ESPN's Bostock piece

My name is Joseph Bessard II and I along with Charles O, Ken S, Don B and Don R. were Lyman's running buddies in Minneapolis during the time he played for the Twins and Angels. We all spent a great deal of time together when Lyman was out of uniform and away from the game. A great deal of that time was spent just fishing off the banks of Lake Minnetonka. Those days as I remember were filled with joking, laughter and in Lyman's case it allowed him time to get away from all of pressures that came along with becoming a Superstar, talking about life growing up in the South, our families at the time and the things we all wanted to accomplish in life. Lyman was a very reflective, soft spoken and so very down to earth in fact unless you read the newspapers and sports mags or followed baseball one would never even know he was a professional ballplayer let along a star. He was a genuine, honest to goodness, giving individual and we all miss him to this day.

His passing was such an unbelievable shock when it flashed across the news screen and its circumstances a horrific moment frozen in our minds to this day. Attending his funeral was just so surrealistic almost as though in slow motion that it was difficult to comprehend and accept its reality even now. Lyman was a fantastic athlete who had he lived would have broken many baseball records and surely join the great Rod Carew in the Hall of Fame but more than that to his homies he was just a great friend and it still hurts that he left us all so early.