Josh Hancock

Joshua Morgan Hancock ( born April 11, 1978 in Cleveland, Mississippi, † April 29, 2007 in St. Louis, Missouri) was an American baseball player. He played as a Major League Baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Life

After graduating from the Vestavia Hills High School in Jefferson County, Alabama Hancock was selected in the fourth round of the 1996 amateur team with the Milwaukee Brewers, but he did not sign. He graduated from the College instead at Auburn University in Alabama, there was him there offered a more attractive scholarship. In 1998 he was selected in the fifth round of the amateur team of the Boston Red Sox and took the contract. He made his debut on 10 September 2002 in the Major League.

In December 2002, he was traded for Jeremy Giambi to the Philadelphia Phillies. On 30 July 2004 he was traded with Andy Machado to the Cincinnati Reds for Rodd Jones and Brad Correll. The next day, Hancock was the winning pitcher for the Reds in a game against the Houston Astros. The game started one day before Hancocks change.

On the first day of spring training in 2006 Hancock was dismissed at the Reds for 7.65 kilograms overweight, because he had thus violated a clause in his contract. He immediately signed a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals and had an ERA 4.09 his best season.

Hancock died on April 29, 2007 in a traffic accident. The scheduled game of the Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs this evening was canceled due to the accident.