baseball obituaries 2017

Mike Ilitch

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/02/tigers-owner-mike-ilitch-passes-away.html

@Lynn_Henning
Mike Ilitch was the best of sports owners: He invested generously in his teams, and didn't meddle with his front-office professionals.

@beckjason
Jim Leyland: "Mr. Ilitch probably had the most passion for the game of any of the owners, because he played in the minors."

four Cups will have to do

via SABR, Ned Garver, 91, pitching mainstay of the St Louis Browns circa '48-52

http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2015/9/14/9322437/ned-garver-pitcher-effectively-wild-cold-calling

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/78230a19

dave rosenfield, 87, general manager of the tidewater/norfolk tides from 1963-2011. he still made the international league schedule by hand as recently as 2015

Bill Webb, longtime TV director of Mets and World Series games

The 2015 World Series was the first time in eighteen years that someone other than Webb directed the games....

The longtime director was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in November for his work in revolutionizing modern baseball telecasts. His trademarks became quick cuts, player close-ups, and crowd reaction shots. There had been some hope that Cooperstown would come calling next and honor the hard work of television directors.

http://www.amazinavenue.com/2017/3/8/14850082/mets-bill-webb-tv-broadcast-director-new-york

http://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2017/03/73892/orient-resident-mlb-20-game-winner-bill-hands-dies-76/

jeez former guests of the Effectively Wild podcast droppin' like flies

dallas green, 82

i did not know that his nine-year-old granddaughter was one of the victims in the gabby gifford shooting

I'd forgotten that--checked back on the Gabby Giffords thread, and I mentioned it at the time.

Don't have any specific recollection of him as a manager, other than he gave the appearance of being kind of hard-line?

ruben amaro sr., 81

Roy Sievers, slugger for the Browns and Senators

http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/news/roy-sievers-obituary-st-louis-browns-rookie-of-the-year-all-star/1h4lbwj39iyfm1wm5hyvvfbif4

Bob Cerv, slugger for the Stengel Yankees and Kansas City A's

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/yankees-outfielder-bob-cerv-dies-age-91-article-1.3035197

Sam Mele, '65 Twins manager

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2017/05/03/former-player-twins-manager-sam-mele-dies-at-age-95/

Luis Rodríguez Olmo, the second Puerto Rican to play in the major leagues ('43 Dodgers) and the first Latino to hit a home run in the World Series

https://www.lavidabaseball.com/luis-rodriguez-olmo-pelotero-de-america-americas-ballplayer/

former ump Steve Palermo

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/19383354/former-mlb-umpire-steve-palermo-passes-away-67

jim bunning

interesting

http://deadspin.com/5484027/marvin-miller-remembers-the-pre-crazy-jim-bunning-labor-revolutionary

Took a third Jimmy Piersall post on my Facebook wall to clue into the fact that he died today--I just assumed he died years ago, and that the first two were commemorating the anniversary of his death.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2713543-red-sox-hall-of-famer-jimmy-piersall-dies-at-87

Have never seen the Tony Perkins film.

me neither. has anyone else? trying to see if it's worth tracking down. i didn't know anything about him (other than knowing he played with the red sox and just seeing his name mentioned a handful of times in stories of that era) until i read the NYT obit.

I saw it long ago. It's more an Abusive Dad movie than a baseball movie, and has the usual Hollywood bullshit in it (he climbs the netting behind home in a manic frenzy in one scene). Piersall said Tony Perkins "threw like a girl" and in his cloddish way had a point.

Pete Flynn, Mets groundskeeper 1962-2011 (also drove the Beatles to the Shea stage in an armored truck)

http://nypost.com/2017/06/21/mets-longtime-groundskeeper-dies-at-age-79/

https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2017/6/25/15870476/mlb-nationals-fan-patrick-killebrew-obituary

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2718382-former-mlb-pitcher-anthony-young-dies-at-age-51

Anthony Young

oh my, that's sad

He handled himself with great class during that losing streak. Too bad it came before many people found out that pitcher W-L records are bullshit.

