"Kurt Suzuki bounded out of the visiting clubhouse at Angel Stadium to catch up with his friend. In 2009, in the first start of his first full major league season, the Angels' pitcher threw six shutout innings against Suzuki and the Oakland Athletics. On Team USA, Suzuki had been his catcher. Suzuki congratulated the pitcher, shared the exclamation and - because this is what friends do - gave him a hard time. Before the sun rose, Nick Adenhart was dead."
""I woke up the next morning to 10 text messages you don't want to hear," Suzuki said. A drunk driver had blown through a red light and into a minivan full of friends. He killed three of them, including Adenhart. One survived: Jon Wilhite, who played baseball at Cal State Fullerton with Suzuki. Sixteen years later, a forever bond endures between Wilhite and Suzuki. When the Angels introduced Suzuki as their new manager last month, Wilhite was in the audience."
Kurt Suzuki and Nick Adenhart were teammates on Team USA and reconnected when Adenhart, in his first full major league season, threw six shutout innings against the Oakland Athletics. Suzuki congratulated Adenhart after the performance, but the next morning Adenhart died when a drunk driver ran a red light and crashed into a minivan carrying friends, killing three. Jon Wilhite, a former Cal State Fullerton teammate, survived. Sixteen years later, Suzuki and Wilhite maintain a deep bond; Wilhite attended when Suzuki was introduced as the Angels' manager. Anecdotes about their college years and shared memories underscore that longstanding connection.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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