That’s Right Nate

Few people have distinguished themselves both as an athelete and a legistlator like Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) has in his long career.  That’s why it is especially troubling to see that God may be signaling to the great bullpen in the sky that Jim Bunning is running out of gas.  There has been no comment from Mr. Bunning, his family, or his 2010 Senate campaign on his imminent demise, but the warning signs are clearly there.

The average life expectancy of somebody from Kentucky is 75.2 years.  However, that number includes both men and women.  Now as women have a life expectancy of 5.3 years more than men, we can assume that the average life expectancy of a Kentucky male would be 2.7 years less than the state average or 72.5 years of healthy living.  According to tables in Business week, Kentucy has the 5th lowest life expectancy in the country.

Jim Bunning was a heckuva baseball player whose claim to fame was pitching no-hitters for both the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies. Unfortunately, Jim Bunning debuted at age 23.  According to McCann’s Prerocity-Longevity Hypothesis that reduces his lifespan by .24 years.   Baseball players with nicknames were also found to live 2.5 years longer so subtract another year and a half from that life expectancy because no teammate was considerated enough to give Bunning a nickname.  Come on, he was 6’3″ when most people weren’t that tall, how hard would it have been to call him Stretch?  As a result we subtract another 1.25 years from his life expectancy bringing it down to 71 years.

It has been widely reported that Jim Bunning may be suffering from alzheimer’s disease which would reduce his life expectancy by another 7 years down to 64.  Jim Bunning is 77 years old.  He is 13 years past his time.  While he is still alive to appreciate it, I want to salute Jim Bunning for his success on the pitcher’s mound and on Capital Hill.  It was an amazing life and you will be missed.