Huh, he had a 107 ERA+ in '93 when he went 1-16.

baseball historian and nationals official scorer david vincent

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/19804910/david-vincent-official-baseball-scorer-historian-dies-67

ah, he hadn't been at the last several SABR conventions. Famous for his home run scholarship.

gene conley, who played for both the red sox and . . . the celtics

http://www.wcvb.com/article/boston-mourns-former-sox-celtics-player-gene-conley/10262881

Bob Wolff, who was inducted into the broadcasters' wing of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995 and called Don Larsen's perfect game for the Yankees during the 1956 World Series, has died. He was 96.

In 1947, Wolff became the first television play-by-play broadcaster for the Washington Senators. He also served as a play-by-play broadcaster along with Joe Garagiola for NBC's baseball "Game of the Week" in the early 1960s.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/242548468/bob-wolff-called-larsens-perfect-game-dies/

John Rheinecker, 38, who pitched in 44 games for Texas in 2006-07

http://www.ksdk.com/sports/former-msu-pitcher-texas-ranger-john-rheinecker-dies/458175058

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/245355650/all-star-slugger-lee-may-dies/?topicId=27118122

Long story, but in 1972 a groundskeeper gave me one of his bats (one of Roger Metzger's, technically--May was new to the Astros that spring) he cracked in a spring training game. And, in one of those stories that people tell you all the time and never seem believable, I actually moved the bat from the side door to the basement this morning for no particular reason. The crack is hairline--not even sure anymore where it is.

Darren Daulton, only 55:

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20269993/darren-daulton-former-philadelphia-phillies-catcher-dies-55

Best catcher in the NL right before Piazza arrived.

The world lost one of the truly great humans. Don Baylor passed away early this am.m. at age 68 after a lengthy battle with multiple myeloma

— Tracy Ringolsby (@TracyRingolsby) August 7, 2017

RIP x2

i guess since he was a bit before my time and always seemed like a big dude, i wasn't aware that he was such a damned thief on the basepaths. 285 career SB, with a career high of 52.

24 of 26 for Weaver's Orioles as a rookie

Irrational nostalgia: the RBI Guy with Mystique from when I first starting watching in the '70s. May, Baylor, Perez, Bob Watson, Boog Powell, George Scott, Willie Horton, Eddie Murray a little later. Their RBI counts weren't even especially high--generally in the 90-110 range. (When Baylor knocked in 139 that one year, it really stood out.) RBI are becoming obsolete in evaluating awards and HOF candidates, so that kind of player is becoming obsolete--Ortiz (more for his postseason play) might have been the last.

Daulton was a great player, one of those guys you couldn't hate even when playing against him (e.g. '93 WS). I'd forgotten that he went out on top, retiring after winning the WS with the Marlins.

Because of the happenstance of being a Jays fan, I think I rooted against the funniest, most interesting team of the past 30 years in the '93 Series.

longtime AL umpire (and former pro wrestler) ken kaiser

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/2017/08/09/ken-kaiser-mlb-umpire-obituary/551698001

Gene Michael

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/252981958/yankees-gene-michael-dies/

Gene came to my baseball camp a couple times when I was a kid. RIP

belatedly, scout Mel Didier

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/253751726/longtime-scout-mel-didier-dies-at-90/

washington senators outfielder don lock, 81

Solly Hemus, '50s Cardinal infielder and manager

Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson was shunted between the rotation and the bullpen by Hemus in his three seasons as manager, and both Gibson and center fielder Curt Flood have been quoted as saying that Hemus had told them they would “never make it,” in the majors. Both wrote in their respective autobiographies that Hemus’ statements and actions were racially motivated.

Gibson on Tuesday expressed disappointment upon hearing of Hemus’ death but declined further comment.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/cardinal-beat/solly-hemus-last-cardinals-player-manager-dies-at/article_6da38995-39a7-5632-965c-2290e5e4ec5c.html

roy hawes, who went 1-for-6 in three games for the senators in 1951

hit 167 homers in 14 minor league seasons and is still the chattanooga lookouts' team leader with 109

Jim Landis, CF for the 1959 Go-Go White Sox

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/258158618/ex-white-sox-all-star-jim-landis/

three weeks late, but mickey harrington, 82, who played 10 seasons in the minors

he appeared in one major league game, for the phillies, on july 10, 1963

roy sievers led off the bottom of the eighth with a single to left, harrington pinch ran for him and was stranded at second. he was replaced by frank torre to play the field in the ninth

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/former-white-sox-pitcher-daniel-webb-dead-28-atv-accident-002811045.html

28 yr old Daniel Webb, ex-White Sox relief pitcher, in an ATV accident.

Creighton Hale, developer of the Little League batting helmet

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/creighton-j-hale-little-league-chief-and-developer-of-batting-helmet-dies-at-93/2017/10/21/22f80cb4-b670-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html?utm_term=.19e559a4591d

http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/actor-robert-guillaume-attends-hollywood-allstars-night-baseball-game-picture-id155531000?s=612x612

Actor Robert Guillaume attends Hollywood AllStars Night Baseball Game on July 16 1983 at Dodger's Stadium

minor league entertainer rick hader aka 'myron noodleman'

http://www.tulsaworld.com/obituaries/localobituaries/tulsan-rick-hader-dies-after-entertaining-thousands-at-sporting-events/article_0c51e237-0fa1-5d9c-9445-422742b0e92a.html

bill hader's uncle, apparently

rick stelmaszek, who spent 32 consecutive seasons on the twins coaching staff

i hope roy halladay isn't the guy in the plane crash

oh no

the fact that there's a press conference (at 4:30) is a v bad sign imho.
dude's my al time favourite player.
i feel silly being this upset about a baseball player. only jersey i own.

confirmed. rip

@PascoSheriff
We are deeply saddened by the loss of this amazing and generous individual. Our hearts go out to Roy and his family.

oh my god now i'm crying

i will never forget watching his perfect game on the floor of my NYC apartment. one of the most thrilling sports moments of my life.

what the hell, rip

@MLBastian
I called Halladay after Cory Lidle, his good friend, died in a plane crash. Doc was too shaken to talk. This is an awful, awful day.

very sad. Condolences to his fans.

terrible news. RIP Doc.

damn

this is really rough. he was for a solid ten year stretch arguably the best pitcher in the game. I loved watching him pitch.

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs/roy-halladay-1977-2017/

fuck

As you can imagine, the coverage up here is wall-to-wall on the sports stations. From all accounts, his work ethic was otherworldly.

damn, that's really sad to hear.

RIP Roy!

holy shit! RIP

This is really tough. Him and Pedro were my two favorite pitchers to watch from that era. But of course Doc was on another level for me because he pitched for my hometown team. It's really too bad that he didn't get more chances in the playoffs, I think he would have been even more of a legend. Even years later I can recall so many of his starts in detail -- the near no-no vs Detroit broken up by a HR in the ninth, the 10 inning shutout in 2003 that might have clinched him the CY, the game vs Texas in 2005 where his leg was broken on a liner (he was on pace for an all-time great season when it happened, probably the equivalent of Greinke's CY year). He might be the best Blue Jay player ever and was a total class act. RIP Doc.

Without a doubt the best pitcher in Jays history.

From the mid-'90s up to their mini-resurgence, I didn't pay that close attention to the Jays (except for Delgado). So I definitely didn't fully appreciate Halladay while he was here.

free from the Athletic

https://theathletic.com/150188/2017/11/08/one-phone-call-from-roy-halladay-makes-lasting-impact-on-daniel-norris/

Bob McCown, a Toronto talk-radio icon--a real love-him-or-hate-him guy (I mostly like him)--was ripping into the Jays today for what he says was their tepid reaction to Halladay's death. According to him, the Phillies organization was much more visible yesterday; next-to-nothing from Shapiro or Atkins.

okay then

https://www.si.com/tech-media/2017/11/08/boston-radio-show-michael-felger-tony-massarotti-mock-roy-halladay-death

bobby doerr is no longer the oldest living major leaguer

who is? don't leave us hanging.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_living_Major_League_Baseball_players

Congrats Bartolo Colon

74 nonagenarians... I guess more than I might've guessed.

The oldest I might've conceivably seen play on TV are Whitey Ford and Roy Face. I think Wilie Mays (86) is the oldest I *know* I saw play in the flesh.

make that 73

We send our condolences to the family, friends and fans of Jim Rivera, a member of the White Sox 1959 American League pennant-winning team, who passed away last night at the age of 96. pic.twitter.com/ljQQMpDcX7

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) November 14, 2017

They had a big public thing for Halladay down in Florida today. Heard a clip on the radio from Chris Carpenter, saw Cole Hamels speaking on a muted TV.

Goodnight, Sweet Prince: Beloved Baseball Monster Mr. Met Dies At 10,000 https://t.co/0Q4pyj5x5x #ClickClassic pic.twitter.com/fg2ViM7vE8

— ClickHole (@ClickHole) November 17, 2017

We are saddened to learn that former @RedSox, @Mets and @Cardinals pitcher Tracy Stallard (right) has passed away. Stallard became a part of baseball history in 1961 when he allowed Roger Maris’ record-setting 61st home run. Rest in peace, Tracy. pic.twitter.com/Wt9q6LOSSC

— MLBPAA (@MLBPAA) December 7, 2017

frank lary, who won 23 games for the tigers in 1961

Known in the media as the "Yankee Killer" with the Tigers, the right-hander went 28-13 with a 3.32 ERA in 56 starts against New York's AL franchise.

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2017/12/14/detroit-tigers-pitcher-frank-lary-dead/954249001/?from=new-cookie

We are sad to report that former Grand Rapids Chicks player (1953), Karen Kunkel passed away. Karen, along with 'Pepper' Paire Davis, was the on-set advisor during the filming of #ALeagueOfTheirOwn. She was 83 years old.
LINK: https://t.co/p5HyEhtWnr pic.twitter.com/adWJFd3KgJ

— AAGPBL Official (@AAGPBL) December 15, 2017

Frank Lary had a nice seven-year run in there.

Mamie "Peanut" Johnson

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/21820998/mamie-peanut-johnson-last-3-women-play-baseball-negro-leagues-dies-82

dick enberg, best known amongst my friends for uttering the phrase 'mature sweaty bodies' during a college basketball game

no-hit infielder and longtime coach rob picciolo

https://www.mlb.com/news/longtime-coach-rob-picciolo-passes-away/c-264260846

http://thunder.mtpsoftware.com/BRM/WebServices/BRMDrive/FormLetterDocs/ImageLibrary/In%20Loving%20Memory_Email%20Size.jpg

trenton thunder bat dog derby, age 9

the next human to go starts a 2018 thread

R.I.P. Bob Bailey, who had a 17-year career in the majors, including 7 years and 18.3 WAR with the Expos https://t.co/pPjwQ9oNga pic.twitter.com/NfXFdmAZxJ

— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) January 10, 2018

And one of 1970's many (Jim Hickman, Dick Dietz, Cito Gaston...) great fluke seasons:

1970: .287/.407/.597, 167 OPS+
Career: .257/.347/.403, 111 OPS+

He had a couple other pretty good seasons in Montreal, but nothing like that.

.597, wow!

I remember Bailey with Montreal, but not as a bench player/pinch hitter with the '76 Reds (141 PA, 0.5 WAR, .508 SLG).

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/14/obituaries/doug-harvey-dead-baseball-umpire.html

minor league player and coach (and college basketball referee) moose stubing -- the only major leaguer to go hitless as a player (0-for-5) and winless as a manager (0-8)

https://www.si.com/mlb/2018/01/22/moose-stubing-los-angeles-angels-obituary