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Piecing together Kevin Hickey's legacy


Kevin Hickey, South Side native, former White Sox LOOGY and batting practice pitcher, lived an one-in-a-million life. That storybook closed after Hickey passed away on Wednesday, following weeks spent in a diabetic coma.

After news of his death spread, lots of stories followed. Some quotes from the above video are in Chuck Garfien's piece about Hickey, and there have been a number of other nice tributes that help fill out Hickey's life and legacy in the White Sox organization.

Mark Konkol had talked to Hickey several times leading up to his coma, and the resulting article is a wonderful obituary. This is the setup:

Maybe you’ve heard about Hickey. He’s the street tough from Brighton Park, the stud at 16-inch softball who got laid off at Ryerson Steel and got signed by the White Sox, his favorite team, after throwing just few dozen fastballs at a open tryout at Old Comiskey Park.

And after a long, arduous journey — shoulder injuries, five years in the minors, a big league resurrection with the Orioles, more injuries, retirement, a movie role alongside Charlie Sheen, divorce, poverty, diabetes and eight long years selling used cars — Hickey made it back to the White Sox bench as a batting practice pitcher who was beloved by players.

Read the whole thing now. It's essential, and it's ultimately uplifting -- especially the part about the playoff share, which allowed him to purchase a glucose pump.

Ed Farmer allowed the inherited runs that led to Hickey's first major-league loss. How Hickey found out is one of the stories Farmer tells.

Mark Salas talks about Hickey's thorough nature, which helped when it came to making sure everybody had enough pitches to hit. Not so much when it came to quick rounds of golf.

And a few assorted tweets: