Early on Tuesday morning, after rumors had been circulating all night, reports confirmed that former Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson had passed away at the age of 29. As someone who grew up a Braves fan and got into writing because of my fandom, his death really hit me hard. Hanson was just two months younger than me, and made his major league debut just days before I started blogging on my own (at a site called BravesHeart, for what its worth).
Hanson represented everything I love about sports. He filled me with hope, excitement, and joy. When I watched Hanson in one of his final minor league starts before his major league callup, against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs in Allentown, those feelings grew stronger. Here was a guy that was everything you could want in a pitcher – he had a large frame, a blazing fastball, and a beautiful curveball that completely fell off the table and left hitters shaking their heads. He was baseball’s best pitching prospect, and I (along with all of my closest friends in the Braves blogosphere) had watched him blossom into this player that we all expected we’d be watching dominate for years.
It didn’t exactly go that way. Hanson was called up for good at the beginning of June 2009, and ended up finishing third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. In 2010, Hanson had the finest year of his all too brief career, pitching to a 3.33 ERA in 202 2/3 innings, striking out 173 hitters and walking 56 along the way. Injuries and ineffectiveness plagued Hanson throughout the rest of his career. In 2011, he made just 22 starts, pitching to a 3.60 ERA. He made 31 starts in 2012, and his ERA jumped to an unsightly 4.48. The Braves traded Hanson to the Angels in his home state of California, but he made just 15 appearances of 5.42 ERA ball with them before being cut loose.
Then, the minor league grind began. Hanson spent Spring Training 2014 with the Rangers and was cut at the end of March. He latched on with the White Sox and made just ten starts with AAA Charlotte before his year ended in June. For the 2015 season, Hanson joined the Giants organization and spent the final two months of the year with AAA Sacramento. His ERA over 11 starts was 5.60. I was always hoping he’d end up getting back to the majors and would make major league hitters look stupid with that insane curveball, but it wasn’t to be.
When an athlete dies, we generally end up remembering them based on one or two interactions in the real world – usually an autograph or photo opportunity. “Gee whiz, he didn’t even stop to sign for kids this one day I saw him after a game, what a jerk!” That’s quite silly. It’s also silly to do what I’m doing right now – remembering an athlete based on the merits of their career. I didn’t know Tommy Hanson. I never met him. I never talked to him, and never had a good or bad experience with him personally.
But man, I watched him pitch a lot. And watching him was quite a journey. In the span of a couple of years, he went from the baby-faced rookie top prospect to the bearded fallen star that couldn’t get a break. Every time he took the mound, I had those same feeling coursing through my veins as I did the first time he did against the Brewers in 2009. Hope. Excitement. Joy. Anticipation. Not many athletes can make someone feel like that, but Hanson was one of them for me.
And now, he’s gone, many years before his name should have been called. This loss affects so many people, most notably his family, friends, and those who knew him. I’m not one of them. I was just a fan. But that doesn’t mean that Tommy Hanson didn’t affect my life as a sports fan. I’ll remember how amazed I was to see Hanson run through the Iron Pigs in that 2009 minor league start. I’ll remember standing behind home plate at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in 2010 with my dad, and hearing my father rave about his curveball. But most of all, I’ll remember how Tommy Hanson was the first young player that all-in on as a blogger, and how hard I cheered for him.
I’m happy I got to watch Tommy Hanson during his career. I’m sad I won’t ever get to again. I only knew Tommy Hanson, the pitcher, and not Tommy Hanson, the person, and I can only judge that part of his life. But man, he was such a joy to watch on the hill, and I’ll miss that.
