he visited the night of the fatal crash claimed that Hancock " [could] barely put a sentence together". Hancock's final appearance for the team was April 28, 2007, giving up one run in three innings of relief. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN200704280.shtml Baseball-Reference.com] Box Score: Cubs at Cardinals, April 28, 2007]

Aftermath

The Cardinals wore a special patch on their uniform sleeves with Hancock's number (32) for the duration of the 2007 season to commemorate his life. [Citation
last1 = Strauss | first1 = Joe
last2 = Bryan | first2 = Bill
title = Cardinal Nation mourns; autopsy set for today
newspaper = ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
date = 2007-04-30
year = 2007
url = http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/DA7217E8EB66DD11862572CD00151871?OpenDocument ]

In the wake of Hancock's accident, several teams have banned alcohol from their home clubhouses. The Florida Marlins had already implemented this policy several seasons before Hancock's death, saying that they wanted to keep their players from driving home intoxicated after home games. They have not banned alcohol from visiting clubhouses because their players usually ride a team bus after playing away games. [ [http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070506&content_id=1948991&vkey=news_fla&fext=.jsp&c_id=fla The Official Site of The Florida Marlins: News: Notes: Ross on DL; Reed recalled ] ] In 2006, after Esteban Loaiza was arrested for drunk driving, Oakland A's GM Billy Beane banned alcohol in both clubhouses, saying it was a liability issue. After Hancock died, the Baltimore Orioles implemented a similar policy, at least on a temporary basis. [ [http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070505&content_id=1947827&vkey=news_bal&fext=.jsp&c_id=bal The Official Site of The Baltimore Orioles: News: Notes: Orioles ban beer in clubhouse ] ]

Hancock's family filed a lawsuit on May 24, 2007 against Mike Shannon's restaurant, the tow truck company, tow truck driver, and the driver of the car that the tow truck was stopped to help. [Citation
last = Salter
first = Jim
title = Hancock's father sues over Cardinals pitcher's death
newspaper = Associated Press
date = 2007-05-24
year = 2007
url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070524/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbn_cardinals_hancock_lawsuit;_ylt=Au.QqlcutiYjBn4yWSLkZiQLMxIF] .

On May 31, 2007, the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control announced results of an investigation revealed no wrongdoing on the part of employees at Mike Shannon's Steaks and Seafood restaurant in the death of Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock. [Citation
last = Leach
first = Matthew
title = Missouri ATC clears Shannon's
newspaper = MLB.com
date = 2007-05-31
year = 2007
url=http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070531&content_id=1997849&vkey=news_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl]

The lawsuit was dropped on July 30, 2007. [Citation
last = Frankel
first = Todd
title = An about-face on Hancock crash suit
newspaper = St. Louis Post Dispatch
date = 2007-07-30
year = 2007
url= http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/3532081B70FFCBF286257329000F8DA4?OpenDocument]

References

External links

*baseballstats |mlb= |espn= |br=h/hancojo01 |fangraphs=1606 |cube=H/josh-hancock
* [http://sportsecyclopedia.com/memorial/07/hancock.html Sports E-Cyclopedia's Memorium to Josh Hancock]
* [http://www.kmov.com/news/070524_hancocklawsuit2.pdf PDF file of Dean Hancock's lawsuit]
* [http://mlb.com/mlb/news/tributes/obit_josh_hancock.jsp MLB.com tribute]