Free agent pitcher Kennedy dies

Free agent pitcher Kennedy dies

Free agent pitcher Joe Kennedy, who last played for the Blue Jays, died early Friday while at home in Florida.

"This is tragic and stunning news," Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi said in a statement. "It is difficult to express the emotions felt by the Blue Jays players and our organization. My sincere sympathies go to his wife, their son and the entire family."

ESPN.com, which first reported Kennedy's death, said that agent Damon Lapa told the website that the cause of death could not immediately be determined.

The Denver Post reported that, according to Lapa, Kennedy was visiting his wife's family in the Tampa area. He got up in the middle of the night and collapsed.

"The cause of death is unknown at this time," Lapa told FOXSports.com. "The best guess at this point is either a heart attack or a brain aneurysm. The way he died was sudden. There is no reasonable explanation for what happened."

The left-handed Kennedy, 28, was 43-61 with a 4.79 ERA in seven seasons with Tampa Bay, Colorado, Oakland, Arizona and Toronto.

He pitched for the A's, Diamondbacks and Blue Jays last season, signing with the Blue Jays on Aug. 29 after being designated for assignment by Arizona.

That's too bad. Looking at my excel sheet, I've seen Kennedy pitch 3 times:

3 games, 1 start, 0 losses, 0 wins, 2 holds, 6.2 IP, 3 K

His best-ever game (in terms of game score) was a game score of 90:

Devil Rays @ Tigers. First batter of the game for Det (a CFer, I forgot his name...he was garbage with <100 career hits) bunted the first pitch foul and singled the second one to LF. That was Detroit's only hit. Kennedy K'd 6 and walked 1. Kennedy pitched a complete game shutout and one-hitter.

catbox_9 wrote:

That's too bad. Looking at my excel sheet, I've seen Kennedy pitch 3 times:

3 games, 1 start, 0 losses, 0 wins, 2 holds, 6.2 IP, 3 K

His best-ever game (in terms of game score) was a game score of 90:

Devil Rays @ Tigers. First batter of the game for Det (a CFer, I forgot his name...he was garbage with <100 career hits) bunted the first pitch foul and singled the second one to LF. That was Detroit's only hit. Kennedy K'd 6 and walked 1. Kennedy pitched a complete game shutout and one-hitter.

Tigers had a lot of crappy CF's the past few years. Sanchez, Cedeno, Bochachica (or something like that), Kingsale, Logan, Torres. It was probably one of those.

Wow

bobrob2004 wrote:

catbox_9 wrote:

That's too bad. Looking at my excel sheet, I've seen Kennedy pitch 3 times:

3 games, 1 start, 0 losses, 0 wins, 2 holds, 6.2 IP, 3 K

His best-ever game (in terms of game score) was a game score of 90:

Devil Rays @ Tigers. First batter of the game for Det (a CFer, I forgot his name...he was garbage with <100 career hits) bunted the first pitch foul and singled the second one to LF. That was Detroit's only hit. Kennedy K'd 6 and walked 1. Kennedy pitched a complete game shutout and one-hitter.

Tigers had a lot of crappy CF's the past few years. Sanchez, Cedeno, Bochachica (or something like that), Kingsale, Logan, Torres. It was probably one of those.

It was Torres.

I moved this to breaking news for the time being since plenty of non-Tigers related breaking news ends up in there.

What a shame! He wasn't even 30 years old! Sad!

I watched him pitch when he was with Tampa Bay. The guy had some good promise but it never seemed to pan out for him.

This is a shame. I hope that tests don't prove he was "on" something.

I hope not either! Still Can't believe he is dead! At 28! Sad

Terrible for his family!!

It Sure is; During the Holidays season too; What A shame!

And it happened here in Florida!!

And he had a one year old child that was his world too. :'(

Tragic for that little one.....

Such a shame;

Waiting for autopsy results.....

Free agent pitcher Kennedy dies
Left-hander won 43 games for five teams in seven seasons
By Mychael Urban / MLB.com

Free agent left-hander Joe Kennedy arrived at Spring Training with the A's in February having shed 20-plus pounds in anticipation of what he called the biggest year of his seven-year career, and he spoke at length about what the birth of his first child had done to change his perspective on life.

