baseball obituaries 2018

Marcos Carvajal

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/mlb/miami-marlins/article196701969.html

Former Padres and Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers

https://www.si.com/mlb/2018/01/30/kevin-towers-diamondbacks-padres-gm-dead

http://img.ecomplatform.com/scs/images/products/116/large/oscar_gamble_autographed_8x10_photo_cleveland_indians_8x10_photo_certified_authentic_signature_p452380.jpg

oscar gamble

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2018/01/31/70s-star-oscar-gamble-passes-away-at-age-68

As mid-'70s iconic as Elton John or Patty Hearst or anybody.

Very nice piece by the guy who wrote Big Hair and Plastic Grass.

Oscar's immortal quote, "They don't think it be like it is, but it do," was in reference to the insanity and dysfunction of the Yankees clubhouse under George Steinbrenner and Billy Martin.

http://www.bighairplasticgrass.com/big_hair_and_plastic_gras/2018/01/a-fro-tastic-farewell-oscar-gamble-rip.html

“It be like it is” > “It is what it is”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtExewJMh8A

^ video from that link. looking at his initial stance (mentioned in the link) it makes me thing of the truism (?) that most major leaguers end up in the same place before they swing

My favorite story about the ufortunately late Oscar Gamble was when he popped up and his manager reminded him every player was supposed to take the first pitch unless there were a runner in scoring positon. "When I'm in the batter's box," replied Oscar, "I'm in scoring position."

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) February 1, 2018

Wally Moon, Cards/Dodgers slugger who was NL ROY in 1954

http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-wally-moon-20180210-htmlstory.html

tito francona, 84

Jack Hamilton, pitcher 1962-69, who fatefully hit Tony Conigliaro.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22572124/jack-hamilton-former-mlb-pitcher-hit-tony-conigliaro-pitch-dies-79

Sammy Stewart, pitcher 1978-87, who spiraled into addiction and prison

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22645839/ex-baltimore-orioles-pitcher-sammy-stewart-dies-63

Ed "The Glider" Charles

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ed-charles-member-1969-miracle-mets-dead-84-article-1.3877376

Jay Jaffe on Ed

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/r-i-p-ed-charles-who-followed-in-the-tracks-of-jackie-robinson/

Charles was always eager to talk about his brushes with Jackie Robinson, starting with the sighting in Daytona Beach in 1946.

Charles also recounted a story of how he later spotted Robinson, who was by then on the Brooklyn Dodgers’ roster, on a train.

The Dodgers were in Florida playing an exhibition, and Charles and several friends “peered through openings in the fence,” he recalled in “Carrying Jackie’s Torch: The Players Who Integrated Baseball — and America,” by Steve Jacobson (2007).

After the game, the Dodgers prepared to leave from the railroad station.

“So now we’re walking down the platform, looking in the windows trying to see where Jackie was seated,” Charles said. “Finally we come to the right coach, and there is Jackie, playing cards. We waved and, you know, he waved back to us.”

“Then the train starts pulling out,” he went on, “and we start slowly walking with it, just waving to Jackie. The train picked up speed. We kept running and waving till the train got out of sight.”

“Things like that, you know, I can recall so vividly,” he said, “because they were very special moments in my life and in the life of the country. It was like the Messiah had come.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/15/obituaries/ed-charles-a-mainstay-of-the-miracle-mets-dies-at-84.html

Wayne Huizenga

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2018/03/23/wayne-huizenga-former-owner-marlins-dolphins-nhl-panthers-dies/452969002/

le grand orange, 73

Oh damn, that's gonna put a damper on things in Queens.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/in-memory-of-rusty-staub-one-of-the-most-underrated-players-in-baseball-history

I remember Staub mostly in his later days mostly pinch hitting for the Mets. I seem to remember him being a tough out as with that choked up batting stance he seemed to be able to foul off tough pitches at will.

Carl Scheib, who debuted pitching for the Philadelphia A's at 16 in 1943

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/93562fe6

Dave Garcia, baseball lifer

When David was 11, his father died, and his mother went to work in a shirt factory to support her five children. He helped out by selling newspapers in downtown East St. Louis.

Garcia signed a contract with the St. Louis Browns in 1938. Sent to its minor-league team in Springfield, Ill., he was hit in the head by a pitch and did not return to play for more than a year. He subsequently tore up a knee while playing in Lake Charles, La., and broke a leg in Eau Claire, Wis. ...

