Mud Hens manager Phil Nevin was visibly shaken by news of the death of former San Diego Chargers linebacker Junior Seau.
"We did a lot of charity work together and became friends," Nevin said of Seau. "He, Trevor Hoffman, Tony Gwynn and myself -- guys who were in San Diego a long time -- did things together."
Seau, who played for his hometown team for 13 years, was found shot to death at his home in Oceanside, Calif., Wednesday morning in what police said appeared to be a suicide. He was 43.
"I don't know what's going to be said about him, but he's a great man," Nevin said of Seau. "You will hear all of his friends say what a great guy he was. He called everybody 'Buddy.'
"We had dinner a couple of weeks before I left for spring training, and it was typical night -- we had a good time together. It's just a shame."
Nevin played for the San Diego Padres from 1999 to 2005 and had his best season with that team in 2001, hitting .306 with 41 home runs and 126 RBIs.
But Nevin's thoughts were on Seau, his family, and any football players who may be struggling with issues caused by their time in the NFL.
"For things to get that bad for that strong of a man, there had to be something to that," Nevin said of Seau. "It stinks that something like that happened to a friend, but hopefully it's a wake-up call. If there's some problem that's causing this, I hope it can get fixed.
"It's scary, and it's sad. It's a bad day."
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