Kennedy's life came to a tragic end early Friday morning when he died after passing out at his in-laws' home in Florida. He was 28.

After passing out, Kennedy was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, said Hillsborough County (Fla.) sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter, who had no further details, according to The Associated Press. Medical tests to determine the cause of death are expected to take about six to eight weeks.

On Sunday, Kennedy's agent, Damon Lapa, was quoted as saying that an enlarged heart may have been the cause of death, according to doctors.

Results of Kennedy's autopsy are pending the completion of the tests, said forensic investigator Amanda Whidden on Saturday. She is with Hillsborough County's medical examiner's office.

"We are deeply saddened and shocked to hear of Joe's passing," A's assistant general manager David Forst said in a club release. "He was a valued teammate and friend to everyone with the A's organization. On behalf of the entire A's organization, we extend our condolences to Joe's wife, Jami, and his entire family."

Kennedy, who opened the 2007 season as Oakland's No. 5 starter but was dropped from the rotation and subsequently picked up on waivers by the Diamondbacks, closed the season with the Blue Jays, who signed him on Aug. 29 after he had been designated for assignment by Arizona.

"This is tragic and stunning news," Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said in a statement. "It is difficult to express the emotions felt by the Blue Jays players and our organization. My sincere sympathies go to his wife, their son and the entire family."

Kennedy was 43-61 with a 4.79 ERA in seven seasons with Tampa Bay, Colorado, Oakland, Arizona and Toronto.

News of the pitcher's death emerged Friday when Kennedy's agent, Damon Lapa, told ESPN.com that Kennedy died while at home. The Denver Post reported that, according to Lapa, Kennedy was visiting his wife's family in the Tampa area. He got up in the middle of the night and collapsed.

"The cause of death is unknown at this time," Lapa told FOXSports.com. "The best guess at this point is either a heart attack or a brain aneurysm. The way he died was sudden. There is no reasonable explanation for what happened."

Kennedy, an eighth-round pick of the Rays in 1998 out of Grossmont (Calif.) College, made his Major League debut in 2001 and was Tampa Bay's Opening Day starter in 2003.

"We are shocked and deeply saddened by the news of Joe's sudden passing and extend our deepest sympathies to his family," Rays director of Minor League operations Mitch Lukevics said in a statement. "Joe made all of us very proud as we watched him transform from a young pitching prospect in 1998 into our Opening Day starter in a very short time."

"He really dedicated himself and was really on a mission to become a major league pitcher," said Craig Weissmann, the Tampa Bay scout who signed Kennedy. "You wish as a scout and a Major League organization, you wish every kid could develop that fast."

Kennedy filed for free agency after the World Series, and Blue Jays president and chief executive officer Paul Godfrey told the AP that the club had "every intention" of speaking to Kennedy about returning to the Blue Jays next season.

"We were terribly shocked," Godfrey said. "From what we understand, he was in Brandon ... to be the best man at a wedding today."

Kennedy, acquired by Oakland at the All-Star break in 2005 and used almost exclusively in relief before being handed a spot in the A's rotation this spring, was moved back to the bullpen after going 3-9 with a 4.37 ERA as a starter this season. He appeared in 27 games, including 16 starts, before being placed on waivers.

The Diamondbacks claimed Kennedy on Aug. 4, but he appeared in just three games for Arizona, allowing seven runs in 2 2/3 innings, before being designated for assignment on Aug. 15. After being signed by the Blue Jays, he got his first win for Toronto on Sept. 21 against the New York Yankees.

Kennedy is the third active Major League player to die since October 2006. Cory Lidle, another former Athletic, pitched for seven teams from 1997-2006 before dying at age 34 when his small aircraft crashed into a Manhattan building on Oct. 11, 2006. Cardinals right-hander Josh Hancock, who previously pitched for the Red Sox, Phillies and Reds, died at age 29 in an auto accident on April 29, 2007.

Kennedy's best season as a starter was 2004, when he went 9-7 with a 3.66 ERA in 27 games with the Rockies. In 2006, he posted a 4-1 record and a 2.31 ERA in 39 relief appearances with the A's.

"Obviously, when a 28-year-old man dies, ballplayer or not, it's a terrible, terrible thing," Godfrey said.

