baseball obituaries 2014

Ralph Kiner, HOF slugger and 45-year Mets mike malapropper

"All his saves have come in relief appearances."
"On Father's Day, we again wish you all a Happy Birthday."
"The Mets have gotten their leadoff hitter on only once this inning."
"There's a lot of heredity in that family."
"We'll be back after this word from Manufacturers Hangover."
"That's the great thing about baseball, you never know what's going on."

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/hall-famer-longtime-mets-broadcaster-kiner-dead-91-article-1.1604801

my dad, who turned 10 during kiner's rookie season:

All kids wanted to be Ralph; he could jack. LF at Forbes was 365, still hit > 50, bad teams usually, people stayed until his apparent last AB regardless of score.

I heard one of those malapropisms live, and I'm p sure the Daily News muffed it; should be "And to all you fathers out there, happy birthday."

http://mets360.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Nelson-Kiner-Murphy.jpg

http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/3969939/Image04.jpg

http://www.sbnation.com/2014/2/6/5387392/ralph-kiner-life-comic-book-pirates-1950

http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/kiner.jpg

He told the story of that date and why there was never a second one a few years ago. I don't remember the whole thing.

Ralph's last great moment in the booth was 2 years ago, when he explained to Keith Hernandez what OPS is.

it was a little painful listening to him after he had the stroke, but he knew what was going on and had some great stories

RIP

The Liz Taylor story is here:

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2014/2/6/5388078/three-ralph-kiner-moments-from-an-overstuffed-life

Did Ralph Kiner Try to Nail Lenny Dykstra's Mom?

Jim Fregosi.

https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/434113827165462528

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a41/brotz13/fregosi92.jpg

http://tracking.si.com/2014/02/13/jim-fregosi-life-support-strokes/?eref=sihp

I can't remember what the expectations were like for Fregosi's two years in Toronto; he was slightly above .500 for both seasons, by I don't think they went all that smoothly. I'd say his '93 Phillies team was the most interesting World Series cast of characters since the early-'70s A's. He was quite a player, too, looking at his career box--had a couple of 7.0+ seasons for the Angels (overlooked at the time, I believe).

YEAH, he was QUITE a player UNTIL...

obv his name still makes '70s Mets fans leave the room.

yeah his total WAR through his age 28 season was 45 or so, which is really impressive.

Never reached 1 WAR after his age-28 season, or 400 PA either.

He always seemed like one of the nicer guys in baseball.I'll never forget his postgame interview after losing the '93 Series -- he looked completely at peace with it, and was so magnanimous in defeat.

Ken Rosenthal let me down, sorry guys

Hector Maestri, pitcher for both Senators teams

http://www.examiner.com/article/hector-maestri-78-pitched-for-both-washington-senators-teams

dr. frank jobe

should probably be a special hall of fame dispensation for him tbh

It's sad that the HOF couldn't find a way to let in Miller and Jobe while they were still alive.

are there any other med procedures named after the patient?

Conrado Marrero, 102, Cuban pitching star for the Senators in the '50s -- in his 40s. I met him in Havana in 2004. RIP El Guajiro de Laberinto.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/sports/baseball/connie-marrero-popular-pitcher-in-cuban-baseball-dies-at-102.html?_r=0

There are now 18 MLB players still living who were born before 1920, the most famous of whom are Monte Irvin and Bobby Doerr.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/05/sports/baseball/don-zimmer-dies-at-83-after-a-lifetime-in-baseball.html?smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0

aw, don zimmer's dead

may his plate rest in peace

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S0s-A2HKvY0/TBw78bBMw8I/AAAAAAAABWM/cC2xVNhPjNk/s1600/pedro-zimmer.jpg

oh wow, RIP.

Maybe I knew this at some point long ago, but the character had so superseded the player, I didn't realize he was on the '55 Dodgers, and didn't realize he was on the '62 Mets.

Essential part of the character! his beaning...

I generally take my view of his personality from Spaceman Bill Lee, so I'll withhold further comment.

