baseball obituaries 2017

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