Kennedy, his wife and their 1-year-old son, Kaige, lived in the Denver area, where Kennedy remained close friends with Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, who told the Denver Post he had recently played golf with his former teammate.

"They just bought a house," Helton told the Post. "This was the first Thanksgiving we haven't spent together in quite a while. This is just really sad news."

Rockies team president Keli McGregor extended his sympathies through a statement released by the team.

"Joe was a great husband, father, teammate and friend to so many in our organization and throughout the baseball world," McGregor said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, wife, his young son and all those whose lives were touched by Joe over his life."

Tragic deaths of Major Leaguers
By Bobbie Dittmeier / MLB.com

The sudden death on Friday of 28-year-old free agent pitcher Joe Kennedy, who had last played for the Blue Jays, brought back the sad memory of Darryl Kile, the Cardinals right-hander who was 33 when he was found dead in his Chicago hotel room on June 22, 2002.

Kile died from coronary atherosclerosis, which the autopsy referred to as "a narrowing of the arteries supplying the heart muscle." The cause of Kennedy's death has yet to be determined.

Unfortunately, there have been many more Major Leaguers whose careers were cut short by tragic, untimely deaths. Here are some of them:

HARRY AGGANIS: The Red Sox first baseman was 25 and hitting .313 in his second Major League season when he died on June 27, 1955, of a massive pulmonary embolism while in a Cambridge, Mass., hospital, where he was recovering from pneumonia. Agganis, a native of Lynn, Mass., was a football star at Boston University but signed with the Red Sox in 1953.

LYMAN BOSTOCK: Bostock, a 27-year-old outfielder for the Angels, was finishing his fourth Major League season when he was fatally shot in what was ruled a case of mistaken identity on Sept. 23, 1978, in Gary, Ind. Bostock, considered a developing player with speed, moderate power, and the ability to hit for average, batted .323 and .336 for the Twins in 1976 and '77. He signed as a free agent with California after the '77 season and was batting .296 when he was killed.

RAY CHAPMAN: Chapman, an Indians outfielder, is the only player to die from an injury sustained in a Major League game. He died Aug. 17, 1920, of complications from a skull fracture resulting from being hit by a pitch by the Yankees' Carl Mays. Chapman played nine seasons for Cleveland, and was batting .303 -- his career-high for a full season -- at the time of his death. He was 29.

ROBERTO CLEMENTE: The 12-time All-Star outfielder got his 3,000th career hit in his final regular-season at-bat in 1972. He was killed Dec. 31 of that year when a plane he'd chartered to carry relief supplies to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua crashed shortly after takeoff in the water surrounding his native Puerto Rico. Clemente, 38, played 18 seasons for the Pirates, had a career batting average of .317, and was the NL MVP in 1966 when he had a career-high 29 home runs and 119 RBIs. He was the MVP of the 1971 World Series, when he batted .414 in the Pirates' seven-game victory over Baltimore. Considered one of the finest outfielders of his era, Clemente won 12 Gold Gloves. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame after a special election was held in 1973.

MIKE DARR: A Padres outfielder, the 25-year-old Darr was killed in an automobile accident on Feb. 15, 2002, in Arizona. Darr had played his first full season in the Majors in 2001, batting .277 in 105 games. He spent parts of two previous seasons with San Diego.

ED DELAHANTY: Big Ed Delahanty was an outfielder and first baseman who played for Philadelphia of the NL and Washington of the AL from 1888-1903. He played parts of 16 seasons and batted .346 with 101 home runs -- a high home run total in that era. He was 35 years old and batting .333 for Washington when he was found dead in Niagara Falls, N.Y., on July 9, 1903, after apparently falling off the International Bridge joining the U.S. and Canada. His death remains mysterious in that details of the events leading up to his disappearance have never been clarified. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1945.

DANNY FRISELLA: A right-handed reliever, the 30-year-old Frisella pitched in parts of 10 seasons for the Mets, Braves, Padres, Cardinals and Brewers. He was killed Jan. 1, 1977, in a dune-buggy accident near Phoenix, Ariz. He is remembered mostly for his days with the Mets, and for teaming with Tug McGraw to give New York a potent lefty-righty bullpen duo in the early '70s. Frisella saved a career-high 12 games in 1971 and appeared in 351 games in his Major League career.