Finally healthy, he had a strong season in 1947 with the Sioux City Soos, then took on the dual roles of player and manager, first with the Knoxville Smokies in Tennessee 1948 and then the Oshkosh Giants from 1949 to ’53.

...A hard-hitting second baseman in the 1940s and ’50s, Garcia managed many of the teams he played for. But Major League Baseball was not calling him. So, with his family growing, he retired as a player-manager and moved into scouting — then returned to managing in the minor leagues, adding Fresno, Calif., and Salt Lake City to his late-1960s travels.

But as he entered his 50th year, the majors finally beckoned. The San Diego Padres hired him as a coach in 1970, a stint that he followed with two managing jobs: first with the California Angels and then with the Cleveland Indians.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/obituaries/dave-garcia-mlb-manager-minor-leagues-dies-at-97.html

bruce kison, 68

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2018/06/02/Former-Pirates-pitcher-Bruce-Kison-dies-at-68-world-series-1971-1979-baltimore-orioles/stories/201806020081

'71 WS is the first i remember watching, RIP

Kison's big game wasn't quite my first WS game, but close--remember that more than I remember '70. Kind of amazed he was still there in '79.

Red Schoendienst, at 95

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/hall-of-famer-red-schoendienst-dies-at-he-was-mr/article_d32f81fe-c286-5023-8667-10b0fc89b206.html

rip Red

Dutch Rennert

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23837561/former-national-league-umpire-laurence-dutch-rennert-jr-dies-88

best strike call

didn't hit the big leagues til he was about 43

https://www.mlb.com/video/rennert-on-his-umpiring-career/c-503830783

Billy Connors

https://www.mlb.com/news/billy-connors-former-pitching-coach-dies/c-282156366

The Hall of Fame remembers former @Pirates first baseman and longtime trainer Tony Bartirome, who passed away on Friday. pic.twitter.com/DT7Y6NlKZQ

— Baseball Hall ⚾ (@baseballhall) June 26, 2018

Yosh Kawano

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-yosh-kawano-dead-20180626-story.html

Tony Cloninger

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24221679/former-pitcher-yankees-coach-tony-cloninger-dies-77

Johnny Lewis, who played with the Cardinals and Mets from 1964-67

John Kennedy, utility infielder for the Senators, Red Sox, and '69 Seattle Pilots

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=kennejo03

Looks like there are a lot of references to Kennedy in Ball Four though I don't have a copy here.

i was gonna ask... i remember the tail end of his career, but not if Bouton wrote about him.

Aaron Cox (Mike Trout's brother-in-law), retired minor league pitcher passed away at age 24.

I often want to locate a quote in Ball Four and bemoan the lack of an index.

Billy O'Dell, two-time AL All-Star pitcher

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24663912/ex-big-leaguer-billy-odell-won-105-games-majors-dies-85

loooong-time scout don welke, 75. 50 years in baseball, most recently with the padres

Don Welke, the veteran baseball man, was the scout who convinced Blue Jays to draft a Flint, Mich. high school left-hander in 1985. The final words of a very thorough report: "Has no right hand." (Jim Abbott went to Michigan instead.)

— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) September 20, 2018

Peter Bjarkman, historian of Cuban baseball, pioneer and pal, died suddenly yesterday, of a heart attack in Havana. I will miss him. https://t.co/kLDM58lfN4

— John Thorn (@thorn_john) October 2, 2018

Saw him at SABR in NYC last year. This year's Cuba Ball tour just concluded, he must've been visiting with it.

new york times scribe dave anderson, who was the last writer to leave the ebbets field press box

longtime giants broadcaster hank greenwald, 83

https://www.sfchronicle.com/giants/article/Longtime-Giants-broadcaster-Hank-Greenwald-dies-13330066.php

former pitcher/longtime pitching coach bill fischer, 88

in 1962 he threw a record 84 1/3 consecutive innings (for the kansas city athletics) without issuing a walk

The Royals are saddened to announce the passing of Senior Pitching Advisor Bill Fischer. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. Fish touched so many lives during his career, not only with the Royals, but through his eight decades in pro baseball. pic.twitter.com/bkZCrF80Fb

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) October 31, 2018

It is with great sadness that we announce that San Francisco Giants Legend and Hall of Famer Willie McCovey passed away peacefully this afternoon at the age of 80 after losing his battle with ongoing health issues. #Forever44 | #SFGiants pic.twitter.com/ooOYg4ESol

— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) October 31, 2018

Willie McCovey, 80

Between the '30s and the PED era, his '69 season was a benchmark offensively.

