One of the saddest cases I can think of.Conigliaro was  a very talented player who  was ultimately responsible for added protection on batting helmuts after he was almost killed  by pitcher Jack Hamilton(I think).He died very prematurely.I went to a Red Sox game in Tiger(Detroit)Stadium in the sixties;Conigliaro struck out four times.I was sitting behind the Red Sox dugout with my dad.After Conigliaro's last at-bat,he rolled his bat over the dugout to me.The next day he hit two home runs.My mother later got rid of the bat.

Conigliaro was a slugging outfielder in the 60's who led the league in homers at the ripe old age of 20 in 1965, and who got off to a great start to his career. He was almost killed by a pitch during the great pennant winning year in '67, and missed the Series and the following season. Conigliaro came back in '69 and '70, with lots of homers and RBI'S, but was traded to the Angels in '71, where he had a bad year and retired. He tried a comeback in '75 with the Red Sox, but hit a very feeble .123 with 2 homers in 57 at bats. He was still just 30 but all done. He died in 1990 at just 45 years old, after having a stroke or something some years before. His brother Billy played from 1969-73 with Boston, Milwaukee, and Oakland. A tragic 'what if'type of career.