Nick Adenhart

He fell to the 413th overall pick in the 14th round, selected by the Anaheim Angels.

Nicholas James Adenhart (August 24, 1986 – April 9, 2009) was an American right-handed baseball starting pitcher who played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

In just four career games, Adenhart pitched 18 innings and posted a win–loss record of 1–0.

A graduate of Williamsport High School, Adenhart was highly touted as a high school prospect until an injury in his final game required Tommy John surgery.

He pitched for the Hagerstown PONY League for six years, and was a member of the 1999 team that won the Maryland District 1 title.

After graduating from middle school, Adenhart attended Saint Maria Goretti High School in Hagerstown, Maryland.

He played shortstop and outfield, in addition to pitching.

While attending Saint Maria Goretti, Adenhart was a guard on the basketball team that won the Baltimore Catholic League championship.

At the age of 14, Adenhart joined the Oriolelanders, a showcase team composed of Maryland amateur players and sponsored by the Baltimore Orioles, where he would stay for four years.

In 2003, at the age of 16, Adenhart pitched for the Youse's Maryland Orioles, who went on to win the All American Amateur Baseball Association Tournament for that year.

Adenhart transferred to Williamsport High School after his sophomore year, where he gave up basketball to focus solely on baseball, as a pitcher.

Scouts began closely following him when he was named the top junior prospect by Baseball America.

Adenhart had a 6–0 record with a 1.04 earned run average during the regular season in his junior year, and as a result was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Maryland.

In a 1–0 loss during the playoff quarterfinal matchup, he threw a no-hitter and had 14 strikeouts.

Entering his final high school season, Baseball America dubbed Adenhart the top high school prospect in the country.

In his senior year, Adenhart threw a perfect game in his very first outing, striking out 15 of the 21 batters faced.

Entering the final regular season game of his high school career, he had a 5–1 record, a 0.73 ERA and an average of 2.2 strikeouts per inning.

During November of his senior year, Adenhart signed a letter of intent to play with the North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team at the University of North Carolina, although his chances of being drafted high continued to climb and the North Carolina coaching staff saw their chances of acquiring Adenhart to be slim.

In his final high school game, in front of two dozen scouts, Adenhart felt a pop in his elbow after throwing a curveball to the third batter.

The injury, which abruptly ended his season, was a partial ligament tear in his elbow that required Tommy John surgery.

He was drafted by the Angels in the 14th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft, and began playing in their minor league system after the surgery was a success.

Though he had originally been projected as a first-round draft pick, the injury caused his stock to plummet two weeks before the 2004 Major League Baseball draft.

Angels scout Dan Radcliff and director of scouting Eddie Bane convinced Adenhart to forego a scholarship offer from the University of North Carolina and signed him to a $710,000 bonus ($0 in 2021) on July 26, 2004.

After having Dr. James Andrews perform the Tommy John surgery, Adenhart spent the next year rehabilitating his elbow at the Angels' rehab facility in Tempe, Arizona.

During that time, Adenhart also attended classes at Arizona State University.

Adenhart made his professional debut on June 25, 2005, with the Pioneer League's Orem Owlz, the Angels' Rookie League affiliate.

In his single appearance for the Owlz, he pitched six innings, allowed one unearned run, struck out seven, and earned the win.

He spent the rest of the 2005 season with the Angels of the Arizona League that summer.

In 13 games for the Angels, he had a 2–3 record, a 3.68 ERA, and 52 strikeouts.

The following spring, at the age of 19, Adenhart was one of twelve pitchers who earned a non-roster invitation to the Angels' big league camp.

As the 2006 season began, he was also considered the Angels' sixth best prospect and the 90th-best overall by Baseball America.

Adenhart was assigned to the Cedar Rapids Kernels, the Angels' Low-A affiliate, after spring training.

He spent three full seasons in the minor leagues before making his major league debut on May 1, 2008.

After appearing in three games, Adenhart spent the rest of 2008 in the minor leagues developing his skills, and in 2009 he earned a spot in the Angels' starting rotation.

Both the Angels and the Salt Lake Bees, for whom Adenhart played in 2008, suspended their next games.

Just after pitching his first start of 2009, Adenhart was killed in a collision with a drunk driver.

There were many tributes to him over the course of the season, including his former teammates celebrating him by spraying champagne and beer on one of his jerseys after they clinched the 2009 American League West division championship.

Nicholas James Adenhart was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, the only son of Janet and Jim Adenhart, a former United States Secret Service officer.

His parents divorced and Janet later remarried Duane Gigeous, with whom she had a son named Henry, who was a pitcher at the University of Oregon.

Adenhart played Halfway Little League Baseball for Gehr Construction and attended Springfield Middle School in Williamsport, Maryland.