Former Reds pitcher and Christian radio host Frank Pastore, 55, died Monday, from injuries sustained in a November motorcycle accident — an accident that Pastore anticipated on-air just three hours before his death.
According to thechristianpost.com, Pastore was on his way to his southern California home after the November 19 broadcast of “The Frank Pastore Show,” his three-hour daily talk-radio program, when his motorcycle was sideswiped by a car that swerved into the carpool lane of the 210 Freeway.
Earlier that day, Pastore had addressed just that very possibility:
In a discussion about life after death, Pastore said, “I mean look, you guys know I ride a motorcycle don’t you? … So, at any minute… I could be spread out all over the 210 (Freeway), but that’s not me, that’s my body parts.”
Deep in my heart, I knew my life would never be the same. I had always derived my sense of security and self-esteem from my athletic performance. Baseball had been my god and my source of identity. For twenty years my identity was in being a baseball player, not in playing baseball. I had confused what I did with who I was, like many others. I was no longer going to be a baseball player. I had lost my identity; I was a nobody. That frightening reality crashed down upon me in thunderous waves of terror.As unlikely as it may seem, it was in the midst of all this that I was introduced to the concept that God was real. As I walked into the training room, my small but faithful group of friends – the Christians – asked me whether I would mind if they prayed for me. “Of course you can pray!” I said. “You can do anything you want if you think it’ll help.”  How cute, I thought, the religious fanatics want to pray for me. Isn’t that just like uneducated people to turn to a mythical god in a crisis situation?