THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY,MAY 2,2007
SPORTS
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MLB
Hancock was in accident three days before death
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Tyler Johnson , left, hangs the jersey of late teammate Josh Hancock in the bullpen before the start of their baseball game at Miller Park in Milwaukee on Monday. The player will wear the number 32 on their jerseys in honor for their late teammate, Josh Hancock, who died early Sunday in a car crash in St. Louis.
Jeffrey Phelps/ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAUGET, Ill. — Three days before he was killed in a highway wreck, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was involved in a predawn accident that police treated routinely.
Officers who talked with the 29-year-old reliever moments after the front of his sport utility vehicle was clipped by a tractor-trailer in this village known for its factories and strip clubs found Hancock lucid. He did not appear under the influence of alcohol, Police Chief Patrick Delaney said Tuesday.
No sobriety or breath tests were given to Hancock and no tickets were issued, Delaney said. The SUV was too damaged to drive home.
Hancock died early Sunday when the rented Ford Explorer he was driving slammed into a flatbed tow truck on Interstate 64 in St. Louis. Autopsy results had not been released, and toxicology tests were pending.
Hancock was at a stop sign at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, when he inched his vehicle out a bit into the intersection, presumably to see around big trucks and other vehicles that frequently park near there, Delaney said.
A passing tractor-trailer traveling around the posted speed limit of 45 mph nicked Hancock's vehicle and sheared off the front bumper, the chief said. Neither Hancock nor the trucker, 33-year-old Richard Lehn of Keyesport, ill., was injured.
Hancock "was very fortunate," Delaney said. "If he were inched up another inch and that truck would have hit, it would have been much more serious accident."
The accident happened on Illinois Route 3 off Yellow Brick Road, named for its proximity to the Oz nightclub. The intersection is also near a liquor store and small-scale truck stop.
Managers of Oz told police Hancock had not been at that club that night, Delaney said.
"The officers said they felt Josh
was not impaired whatsoever," Delaney said. He said Hancock did not get preferential police treatment as a ballplayer, noting the responding officer "didn't know Josh Hancock from John Doe."
While waiting for a cab to take him home after the accident in
Sauget, Hancock told another officer he disliked night games followed by day games. The pitcher said he often drove around to make himself tired enough to rest, the chief said.
"He said how he hated — he used that word — to play day games after a night game, that he had trouble sleeping and was out driving around." Delaney said.
Hours later, Hancock showed up late at Busch Stadium for a day game against the Cincinnati Reds. He insisted he thought the starting time was later and had overslept in a new bed.
A memorial service for Hancock is set for Thursday in Tupelo, Miss. The Cardinals are chartering a plane that will get them there in time for a lunch with the Hancock family.
A message left at Lehn's home Tuesday was not immediately returned.
MLB
Unseasonably cold April causes decline in hitting, pitching
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ryan Howard had just three homers, Carlos Delgado only one and Alfonso Soriano none at all: Hitters were stuck in an April ice age, with home runs and scoring in the major
leagues dropping to their lowest levels since 1993.
Home runs fell 20 percent, from an average of 2.31 to 1.84 per game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The average had not been that low at the end of April since 1993's 1.58.
est since the 1993 rate of 1.58. The batting average fell from .265 to .256 and the ERA fell from 4.62 to 4.12.
"The first two weeks of the season were miserable. You're playing in 12-degree weather and the ball feels like a rock when it hits your bat."
Looking for a cause? The average temperature was below normal for long stretches in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh
A huge cold front left hitters feeling frozen.
PAUL LO DUCA New York Mets catcher
"Being cold, it's tough to get warmed up. Sometimes, it's the windy days, the wind blowing in your eyes, and different kind of stuff," Howard said. "I've never been a quick starter."
Scoring dropped 8 percent, from 9.8 to 9.08 run per game, the low-
St. Louis and Washington, according to the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.
Cleveland had six straight days of snow, with temperatures 10-to-20 degrees below normal. The Indians had an entire four-
"The first two weeks of the season were miserable," New York Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca said. "You're playing in 12-degree weather and the ball feels like it's a rock when it hits your bat."
game series against Seattle wiped out; among 22 postponements in the majors — up from eight in April last year.
When they did play, attendance was up 4.8 percent, from 28,955 to 30,356. And much of baseball was turned upside down.
Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox threw a no-hitter on the 18th day of the season. Last year, the only no-hitter was pitched by Florida's Anibal Sanchez, and it didn't take place until Sept. 6 — the first in the major leagues since Randy Johnson's perfect game in May 2004.
Still, some sluggers have defied the trend. The Yankees' Alex Rodriguez hit 14 homers, which tied the April record Albert Pujols set last
"Maybe all the pitching's caught up to the hitting," Oakland designated hitter Mike Piazza said with a chuckle.
year. Barry Bonds had eight, moving within 14 of Hank Aaron's record of 755, and Sammy Sosa hit seven in his comeback with Texas, now within five of 600.
Then there were forgettable April's Mariano Rivera had just one save, blew two and left the month with a 10.57 ERA. Despite A-Rod's homers, the injury-weakened Yankees lost eight of their last nine games in the month and ended April at 9-14, better than only Colorado and Kansas City.
that start renewed speculation that manager Joe Torres' job may be in jeopardy, and while George Steinbrenner backed him Monday, the owner also said his $195 million team's start was "clearly not acceptable."
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"I'm going to do the best I can. Hopefully, it's a good transition," he said. "I've heard that if you're not nervous, it's time to hang it up. Well, I'm nervous right now."
The Los Angeles Angels were slated to start former Cy Young winner Bartolo Colon (2-0) in Butler's first game Tuesday night.
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The Royals also placed first baseman Ryan Shealy on the 15-day disabled list. Shealy strained his left hamstring while trying to score from second base Monday night.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Billy Butler, Kansas City's first-round draft pick of 2004, was recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday and told he would start immediately in left field.
One of the Royals' top hitting prospects in years, Butler was batting .337 in 25 games for the Omaha Royals. He turned 21 on April 18 and was the 12th-youngest player, and seventh-youngest position player, to make his major league debut with Kansas City.
Butler won the Texas League batting title at Double-A Wichita last year with a .331 average. He will join two other rookies in the starting lineup, third baseman Alex Gordon and shortstop Tony Pena Jr.
"I'm nervous," he said. "It's one of those things. You start thinking a lot of stuff. I made it to the big leagues. You've just got to step on the field like it's another game."
Butler said he first thought somebody was kidding him when he got the call about 10 a.m. Monday to head for Kansas City.
Manager Buddy Bell, whose team started the night with the worst record in the majors at 8-18, said he hoped Butler would bring "a spark" to a lethargic offense.
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"Really, he was our best offensive player in spring training and you have to consider this kid's got a real good feel for the strike zone," Bell said. "He's very disciplined, which is uncharacteristic of a young hitter to begin with."
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was overwhelming at times, wild at others. He went 3-2 with a 4.36 ERA in his first month in the majors. Tim Hudson was sharp for the Atlanta Braves: He's 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA in six starts.
MLB
Royals call on Triple-A left fielder
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