Checked that, and his '69 is indeed the highest OPS+ year (209) in that gap by someone not named Williams or Mantle.

He showed up in 1972 healthy and raring to go, and homered on Opening Day off Houston’s Don Wilson. In the season’s fourth game, San Diego’s John Jeter ran into McCovey at first base, fracturing Willie’s right forearm. ("I feel like I killed Santa Claus," Jeter said.)

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/2a692514

Posnanski just posted a McCovey entry in his countdown (#89, obviously bumped up or down because of his death), and he reminded me of one of my favourite moments in Ball Four:

"Hey Willie," Jim Bouton said to McCovey as he and what he called "a group of terrorized pitchers" watched McCovey smash terrifying home run after terrifying home run in batting practice. "Can you do that every time?"

McCovey, Bouton said, did not even smile.

"Just about," he said.

Apparently we failed to note Marty Pattin, AL pitcher 1968-80, mostly for the Royals (and a Seattle Pilot), who died last month.

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article219466410.html

Another Ball Four guy...Line I think I remember: "Marty, how do you hold your gopher balls?" (which Bouton felt bad about after he said it).

RIP Fred Caligiuri — the oldest living former @MLB player — who died Friday at the age of 100. Pitching for the Philadelphia @Athletics, he faced Ted Williams on the final day of the 1941 season when he hit .406. Read Caligiuri's #SABR bio: https://t.co/LtLS5ngBou pic.twitter.com/G9YwJj8S1A

— SABR (@sabr) December 3, 2018

Former Major League Baseball players Luis Valbuena and Jose Castillo were killed in a car accident on Thursday night, a spokesperson for their Venezuelan team, Cardenales de Lara, confirmed.

Valbuena was 33. Castillo was 37.

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Former major league players Luis Valbuena and Jose Castillo were killed in a car crash caused by highway bandits who then robbed them, officials said Friday.

The 33-year-old Valbuena and 37-year-old Castillo died late Thursday when their SUV crashed as it tried to veer around an object on the road, Yaracuy state Gov. Julio Leon Heredia said on his Twitter account.

Officials said some bandits place or throw objects on highways to force vehicles to stop or crash so they can rob the occupants. Heredia said four people have been detained after being found with property of the athletes.

Valbuena and Castillo were teammates on the Cardenales de Lara team in the Venezuelan winter league and were returning from a game in the capital when the crash occurred en route to the city of Barquisimeto.

Third baseman Carlos Rivero was in the car and survived, according to the website BeisbolPlay.

Joan Steinbrenner, widow of Boss Bullshit

The Hall of Fame remembers former @Orioles, @Twins, @Angels, @RedSox and @Tigers outfielder Lenny Green, who passed away on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/lf6tAS8d48

— Baseball Hall ⚾ (@baseballhall) January 8, 2019

Rick Down, former NYY/NYM coach

https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/sports-columns/ron-kantowski/ex-yankees-hitting-coach-rick-down-dies-at-home-in-las-vegas-1569683/

mel stottlemyre, 77

Very interesting career. Helped along by his era a career ERA under 3.00, retired at 32, never had a really bad year (three mediocre ones, never terrible), won 20 three times and lost 20 once, hit 40 WAR in a short career. And his son gets credit for the worst slide in the entire history of baseball.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVt84YGtfGo

also unusual in that he was the Yankee ace when they won nothing (after his rookie year), then was pitching coach for the WS-winning Mets

Like a lot of guys in the early '60s, AL especially, he would have had a real good shot at a Cy Young in '65 if not for Koufax: 20-9, 6.9 WAR, 291 innings for the first lousy Yankees team (6th place) in ages.

(Actually, no--McDowell would have been a cinch, even with fewer wins.)

Tom Hausman, pitcher in 160 MLB games 1975-82, and the first FA signed by the Mets

https://www.davisfuneralservices.com/memorialpage.asp?page=odetail&id=99311&locid=48

R.I.P. Jim McKean, legendary umpire and Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer https://t.co/HoYqMnUUuv By: Kevin Glew (@coopincanada ) pic.twitter.com/JGtXPfbnph

— The Canadian Baseball Network (@CDNBaseballNet) January 24, 2019

damn, RIP

Pirates pitching ace Bob Friend

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25917999/bob-friend-pirates-leader-innings-starts-ks-dies-88

frank robinson

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dy07TNjU8AEDiUB.jpg

fuck

I once told Frank Robinson I was at Fenway in 1970 when he made great extra-inning catch in RF. “Yeah, and the next day I hit back-to-back grand slams off a couple of Joes,” he said. Thought it was a baseball term. Nope: He hit ‘em off Joe Coleman, Joe Grzenda on June 26, 1970.

