Around the horn: In one of life's unthinkable tragedies, Baxter's unlimited future was cut short

Two months ago, Gerik Baxter attended the funeral of a 7-year-old boy, the son of San Diego Padres minor-league trainer Lance Cacanindin, who had been supervising Baxter's rehab from reconstructive elbow surgery in May.

The youngster had been hit by a car while rollerblading with his father, the driver having gone into a diabetic coma. At the funeral, Baxter talked with Priscilla Oppenheimer, the Padres director of minor-league operations, about the injustice of life — and death.

"He was talking about how it just doesn't seem right or real that little children or young adults die," Oppenheimer recalled. "Me being older, I agreed with him and said there was no way to explain it. Who would have thought that two months later, I'd be attending a funeral for him?"

While the football world mourns the death of lineman Korey Stringer, the Padres, as well as the Edmonds community, are still trying to cope with a tragedy that hit much closer to home. Last Sunday, Baxter and his former Edmonds-Woodway High School teammate, Mark Hilde, were killed in a car accident, resulting from a blown tire on Baxter's pickup as he drove along Interstate 10 east of Palm Springs. Baxter was 21, Hilde 18.

Baxter was on his way to resume his rehabilitation with Class A Lake Elsinore. A former No. 1 draft pick in 1999 — the 28th pick overall — Baxter by all accounts had an unlimited future in the Padres organization. The arm injury was considered merely a detour.

"He was on his way," said Tye Waller, the Padres director of player development. "He threw in the mid to low 90s, good curve, very aggressive.

"He had been sidetracked by the elbow, but he had been coming back well from that. It was teaching him a little about his body and how to prepare. Guys usually bounce back good from this injury. All I heard was he was getting ready to come back in spring training next year.

"You don't know until the time comes, but I thought he had a great opportunity to have a successful big-league career."

Waller said the organization was "devastated" by Baxter's death.

"We're still pretty much in shock," added Oppenheimer. "Gerik seemed to enjoy life and had a good time wherever he was. His teammates really liked him. He had a tight circle of really close friends."

Oppenheimer, Waller and perhaps General Manager Kevin Towers will be among those from the Padres organization attending Baxter's funeral in Edmonds on Tuesday.

Oppenheimer addressed the Lake Elsinore team last week to offer grief counseling.

She said at least four Padres minor-league players are expected to attend the funeral, but apparently not Vince Faison, a fellow No. 1 pick in '99, Baxter's minor-league roommate and regarded as his closest friend in the organization.

"He wanted to go, then he called me and said, `I can't handle it. I can't go,' " Oppenheimer said.

Oppenheimer said she hopes one positive will come out of the death of Baxter and Hilde. At spring training next year, the California Highway Patrol will address Padres players on the importance of wearing seat belts. A CHP spokesman said neither victim was wearing one.

The devil's in the details

The embarrassing faux pas of Chicago White Sox General Manager Ken Williams — who thought he was getting 23-year-old pitching prospect Jonathan Berry from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the James Baldwin trade but actually received 32-year-old outfielder Jeff Barry — brings to mind an incident involving Williams' predecessor, Ron Schueler.

In a Seattle Times article on the Art of Trading in 1999, Schueler recalled being dealt from Atlanta to the Philadelphia Phillies at the 1973 winter meetings. For Schueler, then a promising 25-year-old right-hander coming off an 8-7 season, the Braves thought they were getting the Phillies' highly touted left-handed pitching prospect, Randy Lerch.

Actually, after a night of drunken revelry, the deal they had agreed to was for Barry Lersch, Randy's less-talented near-namesake

"The way they found out was they called him and said, `Lefty, we're glad to have you.' He said, `Uh, I'm a righty,' " recalled Schueler.

Postscript: Lerch went 21-14 in his first two full seasons with the Phillies (1977-78) but never lived up to his potential, putting up a 60-64 record in an 11-year-career for four teams. Lersch, who had an 18-32 record for the Phillies at the time of the trade, pitched just one game in 1974 and never made it back to the majors. Schueler went 11-16 for the Phillies in '74, won five more games for them the following two years and finished his eight-year career with a 40-48 record.