baseball obituaries 2020

Don Larsen

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28407056/don-larsen-pitched-only-perfect-world-series-game-dies-90

dang, i just saw this. here's jaffe's piece: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/imperfect-but-for-one-afternoon-don-larsen-1929-2020/

ed sprague sr, 74

pretty bad pitcher, apart from a solid 1974 campaign with milwaukee

was the orioles scout who signed mike mussina

Jr. hit a very memorable WS home run.

George Nicolau

https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2020-01-10/george-nicolau-mlb-collusion-drugs-dodgers-dead

Royals owner/Walmart boss David Glass

(yeah, meh)

Just spoke with Mets star Jeff McNeil, who played for John Altobelli, one of the victims of the Calabasas helicopter crash, who managed Brewster in the Cape Cod League in 2012.

Said McNeil: "He's one of the main reasons I’m still playing professional baseball.”

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 26, 2020

roger kahn, author of 'the boys of summer', 92

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/obituaries/roger-kahn-who-lifted-sportswriting-with-boys-of-summer-dies-at-92.html

RIP Rog, even tho ten was probably a little young for me to read the book

I really need to read "The Boys of Summer" again after 30 years.

japanese legend katsuya nomura, 84

catcher who played 26 seasons, hitting .277/.357/.508 with 657 homers (second to oh). also managed for 24 years

tony fernandez, 57

He was so good his first couple of seasons; looked like he was going to be right up there with Ripken and Yount before long. (Probably less impressive analytically, but that was barely around then.) He never stayed at that level, but he had a long, solid career, and his return to the Jays for the '93 WS team was great. So young.

Forgot he was the fourth player in the Carter/Alomar for McGriff/Fernandez trade in 1990. Has there been a bigger-name trade since? I know Alomar hadn't flourished yet, but James had already identified him as a future superstar--I still remember his Alomar entry in The Baseball Book a year or two earlier, where he wrote "GET ROBERTO ALOMAR" whether you were a fantasy player or card collector or whatever. So you had Alomar, one of the 10 best hitters in the game in McGriff, the wildly-overrated-in-retrospect but big-name and big-RBI-guy Carter, and Fernandez, who was still thought of as a possible/probable Hall of Famer. Don't recall a bigger one since, or at least not between two teams--there've been some multi-team transactions along those lines.

Yeah three guys who at their peaks were HOF type talents (one already in, one who will be, and a third in Fernandez who despite maybe never reaching his potential finished with an impressive career WAR due to those early seasons and late career renaissance) and a fourth who was not great but a solid bat in his best years.

So young, I didn't know he was sick. I always think of him as the 22 year old phenom and potential best SS in the game from the '85 division winners. Many people probably remember him as the guy whose error might have given away the '97 WS. Each of his stints with the Jays was memorable in some way. He's one of my favourite players ever and I'm really sorry to hear of his passing.

And yes, that 1990 trade was perhaps the last of its kind. It wasn't about big market vs small market teams, or trying to get value for players before they test free agency, or tanking/rebuilding to prepare for the future. It was a straight up challenge trade of four star players. There may never be another one like it again.

And there was a perfect symmetry to the trade in that the Jays got the best and the least of the four, and the Padres got the middle two guys--things could have gone either way, and if Alomar hadn't developed (which in turn got the Jays over the hump, which brought in Winfield and Molitor, all of which made Carter look better than he was), it could have been a terrible trade for Toronto.

Olerud being able to replace McGriff was a big part of that deal too. iirc he went straight from collage ball to the majors. that aspect was definitely a risk aswell.

orrin freeman, who had been a scout/farm director/special assistant to the gm for the marlins since their inception in 1991

NY/SF Giants ace Johnny Antonelli

https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/2020/02/28/johnny-antonelli-dies-new-york-giants-pitcher-world-series-hero-1954-rochester-ny-businessman/4902150002/

yankees' kelly rodman, one of very few female scouts in the game

not sure of the cause, but she was only ~40

Jimmy Wynn was posted in the ILX thread, but he should get one here too.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/legendary-astros-outfielder-jimmy-wynn-dies-at-age-78/

I was a full-fledged Reds fan by '74, so I remember the phenomenal start the Dodgers had that year.

end of April: 17-6
end of May: 36-14
end of June: 52-24

Still, the Reds almost caught them, only finishing 4.0 out (they were within a game-and-a-half on Sept. 14). I thought Wynn had the same kind of start, but not quite: phenomenal May, surrounded by three good but not spectacular months (and a slow August/September). Really good year overall, though (it was a pitcher's year, I think), and he was 5th in MVP voting, finishing well ahead of winner Garvey and runner-up Brock in WAR (and basically tied with Bench, who finished 4th). Weird: spending the bulk of his career in the Astrodome and Chez Ravine, I just assumed he got killed by his home parks, but for his career he was .256/.376/.443 at home, .245/.355/.429 on the road. One of the great nicknames ever, and one of those guys who was a walking machine before anybody cared.

