ESPN feature sheds light on SF Giants ace Logan Webb's family tragedy

SF Giants right-hander Logan Webb and his family are highlighted in a new ESPN online feature

Content Warning: Drug Addiction, Drug Overdose
Although he currently sits atop the National League leaders for various pitching categories, SF Giants ace Logan Webb has more to his story than simply being one of the game’s most reliable starting pitchers. In a recent episode of ESPN’s Outside the Lines, San Francisco’s right-hander and his family were highlighted as the short 13-minute documentary focused on the devastating passing of Webb’s 20-year-old cousin, Kade, from fentanyl poisoning in 2021.

After a breakout campaign on the mound for the Giants in 2021 that resulted in a playoff appearance, Webb was just a few days away from marrying his high school sweetheart, Sheridan, when tragedy struck the family –– Kade, a little brother figure in Logan’s life, was found dead inside a Safeway in Roseville. The investigators' findings indicated that Kade unintentionally ingested a pill containing fentanyl, contrary to his expectations of taking Percocet.

Webb said in the documentary that Kade was struggling with a painkiller addiction and had been receiving help at an inpatient rehab facility before being released in the fall. Kade was also expecting a child with his girlfriend, Brooklyn.

“I know he was struggling a little bit and I personally wanted to help him with his struggles,” Webb told ESPN.

The documentary shares that Kade was one of 70,000 Americans in 2021, who died after ingesting a lethal dose of fentanyl, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Fentanyl is characterized by experts as being 100 times more addictive than morphine. This attribute is one of the factors driving its utilization by numerous drug dealers in the production of counterfeit painkillers.

“Fentanyl has been around forever,” said Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire. “It's a surgical narcotic. It's very effective, but now it's coming, not from laboratories, but from street labs. And they are made with no product uniformity. Young adults and teenagers were buying what they thought was something else and they were dying in inordinate numbers.”

Gire charged Carson Schewe, the main suspect in the case, with possession and murder –– the first such charge related to fentanyl distribution in Placer County history.

“I think it is murder,” Webb said. “ I hope he gets what he deserves to be honest with you. It is murder. Maybe people think twice about selling something that they know is wrong, too. I mean, it's any age group, to be honest, but especially 15 or 22-year-old kids.

While the Giants ace and Placer County prosecutors have been in favor of a more criminalized response to fentanyl, many experts are critical of these responses to fentanyl deaths.

“This is a kneejerk emotional response which is not going to make a difference," Neill Franklin, a former commander of the Baltimore police’s drug bureau told The Guardian about increased prosecution of fentanyl related crimes. "It’s actually going to create harms as we travel down this road again, persecuting users instead of getting them the help that they need. We are headed in the wrong direction because our policymakers, our political leaders, want to appear strong and tough on crime, tough on these drugs. But it’s not the answer."

A recent report by Fair and Just Prosecution has shared a similar criticism of treating fenantyl related incidents with the same criminalized focus as the War on Drugs. "Drug-induced homicide prosecutions raise a number of serious concerns, including that they do not alleviate the risk of fatal overdoses; are ineffective as a deterrent to drug use, drug sales, and overdose deaths; can be legally problematic and consume significant resources; often target friends and family members; and worsen racial disparities in the system."

Besides the criminal case, Webb wants to raise awareness around fentanyl use and with the help of the Giants’ mental health team, began holding presentations to local high schools about its dangers.

“I saw how much it did damage to our family and how close we were,” Webb said. “And to me, I started thinking about there's so many out there –– stories like this –– and it's just hard. It's heartbreaking every time I hear about it.”

“This is something that we really want to attack and go after –– just get awareness out to kids to just think about the big picture rather than the next hour. If we just help save one kid in there. I mean, that's what made me feel really good about –– what makes me want to keep doing it.”