JOSH HANCOCK: Hancock, 29, had developed into a trustworthy reliever for the Cardinals after stints with the Red Sox, Phillies and Reds. In the early hours of April 29, 2007, he was killed in a car accident on Interstate 64 in St. Louis. According to the St. Louis Police Dept., Hancock's vehicle hit a tow truck and he died at the scene.

KEN HUBBS: Hubbs, a 22-year-old Cubs second baseman, was killed in a light plane crash on a frozen lake near Provo, Utah, on Feb. 15, 1964. He was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1962, receiving 19 of a possible 20 votes, after batting .260 with five home runs and 49 RBIs. Hubbs also won a Gold Glove that season. His average dipped to .235 in 1963, but he drove in 47 runs and was expected to be the Cubs' long-term starting second baseman.

ADDIE JOSS: Joss, a 6-foot-3 right-hander, was preparing for his 10th Major League season with Cleveland, after missing most of the previous season with an elbow injury, when he died suddenly of tubercular meningitis on April 14, 1911, two days after his 31st birthday. He had a career record of 190-67 and a 1.89 ERA, twice leading the AL in ERA. He was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans' Committee in 1978.

DARRYL KILE: The baseball world was shocked when, on the morning of June 22, 2002, the Cardinals right-hander was found dead in his Chicago hotel room at the age of 33. Known as a fierce competitor who never missed a start in the Major Leagues, Kile was felled by coronary atherosclerosis, what the autopsy referred to as "a narrowing of the arteries supplying the heart muscle."

CORY LIDLE: Only days after the Yankees were eliminated from postseason play, Lidle, presumably piloting his small plane, left New York on Oct. 11, 2006, for a cross-country flight. Lidle's plane crashed into a high-rise apartment building in Manhattan while attempting to reverse course over the East River, killing Lidle and a flight instructor who was aboard.

MIKE MILEY: Miley was a 23-year-old shortstop for the Angels when he was killed in an automobile accident on Jan. 6, 1977. He was California's No. 1 draft pick in 1974 and played in 70 games in 1975 and 14 in 1976. Miley quarterbacked the Louisiana State football team into the Orange Bowl as a junior in 1974 but left school to sign with the Angels later that year.

BOB MOOSE: The Pirates right-hander, primarily a starter from 1968-73 but by then a reliever, was killed in an automobile accident on Oct. 9, 1976 -- his 29th birthday. Moose's best season was 1969, when he went 14-3 and pitched a no-hitter against the Mets, and his career record was 76-71 with a 3.50 ERA in 289 games. He pitched in three games in the 1971 World Series.

ED MORRIS: Morris, a 32-year-old pitcher for the Red Sox whose best seasons were in 1928-29, when he won a combined 33 games, died from stab wounds to the chest -- the result of a fight during a fish fry given in his honor the night before he was to leave for Boston's Spring Training camp in 1932.

THURMAN MUNSON: The Yankee captain, a seven-time All-Star, was killed Aug. 2, 1979, when the plane he was piloting crashed during a practice landing in Canton, Ohio. The 32-year-old catcher was the AL Most Valuable Player in 1976 and its Rookie of the Year in 1970. He drove in 100 or more runs in three consecutive seasons, 1975-77, and hit .292 in a career that spanned 11 seasons. He batted .373 in six postseason series. He was the last Major League player before Kile to die during a season.

STEVE OLIN and TIM CREWS: Olin, 27, and Crews, 31, pitchers for the Indians, were killed in a boating accident near Winter Haven, Fla., during Spring Training in 1993. Another teammate, pitcher Bob Ojeda, was injured but survived the nighttime accident, which occurred when their boat collided with a dock. Olin had become the Indians' closer in 1991, saving 17 games that season and 29 in 1992. Crews was a middle reliever who had spent the six previous years with the Dodgers.

CHICO RUIZ: Ruiz, 33, was a utility infielder for eight seasons for the Reds and Angels. He was with California when he was killed in an automobile accident in San Diego on Feb. 9, 1972. He was a .240 career hitter in 565 Major League games.

