Jeff Miller over at the OC Register feels that, in addition to the touching ceremony conducted by the Angels, the organization should have also banned alcohol during the game following Nick Adenhart’s death.
They have his image on their outfield wall, his number on a patch over their hearts and his memory inscribed in a place even deeper.
But if the Angels really want to honor the life of Nick Adenhart, really want to attempt to make an impact, really want to emphasis the lesson from his loss, their next tribute is obvious:
Ban beer.
For one game, don’t promote alcohol, celebrate drinking or, most importantly, sell a single bottle of Lite, glass of red or Jack and Coke.
Just one game, only one day. Nine innings of nothing but beautiful, simple, sober baseball.
This is about preaching the evils of drinking and driving, reminding everyone that this is a crime that can not be tolerated, that it was a drunk driver who killed Adenhart, Courtney Stewart and Henry Pearson and left Jon Wilhite in critical condition.
This is about repeating to everyone in a shouted voice what’s right. It is a lesson that can’t be learned enough.
Listen, of the 40,000 or so who attended the game Saturday, nearly all had to be fit to drive home afterward. But, we all know, there were some who weren’t. Happens every game, in every major league park.
It would be a magnificent gesture, Arte, and a beautiful tribute, one all of baseball and beyond would notice. And that’s the most important thing, re-spreading the message that we can not tolerate drunk driving.
Those could be the final words of Nick Adenhart, and what a fantastic way to remember him.
For one home game, let’s allow the bases to be loaded … the bases and nothing else. Here’s to none for the road.
Get real. I might get some flack for saying this, but I think this idea is incredibly sophomoric. Miller can’t decide if this gesture would pay tribute to Nick Adenhart or serve as a punishment to baseball fans who may or may not have been drinking and driving in the past.
Banning beer at a stadium because of fans’ decisions to fight, throw alcoholic beverages on the field, or vandalize property are grounds to monitor consumption. But banning beer at a stadium because an athlete was a victim of drunk driving bears no connection. That Miller thinks this act could represent the “final words of Nick Adenhart” screams of disgusting platitudes.
Jeff Miller, get over yourself. The Angels had a beautiful ceremony in memory of this young and talented man. They’ve handled it with both poise and the urgency you are stressing. We as fans do not need to be “punished” because of something that happened off the field.
Look, the facts and feelings associated with the misdeed of drunk driving are as plain as day. California has responded to these horrendous numbers by making the penalties for drunk driving harsher and harsher each year. The glaring reality that Nick Adenhart is dead because of this law-breaking is the strict reminder of why these penalties are in place. Removing alcohol sales for a game to “commemorate” this individual would be the equivalent of giving everyone 21 years of age or older at Angels stadium a spanking.
