In a lot of ways, this has been a lousy week for baseball. First came the news that former big league reliever Frank Williams, who had enjoyed a couple of lights-out seasons in the 1980s, died from a heart attack while enduring a homeless existence as an alcoholic. Then we heard about the passing of Preston Gomez, the first manager in the history of the San Diego Padres, who never recovered from injuries suffered in a car accident last spring. And then earlier this week, a young man named Todd Drew died.

I never met Todd Drew, never even exchanged e-mails with him. But we had something in common. We were both contributing writers to Bronx Banter, Alex Belth’s fine Yankee-related web site. Alex had brought Todd on a few months ago to write a regular feature called “Shadow Games,” which was often about the people of the Bronx and New York City. Though I never did meet Todd, his humanistic, even poetic writing style gave every indication that he was a warm, sensitive individual who cared about the people he met along the way. Sometimes you can tell about a person just from the way that he writes. I think Todd was that way.

With his writing skills, Todd seemed destined for a long and successful stint as a contributor to Bronx Banter. But then came the diagnosis this winter of an unusual form of cancer. Todd entered the hospital in December for surgery, with the hope that he would be released within a couple of weeks. Todd never made it home. There were complications, followed by a difficult stint in intensive care. He passed away in the early morning hours Wednesday, with his wife and best friend by his side. Todd was only 42, about a year younger than me.

Like me, Todd was a Yankee fan. He was looking forward to a new season, complete with new superstars like Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia. Hopefully, he has a good view of the new Yankee Stadium from his seat up above. It’s just that we won’t be able to share his descriptive passages about the new Stadium and the latest version of the Yankees with his loyal readers. 

That’s our loss–along with the enormous loss to his family. If there’s any consolation, it’s that we still have the body of his work preserved on the Internet, available at Bronx Banter for those who still want to enjoy his writing. His writing–and the memories he created for his family–remain a part of his uplifting legacy. Thanks for what you gave us, Todd.