— Steve Buckley (@BuckinBoston) February 7, 2019

ha! that's a good story. RIP Frank Robinson. one of my earliest baseball memories was a book about the players who had hit the most home runs, so i was aware of him from an early age and always think of the number 475 whenever he was mentioned. it wasn't til later that i appreciated what a well rounded player he was, and his groundbreaking status as the first black manager in MLB.

er....586. 475 was musial and stargell. shit, i'm starting to lose my baseball stat knowledge.

saw Frank play in his single year with the Dodgers, 1972

i still remember from my first MLB book the top ten HR hitters: Aaron, Ruth, Mays, Robinson, Killebrew, Jackson, Schmidt, Mantle, Foxx, McCovey.

I have this loose definition of "sporting god" when I try to think of which ones are still alive. Basically the inner-inner circle HOF'ers whose peak years were in the '50s and '60s, before television and big-money skyrocketed (e.g.: Unitas, Bill Russell, Howe). Robinson fits the definition. Mays, Aaron, Koufax, Jim Brown, Palmer, Nicklaus...the list continues to dwindle; I'm guessing there are under 10 still around.

I don't think Eckerskey gets the point being made here.

http://www.nbcsports.com/boston/red-sox/dennis-eckersley-silences-bill-james-over-frank-robinson-tweet

Bob Gibson: "As a rule, I'm reluctant to express admiration for hitters, but I make an exception for Frank Robinson."

xpost as the article mentioned, it wasn't misunderstanding the point that was the problem, it was the timing:

The immediate aftermath of Robinson's passing might not have been the best time for this discussion, though.

I remember my dad was at this Giants-Mets game at Shea Stadium, and loved Frank's hard-ass attitude:

"A passage in The Baseball Codes describes Giants reliever Jim Barr, upset at being pulled from a game by manager Frank Robinson in 1983:

Frustrated, Barr didn’t wait for his manager to reach the mound before flipping him the ball—a clear act of insolence in the hard-edged presence of Robinson, who made it clear to his pitchers that they were to hand him the ball as they departed.

Barr planned on storming to the dugout, but was interrupted when Robinson caught the baseball, grabbed the pitcher by the arm as he tried to pass, spun him around, and dragged him back up the hill to await (reliever Greg) Minton’s arrival. Robinson had been the league’s most fiery player, and his managerial furnace burned nearly as hot.

As the duo waited for Minton to arrive, Robinson told Barr exactly what he thought of his stunt, poking a finger into the right-hander’s chest to emphasize his point. . . . On the mound at Shea, it was hard to miss the battle brewing, and the New York fans looked on in delight. All four members of the Giants infield raced in and surrounded the pair in an attempt to calm things down.

Barr didn’t help matters when he decided that if he wasn’t allowed to leave until Robinson gave him permission, he wouldn’t leave at all. This meant that when Minton arrived at the mound he found two people, Robinson and Barr, standing between himself and the catcher, which made it somewhat difficult to warm up. “It seemed like five minutes,” said Barr, “even though it was probably only ninety seconds.” Robinson finally led Barr back to the dugout, at which point both pitcher and manager had to be restrained from going after each other."

https://thebaseballcodes.com/2010/06/14/forget-godot-wait-for-your-manager/

you got it?

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/manager-frank-robinson-of-the-san-francisco-giants-gets-news-photo/845718940

(xpost) I now see that...Robinson's '66 MVP/Triple Crown is a large part of his legend. If you've got a statistical tool that casts doubt on the MVP-worthiness of that season (and I don't mean for this to be an anti-WAR thing, not at all), I don't think there's anything wrong with saying no, he was indeed the league's MVP that year, and saying so on the day of Robinson's death. I often flinch at some of the nasty things that get posted about people the day they die, but this seems to me to be the opposite of that.

says something about how much baseball has changed: I'd never heard of Jim Barr, but he threw 64 CG and 20 shutouts in his career. He started 252. while Justin Verlander (to cite one example) has thrown 24 CG and 8 shutouts and started 419. Fellow deserved future HOFer Max Scherzer's career totals of 10 and 5 in those categories fall just shy of Barr's 11 and 5 in 1974.

