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Monday, November 21, 2011

Daily Mail: Seattle Mariners’ Halman [fatally] stabbed

Ugh. Just ugh.

Seattle Mariners baseball star Gregory Halman has been killed in a stabbing in Rotterdam.

Dutch national TV station NOS-TV said the family of Halman, 24, had confirmed his death.

Yes, we can all agree that he’s not a star. That makes this no less horrific. RIP, Greg.

Update: Reuters reports Halman’s brother has been arrested in connection with the stabbing.

Tim Stauffer, Trot Nixon's Coming (Dan Lee) Posted: November 21, 2011 at 12:39 PM | 45 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: international, mariners, obituaries

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1. Baseball-Birthdays.com Posted: November 21, 2011 at 01:28 PM (#3998351)

wow... he signed professionally at age 16.

RIP.

2. villageidiom Posted: November 21, 2011 at 01:47 PM (#3998356)

Wow.

3. Accent Shallow Posted: November 21, 2011 at 02:12 PM (#3998362)

Holy crap, this is awful.

4. zonk Posted: November 21, 2011 at 03:09 PM (#3998374)

Awful. Halman was a guy I was rooting for from afar and I had even unintentionally created a couple of nominal Mariner fans in my company's Dutch office on Halman's back.

5. Dangerous Dean Posted: November 21, 2011 at 03:23 PM (#3998378)

RIP, Greg.

6. Gamingboy Posted: November 21, 2011 at 03:32 PM (#3998380)

Holy. ####. What... the hell? I... I can't even speak about this. It is so sad when ANYBODY so young as 24 passes away, but to die so violently, and allegedly by the hand of his own brother.

I might be sick. Thoughts with his family (even his brother, in some ways, it is entirely possible he is mentally disturbed), friends, teammates, the entire Mariners organization, and the Dutch baseball community.

(BTW, I do have to do a "WTF, media" thing here: This isn't even a "turntable" top story on MLB.COM, much less SI or ESPN. I get that he was a marginal player, but still, A PLAYER IN A MAJOR SPORTS LEAGUE WAS MURDERED.)

7. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: November 21, 2011 at 03:33 PM (#3998381)

Truly awful.

8. Kyle S at work Posted: November 21, 2011 at 03:37 PM (#3998388)

What a shame.

9. Ivan Grushenko of Hong Kong Posted: November 21, 2011 at 03:46 PM (#3998394)

How horrible. I was rooting for him to do well.

10. Baseball-Birthdays.com Posted: November 21, 2011 at 03:49 PM (#3998399)

BTW, I do have to do a "WTF, media" thing here: This isn't even a "turntable" top story on MLB.COM, much less SI or ESPN.

it's above the fold on MSNBC...

11. The Yankee Clapper Posted: November 21, 2011 at 03:58 PM (#3998406)

BTW, I do have to do a "WTF, media" thing here: This isn't even a "turntable" top story on MLB.COM, much less SI or ESPN.

it's above the fold on MSNBC...

It's the top story in the Headlines box on ESPN's MLB page.

12. KronicFatigue Posted: November 21, 2011 at 04:13 PM (#3998419)

See, I had the exact opposite reaction w/ the media. I don't think this should be covered by sports media at all. A human being was murdered, and he also happened to play baseball. Setting aside my belief that individual murders are almost never newsworthy, I don't think sports media should be digging too deeply into the personal affairs of players.

13. Ivan Grushenko of Hong Kong Posted: November 21, 2011 at 04:29 PM (#3998431)

I don't think this should be covered by sports media at all.

So you don't think baseball fans and especially Mariner fans should care about this?

14. KronicFatigue Posted: November 21, 2011 at 04:37 PM (#3998438)

13)

Nope. Well, maybe Mariner fans if they followed his career and knew of him. I know I'm in the minority though, as I caught a lot of heat for not caring "enough" when the Yankee pitcher crashed his plane. Death sucks. Particularly when the person is young. But not because the victim entertained me in the past.

15. Kurt Posted: November 21, 2011 at 04:47 PM (#3998444)

Wow, talk about a ship that sailed a long, long time ago. The sports media would report it if Halman had been arrested for shoplifting a pack of gum.

16. AROM Posted: November 21, 2011 at 04:58 PM (#3998455)

It makes me think of Nick Adenhart. Different in that Halman was (apparently) killed by a knife from his own brother instead of an intoxicated stranger. But it truly sucks nonetheless.

17. asinwreck Posted: November 21, 2011 at 05:16 PM (#3998472)

Terribly sad story.

18. Jonk Posted: November 21, 2011 at 05:35 PM (#3998504)

KronicFatigue, I don't understand that at all. So weird. If we didn't know about this, aren't we going to wonder why we don't see him next season?

