Power Pros Forum

High School Baseball Player Killed by Wild Pitch
Saturday, April 25, 2009

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The father of a south-central Missouri baseball player who died after being hit by a wild throw said Friday that he doesn't blame the pitcher.

Mike Clegg said he hugged the Lebanon High School player whose pitch hit 16-year-old Patrick Clegg and told him it was an "absolute aberration" and a freak accident and he shouldn't hold himself responsible.

"I hope that that leads to him believing that he is going the right direction and get back out there and play the game, because that is what my son would tell him to do if he had the opportunity," Mike Clegg said.

Patrick Clegg, a Waynesville High School junior, was batting Tuesday at Lebanon when he turned to avoid being hit by a pitch. The baseball hit him just below his helmet and he collapsed.

Doctors at St. John's Hospital in Springfield declared Patrick brain dead Thursday. He was taken off a respirator and his organs were donated Friday.

His father, who had returned in March from eight months in Iraq, said Patrick had been receiving letters from colleges interested in recruiting him.

"He was exactly where he wanted to be in life," Mike Clegg said. "He was in the process of getting letters from colleges for baseball. We saw nothing but hope for his future at the collegiate level and hopefully beyond."

Services for Patrick Clegg will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517877,00.html

wow, that's horrible.
how'd you find out about this?

Wow Another Beanbag pitch kills another person

i found it on my iGoogle homepage under top stories. very sad story. this reminds me of last year when that 7 year old boy at Wrigley for his first ball game ever got hit with a foul ball and fractured his skull. i think he survived but can't find any info to confirm this. i wonder what the average number of deaths from all baseball games are every year...

there was an article in Sports Illustrated about stuff like this about 2 weeks ago.

That's too bad. From the article it sounded like he had a bright future.

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