One last thing I came across: in his first AB in his first game as player-manager, Robinson homered.

don newcombe, 92

great pitcher for a minute. his military service maybe caused him to miss out on the HOF? Might be a stretch, but he wound up missing two years and there was a third where he scuffled upon his return back. Bookended by 19 & 20 win seasons before he left, and 20 and 27 win seasons once he regained his form. Could have finished with over 200 wins and made a better case for enshrinement.

damn

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/List_of_living_Brooklyn_Dodgers_players

Erskine is the last Brooklyn star left.

i don't think newcombe has much of a HoF case stats-wise, but winning a RoY/Cy/MVP and having songs written about him as the first (?) black pitching star goes a long way imo

well, Satchel Paige became an MLB star a hair earlier, no?

i don't really know how paige was thought of at the time, but i think his MLB career was mostly a footnote -- he was already in his 40s, didn't start many games, didn't play for marquee teams

well yeah the thing is Paige was already a legend when he put the Cleveland uni on.

There are a lot of things that made Don Newcombe awesome, but my favorite baseball thing is probably him going to Japan, at 36, as an outfielder, and slugging .473 for Chunichi.

— Kevin Goldstein (@Kevin_Goldstein) February 19, 2019

damn, RIP don newcombe. :(

Paige appeared w/ CLE in '48, but was not used consistently as a starter as Newk would be the next year, as mook said. Started 7 games, threw 2 shutouts, relieved 14 times, plus got 2 outs in the World Series.

growing up in the NYC area, read a lot about Newcombe in the papers and The Boys of Summer in the early '70s, around Jackie's death. As one did, since most of the writers had covered the departed teams.

boston globe writer nick cafardo, 62, died today at the red sox's spring training park in fort myers

For the past 34 years, one guy who was always terrific and on top of it, always worth a giggle, as well as a meaningful phone call, and who always was the best of professionals and colleagues, was Nick Cafardo. And I am sick to my stomach and going for a long, long walk. https://t.co/UvVgpTAkFA

— Lynn G. Henning (@Lynn_Henning) February 21, 2019

It is with a heavy heart to report that former #PeoriaRedwings catcher, Terry Donahue passed away last night at the age of 93. She was one of the Canadians who came south to play in the #AAGPBL from 1946 - '49. Please keep her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. pic.twitter.com/Hqqridfyx6

— AAGPBL Official (@AAGPBL) March 15, 2019

RIP Chuck Harmon, 94, African American baseball pioneer who broke the color barrier for the Cincinnati @Reds in 1954. He was also a basketball star at @ToledoMBB who played and coached hoops professionally. Read his #SABR bio: https://t.co/6gwQvJKvcw pic.twitter.com/LwFxkeRW76

— SABR (@sabr) March 20, 2019

bill buckner

RIP BB

In a statement, Mookie Wilson says he and the late Bill Buckner developed a friendship that lasted over 30 years. The two will forever be linked in history.

"Bill was a great, great baseball player whose legacy should not be defined by one play," Wilson said.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 27, 2019

When we started on our fourth day of provincial grade 3 testing this today, it became evident, after about five minutes, that I had totally messed up the first two days. They were supposed to do two language sections last Tuesday; they did one. Two more on Wednesday; they did one. You'd think I would have figured out that something was amiss--both days I was in the staff room complaining about how much time they'd been given to do so little. I had to call the principal to my room this morning: "Um, I've got an emergency."

My little tribute to you, BB.

(I'm being unfair, I know--he was a good hitter who, because of the era he played in, was sometimes mistakenly viewed as a great hitter.)

On Sunday, the last full day of Bill Buckner's life, 16 major leaguers struck out at least three times. Buckner played 22 seasons and never did it once.

— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) May 27, 2019

Some of my earliest childhood memories of watching baseball was Jack Brickhouse announcing "Billy Buck" lining frozen ropes down the right field line in Wrigley.

If you watched Bill Buckner play much, you would obviously see a guy that maximized his skills and with the 2 days of stubble on top of the handlebar mustache and eye black, the guy had the clutch hustler dirty uniform look down that fans come to love. On top of this, by all counts his knees were totally screwed and he pretty much played over a decade on bad legs.

