Saturday Afternoon Chop
By Fred Owens
Ex-Atlanta Braves pitcher Hanson died of cocaine, alcohol overdose
ATLANTA – Cocaine and alcohol killed former Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson last month, a Georgia coroner said on Friday, finding that an accidental overdose had caused the death of an athlete once considered one of baseball’s most promising pitchers.
Hanson, 29, was discovered unresponsive at his suburban Atlanta home on Nov. 9. He lapsed into a coma, suffered organ failure and died later that night, according to authorities.
(ED Note: This is a sad but not unexpected conclusion by the coroner. Tommy started out as a future star but things went bad for him pretty quickly and he apparently turned to drugs and alcohol with this horrible result. Our hearts go out to his family and friends,)
Mariners acquire reliever Ryne Harper from Atlanta Braves
The Mariners have acquired minor-league relief pitcher Ryne Harper from the Atlanta Braves to complete an earlier trade, the team announced Friday.
Harper, 26, has a career 2.16 ERA and 20 saves in five minor-league seasons since being drafted in the 37th round of the 2011 MLB Draft by Atlanta.
Harper, who has been assigned to the Triple-A Tacoma roster, is the player to be named later from Atlanta to complete a Dec. 4 trade of Jose Ramiez from the Mariners.