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Parting shot: Obituary captures frustration of Washington Nationals fans
Patrick
D. Killebrew, an avid fan of baseball in general and the Washington
Nationals in particular, more than once shared a private joke with his
son, Jake.
“He had a great
life and I think he knew it,” said Jake. “He used to tell me, ‘You know,
I’ve got absolutely nothing to complain about.’ And then he’d always
stop and say, ‘Except maybe for the Nationals’ bullpen.’ ”
Even
in death, Mr. Killebrew, of Midlothian, continues to grumble about his
favorite team’s woeful relief pitching. His obituary, published in
Sunday’s Times-Dispatch, said the 68-year-old attorney “passed away
peacefully at home, June 20, 2017, after watching the Washington
Nationals’ relief pitchers blow yet another lead.”
The
obituary refers to the June 19 game between Washington and Miami. The
Nationals lost 8-7 after their bullpen surrendered the tying run in the
seventh inning and the winning run in the ninth. A week earlier, Atlanta
scored twice in eighth and three times in the ninth to defeat the
Nationals 11-10.
Washington’s bullpen has blown 12 of 32 save opportunities and ranks 26th among 30 major league teams in ERA (4.88).
In lieu of flowers, Mr. Killebrew’s obituary requested donations to the “Nationals Bullpen Fund.”
Mr.
Killebrew died in his sleep on June 20 — hours after the painful
late-inning loss to Miami. Jake said his father’s passing was “pretty
unexpected.”
When Jake sat down to compose the obituary, he did what he thought — no, what he knew — his father would have wanted.
Said
Jake: “I was working on the first draft and all of a sudden I said,
‘Oh, man — this is our chance. We’ve got to do this ... we’ve got to
take one more little jab at (the Nationals’) bullpen.’ I figured, ‘Dad
can’t do it, so now it’s up to us to do it for him.’”
Jake said his mother, Mr. Killebrew’s wife of 32 years, approved the final draft.
“She
understands,” he said. “She has a son — me — who has played baseball
for pretty much his entire life and a husband who watched baseball
almost every night” during the major league season.
Jake
said the family’s grief has been diluted to some extent by the
knowledge that Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo will see the
obituary — if he hasn’t already done so.
Jake said his father “is loving it, I’m sure. He’s probably watching and laughing right now” at Rizzo’s reaction.
Baseball
helped reinforce the bond between father and son. Jake said his father
“never missed” a televised Nationals game. More often than not, the two
watched together. Jake and Mr. Killebrew visited 14 major league
ballparks. Ironically, perhaps, they never visited Nationals Park as a
twosome.
“We wanted to,” Jake
said. “It was No. 1 on our list. We were planning to go next month.” He
fell silent for a moment. “Now it won’t happen.”
Mr.
Killebrew believed — as does Jake — that the family is distantly
related to the late Harmon Killebrew, a six-time American League home
run leader who was inducted in 1984 into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Harmon Killebrew played with the Washington Senators from 1954-1960.
A
celebration of Mr. Killebrew’s life will be held Sunday from 6-8 p.m.
at the Shenandoah Community Association (9601 Redbridge Road).
(804) 649-6442
@RTDVicDorr
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