Ryan Freel dead at 36

[Stephen]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- First Coast News sports director Dan Hicken has learned that Ryan Freel, a Jacksonville native and former Major League Baseball has died at the age of 36. The cause of death is suicide.

Source: First Coast News

I was sad to read this story.

I always liked Ryan Freel and frequently found him on my fantasy teams as a nice source of steals with positional flexibility.

My thoughts are with his friends and family.

[Moonlight J]

1st thing I thought of were the Freel stories shared on the old board

[Don Quixote]

In his Cincinnati days, Freel took pride in being known as "Mr. Dirty Shirt" and seemed to make it a point to dive for any ball near him in the outfield, even when there was no chance to catch it, just to reinforce his image. He was a good player, never quite good enough to be a regular but a lot better than almost any of the "super sub" types in his heyday. Not good enough on defense to play second, not powerful enough to play 3B or a corner OF position regularly, he played a lot because he was versatile, got on base, and played good OF defense when he wasn't concentrating on his image.

He was also known as a very fast but not particularly bright base runner. Radio voice Marty Brenneman regularly bewailed Freel's ability to get on via walk or single--and get picked off or thrown out trying to take an extra base. "He's got to be the second greatest hustling player and the dumbest base runner I've ever seen".

I'll tell you this from having seen him scores of times during his Reds career--the guy was never dull. He could do something fantastic and something idiotic within the same inning. The fun was in trying to figure out which he'd do next.

RIP Ryan. You were a fun player to watch, and you'll be missed.

[revo]

Freel was the first MLB player diagnosed with CTE. He was officially diagnosed last week with level 2 CTE, which is associated with erratic behavior and memory loss.

[Fresno Bob]

this is why my OT-built son is not playing high school football

[DMT]

this is why my OT-built son is not playing high school football

My friends scoff when I tell them that the NFL's days are numbered, even though it'll probably take another generation. You've made the same decision any sane parent would make. Youth league participation is trending downward and will only continue to decline.

[Erik]

I don't think the NFL's days are numbered. I do think the socioeconomic profile of football players will skewer even more toward the disadvantaged than it does now. Fewer wealthier and more educated parents will let their kids play football, but poorer and less-educated parents won't be as deterred, either out of ignorance or desperation.

There may also be a technological breakthrough that we can't foresee at this time.

As for my son, he's going to be small, so he's not playing anyway unless it's at kicker.

[DMT]

I don't think the NFL's days are numbered. I do think the socioeconomic profile of football players will skewer even more toward the disadvantaged than it does now. Fewer wealthier and more educated parents will let their kids play football, but poorer and less-educated parents won't be as deterred, either out of ignorance or desperation.

There may also be a technological breakthrough that we can't foresee at this time.

As for my son, he's going to be small, so he's not playing anyway unless it's at kicker.

Good point and that's one of the counter-arguments my friends have made. Nonetheless, a shrinking talent pool means the quality of the players will start to decline relative to other sports. Also, as the higher SES audience drifts away, I think so too will the advertising $s. And to be clear, I'm not saying the NFL is going to vanish but we are past its peak influence as the dominant sport in the US and it will only continue to decline further.

As for technological breakthroughs, our bodies (and especially our brains) simply are not designed to receive repeated traumatic impacts so hoping for new technologies is a pipe-dream IMO.

[Don Quixote]

Freel was the first MLB player diagnosed with CTE. He was officially diagnosed last week with level 2 CTE, which is associated with erratic behavior and memory loss.

I hope this isn't the prelude to a lawsuit but fear that it is.

I'm not making light of his problems, but his behavior was erratic while he was playing, at least on the field.

As for letting your kids play, all I know is that if I had a son and he wanted to play, I'd let him. If his athletic "skills" were anything like mine, he wouldn't see much time on the field anyways. Of course, if his mother said, "No", that would settle it.

[madducks]

Nonetheless, a shrinking talent pool means the quality of the players will start to decline relative to other sports.

Advantage baseball.

[griswold]

Advantage baseball.

My 9 yr old is a very talented athlete and could easily excel at football....but I agree with my sister and brother-in-law who said that he'll only play baseball or basketball.

[Pogues]

I was just telling my wife a few days ago they need to come up with a "soft" helmet that protects better than what is used today in football. I never played football, but there's something about wearing a weapon on the head that makes players super aggressive. Maybe if it was less of a weapon and more of a protective device, we'd see a drop in head injuries in the NFL.

[Don Quixote]

My 9 yr old is a very talented athlete and could easily excel at football....but I agree with my sister and brother-in-law who said that he'll only play baseball or basketball.

I assume you mean your nephew, or else you have one of those families where everyone seems to have a vote, even if it's not their immediate family.

[TranaGreg]

I assume you mean your nephew, or else you have one of those families where everyone seems to have a vote, even if it's not their immediate family.

or he could have one of those families where "immediate family" is a nebulous term ...

[Don Quixote]

or he could have one of those families where "immediate family" is a nebulous term ...

Nah. I know Gris. That would be far too lunatic for him.