Atlanta Braves pitcher Rick Mahler died today at the age of 51. (via Q&O) I met Mahler once many years ago. His brother lived just down the street from where I grew up in La Mesa, Calif. His youngest nephew was a friend of mine, and I was at their home when Rick came to visit. I don't remember much about him, other than he was a baseball player and a really congenial guy. This was back in the early to mid-80s, and he seemed to be genuinely impressed when I showed him how to get all of the colors to match up on one side of those pyramidal-shaped Rubik's cube puzzles.

He was a nice guy, and a talented ballplayer. 51 is much to young. RIP.