DERNELL STENSON: A young outfield prospect for the Reds, Stenson was the unfortunate victim of what authorities believed was a botched car jacking. Stenson was killed in Chandler, Ariz., while participating in the Arizona Fall League and trying to impress the Reds front office. The AFL subsequently established the Darnell Stenson Sportsmanship Award to recognize young AFL players' accomplishments on and off the field. Stenson was 25.

DON WILSON: The 29-year-old Astros right-hander had a career record of 104-92 and had pitched two no-hitters when he was found dead in a car in his garage, reportedly of carbon monoxide poisoning, on Jan. 5, 1975. His 5-year-old son, who was in an upstairs bedroom at Wilson's home in Houston, also died. Wilson's best seasons were from 1969-72, when he went 16-12, 11-6, 16-10 and 15-10. He was an NL All-Star in 1971 and threw no-hitters against the Braves in 1967 and the Reds in 1969.

Anyone remember Steve Bechler?

Forgot all about that one.

ROBERTO CLEMENTE was an all time favorite player of mine.

:'(

Mine too!! I loved those late 60's and early 70's Pirates teams!!

I was a big Manny Sanguillen fan and Richie Hebner even before he became a Tiger!!

01/15/2008 1:17 PM ET
Kennedy autopsy shows heart disease
Degeneration of mitral valve led to pitcher's death

OAKLAND -- Former A's pitcher Joe Kennedy, who passed away at his in-laws' home near Tampa, Fla., in the early-morning hours the day after Thanksgiving, died of hypertensive heart disease, according to the Hillsborough County (Fla.) medical examiner's department.

The medical examiner's department told the San Francisco Chronicle on Monday that while the toxicology report on Kennedy was pending, the left-hander's death has been categorized as being from natural causes, as degeneration of his heart's mitral valve had been detected.

Kennedy, 28, collapsed on his way out of the bedroom in the middle of the night on Nov. 23, and he was pronounced dead at Brandon Regional Hospital. He was survived by his pregnant wife, Jami, and a 1-year-old son, Kaige.

A's physician Dr. Allan Pont told the Chronicle that the team had conducted thorough cardiovascular tests on Kennedy, including an electrocardiogram and an echocardiogram, because the pitcher had a family history of heart disease.

"He had a pretty extensive cardiological exam, and everything was clear," Pont said. "He had an echocardiogram that was read as normal by a cardiologist, and blood tests to look for premature heart disease. There were no abnormalities to suggest anything wrong with his heart.

"This is extremely unusual, sudden death in an athlete. It is very rare."

Kennedy's death, as well as the heart-related deaths of an elite marathon runner and an NFL player in the past year, has prompted a call for more intense cardiology testing for athletes.

"You could easily make a case for that," said Pont, who also suggested that athletes should be tested for cholesterol levels. "And if there is anything to suggest a predisposition to heart disease, there should be a more thorough exam, which is what we have been doing."

A starter for the first several years of his big league career, Kennedy was acquired by the A's in a trade with Colorado over the 2005 All-Star break and was used primarily in relief with Oakland before winning a spot in the club's 2007 rotation during Spring Training.

He posted a 3.23 ERA over his first 12 assignments but eventually was moved back into the bullpen, and he was 3-9 with a 4.37 ERA in 27 games (16 starts) when the A's allowed him to be claimed on waivers by the Diamondbacks.

Kennedy finished the season with the Blue Jays and also played for the Rays, with whom he made his Major League debut in 2001, and made 222 big league appearances over seven years, posting a 4.79 ERA.

Mychael Urban is a national writer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

man that really sucks.

Quote :

A's physician Dr. Allan Pont told the Chronicle
that the team had conducted thorough cardiovascular tests on Kennedy,
including an electrocardiogram and an echocardiogram, because the
pitcher had a family history of heart disease.

"He had a pretty
extensive cardiological exam, and everything was clear," Pont said. "He
had an echocardiogram that was read as normal by a cardiologist, and
blood tests to look for premature heart disease. There were no
abnormalities to suggest anything wrong with his heart.

"This is extremely unusual, sudden death in an athlete. It is very rare."

At least the team Doctors tried to watch for heart problems.