As you might have heard Monday, former Cubs pitcher Geremi Gonzalez, 33, was struck by lightning and killed on a Venezuelan beach. Despite his 11-win rookie season as a Cub in 1997, I'll always remember Gonzalez for what he did while a member of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Namely, Gonzalez was the man who threw the fateful pitch that broke Sammy Sosa's corked bat and exposed the former Cubs slugger as a cheater. The incident took place in a 2003 interleague game between Tampa Bay and the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Speaking of the 2003 Devil Rays, 40 percent of that team's starting rotation is no longer with us.
Joe Kennedy? Dead. Geremi Gonzalez? Dead. Both passed away within the last six months.
If I were Victor Zambrano, Rob Bell or Jorge Sosa, I'd watch my back. Those are the three surviving members of the 2003 Tampa Bay rotation.
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