(first of countless Mets third basemen btw)

God, I'd even forgotten he managed the '78 Red Sox. He'd literally just become the guy who was attached to Torre's hip for me.

http://s.ecrater.com/stores/66095/48bea29cac257_66095n.jpg

i'm afraid it's book report time for you

http://www.amazon.com/The-Wrong-Stuff-Bill-Lee/dp/0307339785

Mets crew just reminisced that with the '89 Cubs he used to hit & run frequently... with the bases loaded.

btw Mets and Cubs paid tribute to their alum last night by playing a game that was uglier than he was.

‏@darrenrovell
In 1989, when Zimmer was managing the Cubs, team was 3rd in merchandise sales. Made up 8% of all MLB sales. #1 Yanks (12.5%), #2 Mets (12%)

this guy

I didnt realize Don was at the forefront of North Side yuppies creating Wrigley Chic

Ken_Rosenthal
Terribly sad news. Athletics announce passing of Bob Welch at 57. Cause of death unavailable. 1990 AL Cy Young winner, two-time All-Star.

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2010/0505/la_g_welch1_576.jpg

faceoffs w/ Reggie Jackson -- was that the '78 WS? -- most memorable

http://dodgers.mlblogs.com/2014/06/10/remembering-bob-welch-1956-2014/

I would have been watching in '78, although my memory of that isn't as vivid as Reggie's three HR the year before. He may well go down as the last 27-game winner ever.

One of the years I went to Eastern Michigan baseball camp, they showed us an anti-alcoholism film with Welch in it. I was either eight or nine ('84/'85), so...kinda weird.

http://athletics.scout.com/story/1402504-welch-molding-the-a-s-next-generation?s=304

he sold his house in colorado this spring because his son was pawning everything to buy heroin

I shouldn't say "ever"--what I meant was, the last 27-game winner unless something fundamental changes (like the definition of a win).

If you look at his game log that year, he really did pitch well. Clemens obviously should have won the Cy, and should have won unanimously. I would have had Welch third or fourth...big year for relievers, too, with Eckersley's greatest year and (for what it's worth) Thigpen's save record. The voters much have been at low tide on their closer infatuation--caught between Bedrosian/Davis winning and Eckersley's MVP/Cy, neither was top three.

Welch had seven wins that weren't quality starts, but only one of them was egregiously cheap (four runs in 5.1 IP). None involved more than four runs, and his ERA for the seven games was 4.86. Overall, his ERA in the 27 wins was 2.14 over 193.1 innings; he had an ERA of 2.70 in his two no-decisions; and he got hammered in his six losses (8.04). He won 27 because he picked up a few cheap wins and, for whatever reason, almost managed to avoid no-decisions completely (none after May 16; in the two he did have, it looks like he was in line for a win in one of them, and in the other a late rally saved him from a loss).

Anyway, it wasn't the team scoring a million runs and Eckersley saving him every time out; he pitched very well that year. His ordinary WAR (3.0) seems to reside in park factor and mediocre K/BB ratio.

pitching 'very well' gen doesn't get you 27 wins. he was fortunate.

and btwn this and Zimmer we have to get you to remember 1978.

Some luck, yes, as you would expect--but I get the feeling, whenever Welch's year comes up, that the perception is he had an okay year propped up by Eckersley, Henderson, Canseco, and the rest. I don't think that's a fair representation.

1978: Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, Guidry and Rice, Comes a Time, The Deer Hunter. I remember some of it.

let me help

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26fRnCj4SYQ

uh, tony gwynn?

From an article published yesterday:

http://www.csnphilly.com/baseball-philadelphia-phillies/gwynn-men-sons-love-fathers-fight

“I always try to get in an I love you,” he said. “For a while that was uncomfortable for me, I don’t know why. But since 2010, it hasn’t been uncomfortable. It’s something I want to make sure I get in because you never know what’s going to happen.”

not seeing obits yet; didn't know he had salivary gland cancer.

yeah this was sad on an otherwise great day.

RIP

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11093930/mlb-tony-gwynn-used-fear-motivation

https://scontent-b-pao.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10463955_10203784708488454_2747252223450223671_n.jpg

I still remember the one All-Star game where they brought Ted Williams out in a golf cart--think it was the same year where they revealed the Top 50 players. Everyone gathered around Williams when he reached the infield, Gwynn at the very front; the last .400 hitter, and the guy who came closest since. Great moment.

Was that NYT obit ghostwritten by TJ Simers?