RIP Toy Cannon

We mourn the death of Ed Farmer who passed away Wednesday night.

Farmer worked as a radio broadcaster for the Chicago White Sox for nearly 30 years, played 11 seasons in the major leagues, including three with his hometown White Sox, and was a strong advocate for organ donation. pic.twitter.com/wx7itjfEYk

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 2, 2020

al kaline, 85

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2020/04/06/al-kaline-dies-detroit-tigers/505371001

That's a big one. As I just posted on Facebook, though, of all the famous HOF'ers who played most of their careers in the '60s, I have less of a sense of Kaline than any of them.

I remember seeing him on TV at the end of his career.

per Ben Lindbergh on EW, Kaline had the most career HR (399) w/out ever hitting 30 in a year.

There is a lot of love coming out in the articles about Al Kaline, that guy seems to have been well liked by seemingly everyone. I knew him from baseball cards as a kid, but that he was supposed to be the real deal as a player good all the way around.

the most career HR (399) w/out ever hitting 30 in a year

I'd say that pinpoints his relative anonymity outside of Detroit better than anything.

(By which I mean next to Mays, Aaron, Clemente, Yaz, etc.)

Yaz is a pretty good comparison in a lot of ways -- Kaline didn't have nearly the same peak, but both spent most of their career operating not at that superstar peak but at a slightly lower tier of stardom in terms of production. Similar to Cal Ripken and Brett, I guess -- a couple other members of the 20+ seasons with one team club. Kaline also didn't have the same level of fame as any of those guys, probably just a matter of him not having a single season with truly eye-popping counting stats.

disappointing that he never played catcher even for just an inning, would have been cool for Al Kaline to be part of a battery.

o_O

No dad jokes on the obit thread?

I was going to say he was one of the few players of his caliber where it could be argued his best season was his first full one, but his age 20 season (didn’t turn 21 til December of that year) was actually his second full one.

no, it was solid

tbf, he made 18 all-star games, so *someone* recognized he was good

I quoted the battery line on Facebook!

Kaline was definitely highly thought of by other players. All-Star voting wasn't handed over to fans until 1970; I assume all those AS appearances were voted on by players?

Brooks Robinson said he was the best he played against

gen believed he forsook some power for average and walks

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/remembering-al-kaline-mr-tiger-1934-2020/

Al Kaline’s family put a “regular” obit in the Sunday @freep. By blending in, it’s an example of how one-of-a-kind he really was. pic.twitter.com/CR7ej9aZAT

— Matt Friedman (@mattfrieds) April 12, 2020

Glenn Beckert:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/former-chicago-cubs-star-glenn-beckert-dies/

One of those random stats that will stick in my mind forever: he hit .340 one year, when Rod Carew was the only second baseman who did that. (Okay, I checked--.342.)

hank steinbrenner, 63, non-covid-related

https://nypost.com/2020/04/14/hank-steinbrenner-yankees-co-owner-dead-at-63/

jim frey, 88

https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2020/04/14/former-royals-cubs-manager-jim-frey-dies-at-88

Within a few months of Tony Fernandez, Dámaso García.

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2020/04/15/long-time-blue-jays-infielder-damaso-garcia-dies/

RIP I remember being super bummed as a 9 or 10-yr old when he was included in that Chambliss trade

And being down on Rick Cerone

Steve Dalkowski, a wild left-hander who was said to have been dubbed "the fastest pitcher in baseball history" by Ted Williams, died this week in New Britain, Connecticut. He was 80.

Dalkowski, who once struck out 24 batters in a minor league game -- and walked 18 -- never made it to the big leagues.

Writer-director Ron Shelton, who spent five years in the Orioles farm system, heard about Dalkowski's exploits and based the character Nuke Laloosh in 'Bull Durham' on the pitcher.

The A's are mourning the loss of former Athletic minor leaguer Miguel Marte, who passed away earlier this week due to complications from COVID-19. Marte played in the A's system from 2008-2012. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.https://t.co/PV7UEuAuvL pic.twitter.com/mVeLdOUciU

— Oakland A's (@Athletics) May 1, 2020

journeyman Matt Keough, AL All-Star as a rookie in 1978 & was selected AL Comeback Player of the Year in 1980, both for the A's.

Tonight my dad and hero Bob Watson has passed away after a long fight with kidney disease.. #Astros #Yankees #RedSox #Braves #Athletics #USABAseball #MLB #1stBlackGM pic.twitter.com/obKe1mwJYc

— K Dubb (@TheReal_KDubb) May 15, 2020

Understand that I realize why, but Watson was the very definition of what James called "the RBI guy with mystique," something you can't have in the era of analytics.

Barry Zito reel about Randy

george altman, 92

one of just three people ever to play in the negro leagues + MLB + NPB

Albert Hall (last week, but still not recorded on Baseball Reference):

https://www.newsweek.com/sports/mlb/braves-outfielder-who-made-atlanta-history-dies-at-67-11250197

(No nickname recorded on BRef; then and now, can't believe no one thought to nickname him "Royal.")

