St. Louis Cardinals: Too much sadness in the nation’s pastime

Fans of the St. Louis Cardinals are sad at this time of year whenever the birds on the bat are not in the postseason and- in spite of this- even larger life-changing sadness seems to have found its way into the nation’s pastime once again.

Yes the St. Louis Cardinals are resting at home, playing golf, and watching the postseason play from the AC/heated comforts of their homes. Young prospects are visualizing themselves climbing the mount or approaching the plate in a postseason contest. And yet, for one young prospect and others before him, some will never see these dreams realized.

Let me say this: I am very tired of writing about the sadness in and around baseball. I’m tired of bringing news of another young player losing his life. In the short time that I have served at the pleasure of Redbird Rants, I have written about the loss of Oscar Taveras, Jose Fernandez, and others.

And I’m coming to you again with news of another young life leaving this earth too early. And I’m coming to you again with news of another young life leaving due to a careless accident.

Baseball fans were once again greeted with the news on Sunday of another player’s passing. This time, young pitcher Daniel Webb was announced as the deceased. Reports are that Webb died following an ATV accident that occurred outside of the Nashville area in Tennessee– not too terribly far from my home.

In the news report released from WPSD Channel 6 out of Paducah, KY, Webb suffered a tragic head trauma. In addition to his loss of life, his wife was injured in the accident along with two other individuals who were not identified in the WPSD report.

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Webb, 28 years old, had been drafted by the Blue Jays in 2009 and climbed his way to the majors. He most recently served the Chicago White Sox until he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2016.

He appeared in nine games for the White Sox in 2013 and posted a 3.18 ERA from the pen. In 2014, he appeared in 57 games and posted an ERA of 3.99. In 2015, Webb appeared in 27 games and started to show wear on his arm with an ERA of 6.30. His very brief 2016 season lasted only one game and one inning before surgery was decided.

Webb did not pitch in 2017 after he was released by the White Sox in November of 2016.

MLBTR was among many outlets who broke the sad news of Webb’s passing on Sunday.

At the end of the day, without knowing all the details, I find myself wondering if baseball players approach life with some reckless abandon in light of the number of deaths and injuries. I wish it weren’t so but it is just too sad to watch young players lose their lives over things of this nature.

Next: Make Holland the next closer

If you own an ATV, please use it responsibly and carefully. If you have loved ones, please hug them tightly. And if you are a fan of baseball, please take a moment to pause and remember the young lives lost who were to shine through the nation’s pastime.