Playing all 20 of his major league seasons with the often lackluster San Diego Padres, in one of baseball’s lesser media markets, and usually shunning home run swings in favor of well-struck hits, Gwynn was not one of baseball’s more charismatic figures. And his pudgy 5-foot-11, 215-pound frame (give or take a few pounds) did not evoke streamlined athleticism.

Mounting a case about a professional athlete's lack of charisma by citing the athlete's team, the team's market, and the athlete's hitting style...

My friend's brother wrote this awesome piece:

http://deadspin.com/i-was-tony-gwynns-bat-boy-1592123043

Wow, that's an awesome article.

PS Will Clark is a dick (pains me to write that).

yes to both of those things.

i used to like will clark when i was a kid! fuck him for life, after reading that

Will was OK on the field.

I'm sure there was an article or joint TV segment in the '80s or early '90s with Ted Williams and Gwynn talking about hitting, but all I can find online are photos of them at that All-Star Game where Ted is damn near dead. Am I just confusing it with the joint interview TW did with Boggs and Mattingly?

last thing on will clark: he had the worst single season of (attempted) base stealing in the history of baseball.

http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000Cukzp4IJK6A/s/750/750/BobbyDolan-021207-11.jpg

eegah

oh yeah that deadspin piece is nice

i liked Tony's squeaky voice and laugh too

xpost hmm, it's from 1997, but is this it?

audio: http://deadspin.com/listen-to-tony-gwynn-and-ted-williams-talk-hitting-1591439886
transcript: http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2009-07-10/talking-hitting-stan-musial-and-tony-gwynn

oh jeez, that's musial and gwynn, sorry

jfc what is wrong with me: the audio is gwynn and williams, the transcript is musial and gwynn

Get it together, Karl!

the ted + boggs + mattingly article was in the 1986 sports illustrated baseball preview issue; it is still in my room at my dad's house

Is this it?

http://si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1064686/index.htm

close -- this one: http://si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1064687/index.htm

last thing on will clark: he had the worst single season of (attempted) base stealing in the history of baseball.

― Karl Malone, Tuesday, June 17, 2014 5:54 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

weird! he was worth -8.5 his first two years but ended his career at -8.1, never really putting up a bad figure. how was he so bad in his first two years and average he rest of the way? crappy coaches giving bad signs? did he read a book called "how to run"

btw BsR isn't just base stealing, it's all this stuff too, which is how matt wieters can be 6-2 in career SB attempts but have a -16.8 BsR.

I probably posted the Musial one 5 years ago, that's good too

last thing on will clark: he had the worst single season of (attempted) base stealing in the history of baseball.

― Karl Malone, Tuesday, June 17, 2014 5:54 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Five steals, 22 attempts!

Maybe he didn't want guys "like" Chili Davis and Jeffrey Leonard collecting RBI.

Frank cashen, front-office architect of pennants in Baltimore and Queens

http://www.amazinavenue.com/2014/6/30/5858590/frank-cashen-has-passed-away-at-age-91-new-york-mets-general-manager-1986

Cashen is like an erudite Oliver Hardy in that Jeff Pearlman book on the '86 Mets, fuming about Davey Johnson and the players' antics.

via SABR:

RIP Jim Brosnan, 84, who died over the weekend at his home in Morton Grove, Illinois. The pitcher and author wrote two classic baseball memoirs, "The Long Season" (1959) and "Pennant Race" (1961), during his playing career that paved the way for "Ball Four" and many other books.

When I read The Long Season a few years after Ball Four, it seemed a little ordinary, but obviously an important book.

Bobby Castillo

Tom Veryzer

http://www.examiner.com/article/tom-veryzer-islip-native-and-former-new-york-mets-shorstop-passes-away-at-61

The URL threw me--he's a Tiger to me. (New York site, I guess--the link's not working.)

He was at short and batting second (between LeFlore and Staub) on this night:

http://m.mlb.com/video/v4137207/?query=fidrych

Scored two of the Tigers' five runs.

Pete Van Wieren

http://www.talkingchop.com/2014/8/2/5962393/pete-van-wieren-passes-away-at-age-69

Saw him speak at the SABR con in Atlanta, he 'got' some of it at least. Far more listenable than Skip the Drip.