Dave Giusti, who introduced me to the concept of a closer.

https://www.mlb.com/news/dave-giusti-dies

Wilbur Wood RIP, that early 70s run is some epic stuff

sup buzza

Ah, Wilbur. My dad went down to Detroit to see him one of those years he made a run at 30.

Someone on FB just reminded me: in '73, he started both games of a double-header. Did not work out: 4.1 innings, 10 runs. (Not sure if the plan was to start him in both--he didn't make an out in the first game and was gone after six batters.)

never realized he was a knuckleballer. kind of makes that insane run he had in the early 70's even crazier.

but also explain how he threw so many innings

Mickey Lolich...geez, so close to Wilbur Wood--two of the greatest workhorses of the early '70s.

https://www.tsn.ca/mlb/article/tigers-great-lolich-dead-at-85/

Something I never would have guessed (from Dan Epstein's FB post): when Lolich retired in '79, he was #1 on the career K list for left-handers, 150 ahead of Carlton.

Good career but that trade to the Mets sucked, even by their poor standards. Also Rusty Staub was my first favorite player so fuck M Donald Grant or whatever genius made that decision

Rusty is ours! (Lolich's death is on the day that Valdez breaks an AAV record for left-handers with ~38M a year; according to Baseball Reference, Lolich topped out at $125,000 with the Mets.)

terrance gore, 34

ffs

Reading he passed away during a routine procedure.

3x world series champion!

roy face, 97

18-1...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9yHaEpDmf8

Relevant to thermo's reliever poll: Wayne Granger died on Wednesday (can only find social media posts). He was the closer on the '70 Reds: saved 35 games, 8th in Cy voting, 30th in MVP. Lost his job to Clay Carroll, then came Rawley Eastwick and Will McEnaney on the great '75/'76 teams.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/grangwa01.shtml

Davey Lopes, 80

Really really great, underrated player. I was just looking at his stats, I remembered him playing for the Cubs and being really effective in pretty limited duty, but I didn’t realize that he stole 47 bases in 51 attempts at age 40, which is absolutely nuts.

That's still the longest-running infield ever, I assume?

Indeed it is: 8-1/2 years.

Dang, that’s a pretty cool record, love a classic infield

never gave much thought to the efficacy of first-base coaches, but apparently when he was philadelphia's in the late 00's they led the league in stealing percentage several years in a row, and all the phillies players swore by him

Bad week at second: Phil Garner, 76.

https://www.tsn.ca/mlb/article/former-major-league-infielder-garner-who-managed-astros-first-world-series-team-dies-at-76/

Immediately thought of his nickname: Scrap Iron.

Going to try to post more baseball-related stuff after moving my homepage over to Blogger: a two-part (with a third coming) follow-up to Davey Lopes' death (and that infield streak):

https://phildellio.blogspot.com/2026/04/we-do-this-every-day-part-1.html
https://phildellio.blogspot.com/2026/04/we-do-this-every-day-part-2.html

Garret Anderson, only 53

Wow. Really solid career numbers, though era-inflated: 287 HR, 1365 RBI, .293, over 500 doubles. Probably very high on all Angels career lists.

woah, Garret is a shock

yeah that's vv shocking, sounds like a sudden passing. he was definitely just a hit machine with some pop, like a lefty Michael Young or Steve Garvey, a high BA low walk guy who would get around 200 hits a fair amount and had good line drive power, he had a couple really excellent seasons in the mix of pretty good ones.

Unspecified "medical emergency."

Trout must be close to breaking many of these, but (Wikipedia):

He holds Angels franchise records for career games played (2,013), at bats (7,989), hits (2,368), runs scored (1,024), runs batted in (1,292), total bases (3,743), extra base hits (796), singles (1,572), doubles (489), grand slams (8), RBIs in a single game (10) and consecutive games with an RBI (12), as well as home runs by a left-handed hitter (272).

took me a few tries to decipher MLB Network's chyron, "FORMER ANGELS OF GARRET ANDERSON HAS DIED"

Loved his swing.

He hit the bases clearing double that gave the Angels the 4-1 lead in Game 7 of the 2002 WS and also had a hit in the eighth inning comeback the night before.

brazilian basketball legend oscar schmidt, 68

oops wrong thread

quite a player nevertheless!

John Sterling

a true legend. sure he was never that great at describing what was actually happening on the field at a given time, but he had style. that’s baseball, suzyn

former braves manager ted turner

i will never not be able to picture him exactly as depicted by Family guy

Bobby Cox. In the HOF for the Braves, but a Toronto icon too.

https://www.mlb.com/news/bobby-cox-dies

Not sure if I knew this: he was on the coaching staff of the '77 Yankees. Link above says that he was charged with keeping Reggie happy and Billy Martin away from the bars.

what a job description

RIP, dude knew how to nurture talent and get thrown out of games. I'll make sure to have some music ready to go if they take the deification too far on tonight's broadcast. (They will almost certainly take it too far.)

Should have realized this: Cox was hired by Ted Turner.