I wasn’t going to write on the passing of Ack. A hard fought battle with cancer that he lost. I didn’t feel like I had the right to write about it. For some reason, I didn’t feel that it was my place. But it’s been eating me up and, selfishly, I had to get it off my chest. The Padres community are all mourning over the loss of Darrel Akerfelds. I didn’t know Darrel personally, but I felt like I did. I remember having his baseball cards as a kid. I’m sure my little bro, who encouraged me to write this, does too. Cards like these…when he was just another average MLB pitcher.
Then he came to the Padres and he became something more. I remember recently reading this ESPN Outside the Lines report and feeling like he was my best friend even though we’d never met. Sure, the Padres have a miserable product on the field right now… but I don’t really care about that. There’s always next year. I care that Darrel is gone… and for him, there is no next year. Prayers go out to the family he’s left behind. Not just his immediate family, but his baseball family as well. He certainly left his mark and past and present players. Reading Jake Peavy’s twitter feed when he found out of AK’s passing made me want to cry. Mike Adams showed his respects on the mound.
Those who knew him won’t ever forget him. That’s the type of life I want to lead. The type of life we should all want to lead.
He was a great person. I wish there were more Darrel Akerfelds in baseball…and in life.
-bp