Yeah, mentioned on the Braves thread. I forgot this obit thread existed. Saturday's game broadcast was pretty sad, especially the inning that Don Sutton moved over from radio to the tv booth and spent on the edge of tears. Happier remembrances from the other call-ins -- Smoltz, Glavine, Ernie Johnson Jr, Lemke, Chipper. They barely noticed the game in progress until the 7th inning, and didn't even go to commercial after the end of the 5th.

Jerry Lumpe, reserve infielder for late '50s Yankees and a '64 All-Star

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Lumpe

Frank Torre

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/frank-torre-joe-older-brother-ex-milwaukee-brave-dead-82-article-1.1938474

George (Shotgun) Shuba, who like me you may know principally from The Boys of Summer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/sports/baseball/george-shuba-whose-handshake-heralded-racial-tolerance-in-baseball-dies-at-89.html

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3MEzQCRPOiw/US0D4h1vpHI/AAAAAAAAjuU/VPbbD_9mFww/s1600/Handshake-Photo1.png

Jeff Robinson, pitcher for Tigers and others 1987-92

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11775082/jeff-robinson-former-detroit-tigers-pitcher-died-age-52

Brad Halsey (pitcher NYY/AZ/OAK 2004-06), 33, cause as yet unknown

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/100571592/former-big-league-lefty-brad-halsey-dies-at-33

recreational climbing accident, apparently

So reportedly Oscar Taveras was driving with 5x the DUI limit (whatever it is in the D.R.). I know that in some piece this year it was written that clubs are trying to educate their young, bubble-enclosed prospects with "the basics of adult living" in addition to baseball stuff, and you would think that includes YOU MAKE ENOUGH MONEY TO HAVE A DRIVER WHENEVER YOU DRINK, even when and maybe ESPECIALLY when you are impaired and with your girlfriend.

But I am reluctant to put much culpability on the Cardinals as the guy was home for the winter and no doubt feeling immortal like most 22-year-olds with a bright future. Anyway, this now seems like even more of a waste if such a thing is possible.

5x is a lot. How did he even find his car.

alvin dark

yeah, his BAC was at .28 or so. i feel really bad for carlos martinez. he was with oscar that day and tried to convince him to stay at some sort of resort thing they were at, rather than oscar driving away to party with his friends way off wherever. such a shame.

Did not know that Dark was still around!

mook's post was over my head for that reason...

One of the last living ex-managers his former players had no problem calling out for racism.

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/15e701c9

http://m.giants.mlb.com/news/article/101340706/alvin-dark-dies-at-92

I hadn't noticed that SABR bio lets Dark off the hook for his treatment of Giants' Latino players... This is what I was thinking of:

http://www.beyondchron.org/latinos-still-struggle-to-overcome-baseballs-racial-biases/

The manager responded by accusing his players of making recent “dumb” plays.16 Although he later insisted that his comments were specific to baserunning mistakes by Orlando Cepeda and Jesus Alou, it was already too late; because his team was made up primarily of African-American, Puerto Rican, and Dominican players, Dark was unfairly painted as a racist.

vs.

In 1962, San Francisco Giants manager Alvin Dark imposed a no-Spanish rule on a clubhouse with such Spanish-speaking starters as Marichal, Orlando Cepeda, Jose Pagan and Felipe Alou. Dark was known as a virulent racist from his playing days, yet was put in charge of a team loaded with Latino stars. By denying these players the right to use the language in which they were most fluent, Dark alienated such team leaders—notably Cepeda and Alou—who were positioned to help push the team over the top.

When Dark managed the A's--a really tumultuous couple of years, as I remember it; I think there were players who openly mocked him via the press--Sports Illustrated had a big feature that delved into his past troubles with the Giants. I was only 14 or 15 at the time, but I read it and it did make an impression.

The Ball Four Facebook group just reminded me of Dark's immortal words to a young Jim Bouton, who was at the Polo Grounds with his brother and looking to get Dark's autograph: "Take a hike, son."

NY Times obit most definitely accents the racial issues

Ray Sadecki, 18-year MLB pitcher and '64 Cardinal hero

http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2014/11/19/7245131/st-louis-cardinals-remembering-ray-sadecki