To err is human and Bill Buckner seemed to be a decent human being pretty well centered considering having to deal with that World Series play.

Bob Stanley and Calvin Schraldi should have thanked Buckner for years that most fans probably outside Boston forgot their part in the Red Sox collapse.

Right--Buckner's error let in the winning run in a game that had already become a nightmare. The sequence before the error--singles by Carter, Mitchell, and Knight, then the wild pitch--was the real catastrophe (something I thought at the time).

I watched that ending happen and it was craziest end to any playoff sporting event to that point I had ever seen.* One thing that would be interesting to see is the odds of winning the game and how it changed play by play. That type of graph is pretty easy to find these days, but I have never seen it for that game.

Less talked about than the Cubs/Marlins game, I think the Rangers collapse against the Cardinals being down to the last strike lord knows how many times to win the series in 2011 was pretty awful. It doesn't have that iconic play, but it was just as big a a belly flop failure.

*I'd say for mid-80s, Flutie's BC hail mary against Miami and NC State's tip in against Phi Slamma Jamma were pretty unexpected too. I seem to remember the Dwight Clark catch being a bigger deal after the Sports Illustrated magazine came out with that amazing picture than when it happened in some ways. I do kinda remember Reggie's 3HR game in the World Series, but was too young for Fisk's HR.

if you scroll down a bit, you can find a win expectancy graph for the game here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198610250.shtml

It doesn't have that iconic play

a lot of cardinals fans would point to the david freese walk-off HR

https://sp.yimg.com/j/assets/p/sp/editorial_image/f1/f1a2ffa4922626ec6aa3ecb26c5e14a3/cardinals_put_rally_squirrel_on_world_series_ring.jpg

Fully aware of Buckner's limitations, the strikeout contrasts to today really are amazing. From Posnanski:

In 1980, the year Buckner led the league in batting, he came to the plate 615 times. He struck out 18 of them.

Bryce Harper has struck out 19 times in the last two weeks.

Joey Gallo struck out 207 times in 2018.

Bill Buckner struck out 205 times in the 1970s. The whole decade.

(I will preemptively add that no, I would not take Buckner over Harper--obviously.)

Bob Stanley and Calvin Schraldi should have thanked Buckner for years that most fans probably outside Boston forgot their part in the Red Sox collapse.

i never actually saw the BB misplay at first. as i have probably recounted here somewhere, i was already lying flat on my back, staring up at the ceiling, as a result of the hits and of schiraldi. for me, it was already all over. it was so obviously all slipping away. my dad had to come back to the bedroom and gently break it to me what had happened. it barely registered. i already knew, somehow.

What I remember most, besides Mookie Wilson barely fouling off a few pitches before the grounder, is that with one out, I think, NBC announced that Boston's Marty Barrett was the World Series MVP.

Also when the Mets won, my dad and I didn't celebrate, but just stared at each other; we couldn't believe it.

Marc Okkonen, uniforms expert

https://uni-watch.com/2019/05/29/marc-okkonen-1933-2019/

Frank Lucchesi

https://www.lonestarball.com/2019/6/9/18658598/frank-lucchesi-former-texas-rangers-manager-died-92

that book about the '70s Texas teams Seasons in Hell is a doozy

Tyler Skaggs has passed away. We do not have details yet about how he passed, but tonight's game between the Angels and Rangers has been canceled.

— Levi Weaver (@ThreeTwoEephus) July 1, 2019

what the fuck

awful

omg that's horrible

just shy of 28, pitched on Saturday

good bio piece, RIP:

https://www.ozy.com/the-huddle/this-mlb-pitcher-gets-it-from-his-mama/88403

Jay Jaffe remembers Jim Bouton, personally. (I was at those SABR panels mentioned, in 2006 and 2017.)

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/pitcher-author-everyman-hero-jim-bouton-1939-2019/

Joe Grzenda, who threw the final pitch in Senators history (and kept the ball), dies at 82 https://t.co/2nvj9OfzV5

— Post Sports (@PostSports) July 16, 2019

Pumpsie Green--never would have guessed he was still alive.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2019/07/17/pumpsie-green-black-player-red-sox-dies/s7L4dEAIq14aThFN7mnu0N/story.html

The obituaries emphasize that he was the first African-American on the Red Sox, but I think--I might be wrong--they were the last team in the majors to integrate.