19. Gaelan Posted: November 21, 2011 at 06:04 PM (#3998543)

Nope. Well, maybe Mariner fans if they followed his career and knew of him. I know I'm in the minority though, as I caught a lot of heat for not caring "enough" when the Yankee pitcher crashed his plane. Death sucks. Particularly when the person is young. But not because the victim entertained me in the past.

I can't express how wrong you are about this. The dissonance you are advocating between "entertainment" and life is the antithesis of moral reasoning.

[Edit to add] And his name was Cory Lidle not "the Yankee pitcher."

20. John Reynard Posted: November 21, 2011 at 06:32 PM (#3998591)

Wow talk about a crazy end, murdered by his own brother with a knife. Halman was so physically talented that he could have been a heck of a player if he'd ever learned how to identify a breaking ball. Sadly now we'll never get to see if he would have.

As for whether the sports news should report this or not? Of course they should. Refusing to report personal issues with athletes is what leads to Sandusky-style deviancy. Perhaps if Sandusky's stuff in 1998 or 2002 had been more adequately covered someone who was a prior victim would have come forward to support the accusations and it would have ended before another decade worth of victims were abused. To be honest, sporting news normally tells us what happens in the course of the games. But, since these reporters know the subject best, when something really happens which would otherwise be news they report on it too.

21. Pawapuro Posted: November 21, 2011 at 07:01 PM (#3998620)

In case anybody's interested, here's a Dutch news video about the incident: http://www.zie.nl/video/algemeen/Honkballer-Halman-omgekomen-bij-steekpartij/m1fz159ffsgj

Indeed, it is probable that he was stabbed at home by his brother Jason, a 22-year-old minor leaguer himself.

22. Swedish Chef Posted: November 21, 2011 at 07:46 PM (#3998666)

So, we have one murdered player, one kidnapped player and one player who just maybe murdered a dude.

Looks like Bill James can combine his interests in crime and baseball for his next book.

23. Never Give an Inge (Dave) Posted: November 21, 2011 at 08:47 PM (#3998744)

Terrible story, especially if it was indeed his brother who killed him. My heart goes out to their parents.

24. Drew (Primakov, Gungho Iguanas) Posted: November 21, 2011 at 08:58 PM (#3998762)

I had my "WTF is wrong with you" all ready for #14, but Gaelan said it much better.

Literally sickened. We're not just talking about death before one's time here--we're talking about murder and fratricide.

25. Drew (Primakov, Gungho Iguanas) Posted: November 21, 2011 at 09:02 PM (#3998772)

So, we have one murdered player, one kidnapped player and one player who just maybe murdered a dude.

Yep.

If we stop caring about our fellow humans, we're basically heartless mercenaries. If it ever happens that the dominant paradigm is "I don't care about anybody but myself", I'll have to find a way off the planet.

26. Jarrod HypnerotomachiaPoliphili(Teddy F. Ballgame) Posted: November 21, 2011 at 09:30 PM (#3998802)

It was really stunning to read this news this morning. I first saw it in my feed from a Euro-baseball site, which made it all the more shocking. I'd been reading regular updates about MLB's European tour from the same source, and Halman's name kept cropping up. Each time I'd think what a highlight the trip must have been for him, with him getting billing alongside MVP-types like Prince Fielder.

I was a particular fan of Halman's because my rec-league softball team is Dutch-themed. One of us who started it had taken a trip to the Netherlands and really loved it, so we became an orange-uniformed honkbal club. When we found out that the Mariners had a hot prospect from there, we couldn't have been more pleased; some of us road-tripped to Tacoma in uniform to see him play. I'm thinking this season we'll be wearing black armbands.

27. vortex of dissipation Posted: November 21, 2011 at 09:52 PM (#3998854)

I was at SAFECO Field this June 15, when Greg Halman hit his first major-league home run. I remember thinking at the time how great it was to see a guy hit his first dinger. This news is just terrible...

28. Pawapuro Posted: November 21, 2011 at 09:58 PM (#3998863)

@ 26: It is stunning. I'm Dutch, and criminals have a hard time getting murdered here... Let alone promising, young baseball players. The entire country averages 200 murders a year, for 17 million people. How could this happen?

29. gef the talking mongoose Posted: November 21, 2011 at 10:04 PM (#3998874)

KronicFatigue, I don't understand that at all. So weird. If we didn't know about this, aren't we going to wonder why we don't see him next season?

The world would be so much better if we all sat around wondering why Roberto Clemente never shows up for Old-Timers Games.

30. Guapo Posted: November 21, 2011 at 10:29 PM (#3998913)

YANKS BENCH MUNSON FOR JERRY NARRON; TEAMMATES SEEM UNUSUALLY DEPRESSED

31. Tim Stauffer, Trot Nixon's Coming (Dan Lee) Posted: November 21, 2011 at 11:20 PM (#3998960)

THURMAN MUNSON WALKED OUT ON HIS TEAM, MR. PRESIDENT.

