Jepsen's remembrances of his buddy Adenhart are never far away

FORT MYERS, FLA. -- The Twins will be in Kansas City to start the second road series of the season on April 8. The date will resonate with Twins reliever Kevin Jepsen.

"There are always memories of Nick, and on that day they are stronger,'' Jepsen said.

Nick Adenhart and Kevin Jepsen spent time together in the Angels' farm system and became close friends.

Adenhart had debuted with the Angels as a 21-year-old pitcher with three starts in May 2008. Jepsen was 24 when he was added to the Angels' bullpen in September 2008.

Adenhart was in the rotation and Jepsen in the bullpen to start the 2009 season. Adenhart started the third game of the season on April 8 in Anaheim Stadium. He pitched six shutout innings against Oakland, allowing seven hits, three walks and striking out five.

The Angels bullpen – not including an appearance by Jepsen – then gave up six runs over the last three innings in a 6-4 loss. Brian Fuentes gave up the final three in the top of the ninth.

After the game, Adenhart talked with friends and family and then left the ballpark. He was in a vehicle with Courtney Stewart, Henry Pearson and Jon Wilhite. A construction worker named Andrew Gallo was drunk, ran a red light and smashed the vehicle being driven by Stewart.

Gallo's blood alcohol reading two hours after he caused the carnage was .19. He is serving a sentence of 51 years to life.

It will be seven years since Adenhart's death on that upcoming Friday in Kansas City.

"It's something that's hard to balance with the rest of your life … the waste of a young guy like Nick and the rest of the victims,'' Jepsen said this week, during a conversation in the home clubhouse at Hammond Stadium.

Asked about Adenhart as a pitching talent, Jepsen said: "He was unbelievable. He was real young, but he didn't play that way. He was so in command on the mound, had such a great idea of how he wanted to work a hitter, that it was like he had been in the big leagues for 10 years.

"Stuff-wise, he threw in the mid-90s, with an outstanding changeup. The Angels were a team built to win and Nick was in the rotation at 22.''

The Angels still took Adenhart in the 14^th round, then gave him $710,000 to sign – a bold move by scouting director Eddie Bane with Tommy John surgery in Adenhart's future.

It was a gamble that was getting ready to pay off big for the Angels, until a drunk driver ran the red light.

The corner locker that belonged to Adenhart in the Angels' clubhouse was maintained as a memorial to the pitcher during the 2009 season. The Angels won the West at 97-65, swept Boston in three games in a division series, and then lost in six games to the Yankees in the ALCS.

When the Angels arrived to start the 2010 season, the corner locker that had belonged to Adenhart was assigned to Jepsen.

Jepsen said at that time, "I was hesitant at first,'' but then realized it was an honor that he should embrace.