Josh Hancock a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals had a career ERA of 4.20 and early in 2007 in just a few appearances had a 3.55 ERA.
On April 28th, a Saturday, the Cardinals lost to the Cubs. Hancock pitched three innings and allowed one run. After the game he went to Mike Shannon's a steakhouse, bar, etc. He started drinking, paying for drinks for others as well. A little after midnight he decided to leave, restaurant staff told him to call a cab. He declined. He got into his rented Ford Explorer (more on that later) and started to drive on I-64 (also called Highway 40).
At 12:28 am Sunday morning now, a Geo Prism was cut off by another car and hit the median. A few minutes later a tow truck passing by pulled off the road to assist the Prism. It stopped and put on its flashing yellow lights. At roughly the same time Josh Hancock's phone rang. Hancock was driving 68 mph in a 55 mph zone. His blood alcohol content was 0.157 (almost twice the legal limit of 0.08).
He didn't see the tow truck. The driver was still in the truck and unhurt, but he was honking to try to get Hancock's attention. It didn't work.
Three nights earlier Hancock left either a bar or strip club at 5:30 in the morning when a tractor-trailer (going about 35 mph) clipped the front of his Denali. Police took him in and said he was not drinking at that time. But he did tell officers he had recently broken up with his girlfriend. He left his car at the station or took it for repairs, which is why he needed a rental car.
After that incident, Hancock was late for the next afternoon's game. LaRussa fined him but said he overslept. How could LaRussa be tough on a player for drinking? I bet he wish he had been.
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