PHOENIX -- Right up until the time he took the field for his latest start, Arizona Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb was thinking about his friend and college roommate, Jon Hooker, searching the internet for more information about the plane crash that killed Hooker and his new bride.
"It's been a tough couple of days," Webb said.
They had been friends since rooming together as freshmen pitchers at Kentucky.
"We were pretty much inseparable," Webb said. "We took all our classes together. All day, every day, we were together."
Webb went on to become a major league All-Star, a soft-spoken, easygoing Kentuckian with a devastating sinking fastball. Hooker played a couple of years of independent ball and went back to Kentucky, where he married Scarlett Parsley on Saturday night.
Webb's parents were among those who attended.
Early the next morning, the newlyweds boarded a Comair commuter jet en route to a honeymoon in California. They were among 49 who died when the plane, taking off from the wrong runway at the Lexington airport, crashed and burst into flames.
"It was just a freak accident and probably could have been avoided," Webb said. "As bad as the situation was, for him to just be married a few hours beforehand makes it that much tougher."
When he woke up Sunday morning, Webb noticed he had a couple of phone calls from his former college coach, but he didn't check the messages en route to Chase Field. He was exchanging small talk with a couple of reporters in the clubhouse when manager Bob Melvin called him into the office to give him the news.
It was a slap of reality, Webb said, a jolt that made him realize life is not to be taken for granted. At 27, he realized that no one is invincible.
"That's the way I've felt my whole life. You can ask my mom, she'll tell you the same thing," Webb said. "I feel like I can go out there and do anything and not get hurt. That's what came to mind right when it first happened. Anything can happen. It makes you think, and really take things in and enjoy life."
Webb said he never thought about missing his Monday night start against San Diego.
"I always knew I'd pitch. I had no doubt about it," he said. "Knowing Hook, I'm sure he'd want me to do it, too."
Motivated, he said, by his desire to win one for his buddy, Webb allowed three runs on six hits in 7 1-3 innings in Arizona's 7-4 victory. The sinker was working, and he induced 17 groundouts, three of them for double plays.
He earned his 14th victory, tied with Carlos Zambrano and Brad Penny for most in the National League, and added respect from teammates and foes alike.
"Often times, we think baseball is life, then something like this hits," Diamondbacks outfielder Eric Byrnes said, "and we realize how much bigger other things are and how fortunate we are to be doing what we're doing playing this game."
Said Padres manager Bruce Bochy, "I feel for him. I mean, that's an awful tragedy there. I'm sure that's difficult to deal with, and I'm sure he had a lot on his mind."
Webb and Hooker didn't see as much of each other in recent years. They lived a three-hour drive apart and would get together occasionally in the offseason, "driving four-wheelers and stuff like that," Webb said.
Webb last talked to his friend when the Diamondbacks were in San Francisco a week ago. Hooker and his bride-to-be were moving to Lexington so she could complete her schooling. He wondered if Webb's agent might help him get a job, maybe with a representative of Rawlings or Louisville Slugger.
He also sought help getting some tickets to the Dodgers or Padres while he was in California on his honeymoon.
"I talked to him for about a half-hour," Webb said, "and said an early congratulations because I probably wouldn't talk to him before the wedding."
He is left with memories of his friend's positive attitude - "he was always happy" - and an intense desire to compete.
"We'd go running at six in the morning, and I hate running with the best of them," Webb said. "He did too, but he would run as hard as he could and just try to beat everybody.
"We'd run two miles, three miles, and I'd be dead tired coming in at 21 minutes. He'd push it as hard as he could and finish first every time. He's a guy that worked hard for what he got."
"It's been a tough couple of days," Webb said.
They had been friends since rooming together as freshmen pitchers at Kentucky.
"We were pretty much inseparable," Webb said. "We took all our classes together. All day, every day, we were together."
Webb went on to become a major league All-Star, a soft-spoken, easygoing Kentuckian with a devastating sinking fastball. Hooker played a couple of years of independent ball and went back to Kentucky, where he married Scarlett Parsley on Saturday night.
Webb's parents were among those who attended.
Early the next morning, the newlyweds boarded a Comair commuter jet en route to a honeymoon in California. They were among 49 who died when the plane, taking off from the wrong runway at the Lexington airport, crashed and burst into flames.
"It was just a freak accident and probably could have been avoided," Webb said. "As bad as the situation was, for him to just be married a few hours beforehand makes it that much tougher."
When he woke up Sunday morning, Webb noticed he had a couple of phone calls from his former college coach, but he didn't check the messages en route to Chase Field. He was exchanging small talk with a couple of reporters in the clubhouse when manager Bob Melvin called him into the office to give him the news.
It was a slap of reality, Webb said, a jolt that made him realize life is not to be taken for granted. At 27, he realized that no one is invincible.
"That's the way I've felt my whole life. You can ask my mom, she'll tell you the same thing," Webb said. "I feel like I can go out there and do anything and not get hurt. That's what came to mind right when it first happened. Anything can happen. It makes you think, and really take things in and enjoy life."
Webb said he never thought about missing his Monday night start against San Diego.
"I always knew I'd pitch. I had no doubt about it," he said. "Knowing Hook, I'm sure he'd want me to do it, too."
Motivated, he said, by his desire to win one for his buddy, Webb allowed three runs on six hits in 7 1-3 innings in Arizona's 7-4 victory. The sinker was working, and he induced 17 groundouts, three of them for double plays.
He earned his 14th victory, tied with Carlos Zambrano and Brad Penny for most in the National League, and added respect from teammates and foes alike.
"Often times, we think baseball is life, then something like this hits," Diamondbacks outfielder Eric Byrnes said, "and we realize how much bigger other things are and how fortunate we are to be doing what we're doing playing this game."
Said Padres manager Bruce Bochy, "I feel for him. I mean, that's an awful tragedy there. I'm sure that's difficult to deal with, and I'm sure he had a lot on his mind."
Webb and Hooker didn't see as much of each other in recent years. They lived a three-hour drive apart and would get together occasionally in the offseason, "driving four-wheelers and stuff like that," Webb said.
Webb last talked to his friend when the Diamondbacks were in San Francisco a week ago. Hooker and his bride-to-be were moving to Lexington so she could complete her schooling. He wondered if Webb's agent might help him get a job, maybe with a representative of Rawlings or Louisville Slugger.
He also sought help getting some tickets to the Dodgers or Padres while he was in California on his honeymoon.
"I talked to him for about a half-hour," Webb said, "and said an early congratulations because I probably wouldn't talk to him before the wedding."
He is left with memories of his friend's positive attitude - "he was always happy" - and an intense desire to compete.
"We'd go running at six in the morning, and I hate running with the best of them," Webb said. "He did too, but he would run as hard as he could and just try to beat everybody.
"We'd run two miles, three miles, and I'd be dead tired coming in at 21 minutes. He'd push it as hard as he could and finish first every time. He's a guy that worked hard for what he got."
