Last May, Padres starter Kevin Correia lost his 21-year-old brother in a hiking accident. As far as you and I were concerned, that meant he missed a few starts on the bereavement list and we likely didn’t think much else about it because that’s how these things go. Obviously, however, this was Earth-shattering for Correia.
Today ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has a story up about Kevin Correia’s struggles to come to grips with his brother’s death these past few months and how difficult such a thing is to do in the decided unnatural context of a baseball career. It’s a must read, if for no other reason, than because of Correia’s comments about how he was not dedicating his season to his brother’s memory or scrawling his number on the bill of his cap because, really, what would be the point? I’ve long had a problem with that kind of symbolism because I think, if anything, it causes us to disengage with our grief rather than confront it. That may just me a quirk of mine.
Anyway, it’s a good, though occasionally painful read.