They were the final team to integrate (in 1959 -- the Globe article mentions this)

His appearance on the roster had followed picketing at Fenway Park. In spring training that year, Mr. Green hit .400 and was hailed by some reporters as the “camp rookie of the year.”

But to questions about whether Mr. Green would make the team, owner Tom Yawkey said: “The Red Sox will bring up a Negro when he meets our standards.”

We are heartbroken to report the passing of Rob McQuown. Rob has been a pillar of Baseball Prospectus for a decade, and we are devastated by this news. We will pass along more information and appropriate tribute in due time. For now, please join us in grieving his loss.

— Baseball Prospectus (@baseballpro) July 17, 2019

7-foot-1 dutch reliever loek van mil, 34

In the 2017 WBC, he faced Israel’s Nate Freiman (6'8") in what was believed to be the tallest batter-pitcher matchup in baseball history.

RIP to original Met, Al Jackson, who passed away earlier today. pic.twitter.com/nOdjJOxzLx

— New York Mets (@Mets) August 19, 2019

also returned in '68-69

more to come

https://ktla.com/2019/08/30/angels-pitcher-tyler-skaggs-died-of-alcohol-fentanyl-and-oxycodone-intoxication-choked-on-his-vomit/

terrible

i wonder if he was seeing an unscrupulous doctor who overprescribed or if someone on the medical staff of the Angels is pushing oxy. it's an awful drug.

(i recently revived the oxycontin thread on ILE and it was...interesting...to see how willing at least one ILXor was to give advice on how to take it to get high...)

team connection is suspected

Detroit Tigers statement regarding the passing of Chace Numata: pic.twitter.com/H6TCAQO1S8

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 2, 2019

Skateboarding accident

Chris Duncan, a 2006 #STLCards World Series champion, has passed away at the age of 38. Our thoughts are with his friends and family. pic.twitter.com/CBWbvGsayc

— FOX Sports Midwest (@FSMidwest) September 7, 2019

Whoa, wtf?

Charlie Silvera, Berra backup and coach

https://www.sfchronicle.com/giants/article/Charlie-Silvera-San-Francisco-native-and-14426637.php

former syracuse chiefs president don waful, 103

he was captured by the germans in tunisia in 1942 and spent the next three years in POW camps -- much of it with davey johnson's dad fred at the oflag 64 camp in poland

Masaichi Kaneda, winningest Japanese pitcher

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/10/06/baseball/japanese-baseball/japans-time-wins-leader-masaichi-kaneda-dies-86/#.XaHSkkZKiWY

shortstop jackie hernández, 79, who amassed -3.9 bWAR over nine seasons and had the assist on the final out of the 1971 world series

umpire eric cooper, 52. did the yanks-twins series two weeks ago.

jeez; gather ye rosebuds.

'71 WS was the first i remember watching (most of). RIP Jackie.

I watched the '71 Series intently and have zero recollection of Jackie Hernandez...I thought Gene Alley was the SS then.

Alley played 882 innings at short that year, Jackie 574.

Alley had only 3 PA in the World Series, don't know if he was hurt.

Can't find any clarification on that, but this would seem to be Hernandez's other biggest moment:

"A month before the World Series, Hernandez was part of another historic moment on Sept. 1 when Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh started a lineup consisting only of African-American and Latino players. The Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-7, that day at Three Rivers Stadium."

Hernandez was considered a top defensive SS, at least by Murtaugh and Clemente. He and Alley were the same age though.

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/887d2ec2

former dodgers/expos/etc player and mariners announcer ron fairly, 81

def saw him play at Shea in the '70s

Flagship Jay, and I think the first Jays-Expos player.

Think I misused "flagship"...original Jay (1977).

'the only player to represent multiple non-US teams in the all-star game'

Vera Clemente, widow of No. 21

https://www.mlb.com/news/vera-clemente-passes-away

Irv Noren

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/6d0657d1

twins prospect ryan costello, 23, of 'natural causes'

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/18/us/minnesota-twins-prospect-ryan-costello-dead-trnd/index.html

Unnaturally young.

scholar/author Dorothy Seymour Mills

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/dorothy-seymour-mills-who-received-belated-credit-for-husbands-baseball-books-dies-at-91/2019/11/20/c6df24d4-0baf-11ea-8397-a955cd542d00_story.html

former pitcher and phillies scout will brunson, 49

https://thespun.com/more/top-stories/will-brunson-dies-suddenly-rip