32. Mike Emeigh

Posted: November 22, 2011 at 12:30 AM (#3999009)

It's a stretch to call Halman a *star* - he's Mark Reynolds with about 1/3 of the walks - but this is still just awful.

-- MWE

33. Esoteric Posted: November 22, 2011 at 12:44 AM (#3999024)

#12 was utterly retarded, but it was almost worth it for #30 and #31. Well done, you two.

34. Athletic Supporter leads the nation in drifters Posted: November 22, 2011 at 12:53 AM (#3999027)

THAT JERK OJ SIMPSON NEVER GIVES AUTOGRAPH SESSIONS ANYMORE FOR SOME REASON

35. frannyzoo Posted: November 22, 2011 at 01:14 AM (#3999037)

HARRY LUNTE REPLACES CHAPMAN AT SHORT, PLAYER/MANAGER SPEAKER MUM ON SUBJECT

36. Tim Stauffer, Trot Nixon's Coming (Dan Lee) Posted: November 22, 2011 at 01:21 AM (#3999041)

DODGERS' KOENECKE FAILS TO SHOW UP FOR GAME; LAST SEEN BOARDING AIRPLANE

37. Athletic Supporter leads the nation in drifters Posted: November 22, 2011 at 01:43 AM (#3999054)

UGUETH URBINA SHOWS UP FOR GAME WITH BLOOD ON HIS UNIFORM, ONE CAN ONLY ASSUME THAT HE HEROICALLY SAVED DYING WOMAN

38. Jick Posted: November 22, 2011 at 02:06 AM (#3999066)

Lou Gehrig lucky at something. Probably BABIP, who knows.

39. Infinite Yost (Voxter)

Posted: November 22, 2011 at 02:41 AM (#3999080)

#### this.

40. KronicFatigue Posted: November 22, 2011 at 03:05 AM (#3999094)

I didn't mean to offend anyone w/ my opinions. My apologies. I sincerely can't make the connection to caring MORE about Cory Lidle's death than say his flight instruction, who also died, but wasn't mentioned 1/100th of the time when it happened. Or the numerous of other people that died that day, whose names I don't know. There's a collective sadness that comes with death (for me) that remains unchanged unless I have a personal connection to that person.

But I won't continue. I realize I'm in the minority on this (party of one), and I just wanted to acknowledge that i read all the above posts.

41. The Gurus DO NOT BourbonSamurai Posted: November 22, 2011 at 03:50 AM (#3999130)

CORY LIDLE FORFEITS FREQUENT FLYER MILES

PETE ROSE'S "STONE COLD LOCKS" COLUMN NOT TO BE SEEN TODAY

ROBERTO CLEMENTE MOVES TO FARM IN COUNTRY, WILL ENJOY HAVING PLENTY OF SPACE TO HIT AND RUN

aside from the jokes, this really sucks. I always feel bad when I feel EXTRA bad about someone being murdered because they happened to do something I care about, like play baseball, rather than just being some regular joe.

42. Ivan Grushenko of Hong Kong Posted: November 22, 2011 at 04:30 AM (#3999164)

It's a stretch to call Halman a *star* - he's Mark Reynolds with about 1/3 of the walks - but this is still just awful.

He also had a lot more defensive value, no? Agreed he wasn't a MLB star, but he did have loads of raw talent, and he was a star in the Netherlands.

43. OsunaSakata Posted: November 22, 2011 at 04:58 PM (#3999424)

Loud music may have led to Greg Halman slaying. There was a similar story in a U.S. stabbing involving similarly-aged women. I don't whether people in this cohort are more prone to violence over music or whether this is the new "loud music" legal defense.

44. SoSH U at work Posted: November 22, 2011 at 05:16 PM (#3999445)

But I won't continue. I realize I'm in the minority on this (party of one), and I just wanted to acknowledge that i read all the above posts.

I'll out myself here. As stated in 40, I know exactly what you're saying, and I feel the same way.

I don't agree that Halman's death isn't newsworthy. But I do agree that unless I happen to have a personal connection to the deceased (a real two-way connection, rather than the fan type that is the case with most of us and Halman), my level of sadness doesn't change because he happened to perform at something I enjoy. I didn't know him. He didn't know me. His death is undoubtedly a sad occasion, and tragic for his family, but no more tragic than the millions of others who died this week.

Maybe it's just my general discomfort with the culture of celebrity.

45. Swoboda is freedom Posted: November 22, 2011 at 05:17 PM (#3999446)

This must be awful for his parents. You lose a son and your other son is the murderer.

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Monday, November 21, 2011

Daily Mail: Seattle Mariners’ Halman [fatally] stabbed

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