John C. Odom, a minor-league pitcher who became famous last year after being traded, not for another player, but for 10 bats worth $665, has died of a drug overdose, one that only surfaced today, months after its occurrence.
John C. Odom had been traded by the Calgary Vipers of the independent Golden Baseball League to the Laredo Broncos of the United League. Thing is, their original trade deal fell through, one for a slugger. Because Calgary frowned upon trades for cash, they decided on a trade for bats: made by Prairie Sticks, double-dipped black, 34 inches long, model C243, 10 of them worth $665.
It made John C. Odom famous, but it also bothered him a great deal. Dan Shwam, who managed Odom in 2008 on the Laredo Broncos of the United League, told Fox Sports:
"I guarantee this trade thing really bothered him. That really worried me. I really believe, knowing his background, that this drove him back to the bottle, that it put him on the road to drugs again.
"There were some demons chasing him, they'd been after him for a long time. But there's no way to really know whether the trade did it, is there?"
Ironically, John C. Odom once was a teammate of last year's Cy Young winner, Tim Lincecum. Both were pitchers.
After a particularly bad outing last June, Odom told Shwam he needed to take off, that he needed to get his life straightened out. With that, he disappeared, and was never seen by baseball again.
John C. Odom was 26.
Comment and add to the story without registration, but keep the comments meaningful please. Links are not accepted.
