baseball obituaries 2020

I'll never forget those two teenagers (both white) who circled the bases with him. Aaron has said he was convinced they were there to kill him. They were just excited!

Probably an easy question by now, but do you remember who caught 715?

^otm to both of those posts^

i mostly know him through his stats. i've watched a few old games in which he played or appeared (like all-star games), but wish i would of had a chance to just sit at a game and watch what guys like him do in between plays, in the dugout, with fellow players and the like. but yes, a model of consistent high-level performance (and durability, it seems), just unbelievable.

sorry, xp to mookie's post and clemenza's above that

yeah he was a bit before my time, so i only know him as a legend. and the stats are just . . . we're in here arguing about bobby abreu and scott rolen and aaron was like both of them put together with room left over

tbh i think i first learned about what he went through via snoopy: http://wezen-ball.com/2009-articles/a-rod-aaron-and-snoopy.html

Those two guys always crack me up:

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

I thought 715 was his first swing of the season, but it wasn't. There's some story there involving four-pitch walk beforehand--maybe 714 was his first.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=aaronha01&t=b&year=1974

the nyt obituary is excellent, with a heavy slant towards his experiences with racism. a towering figure, who apparently never liked being called "hank." so r.i.p. henry aaron, a true all-time great.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/22/sports/baseball/hank-aaron-dead.html

using first names that '60s black baseball players didn't like seems to have been a thing, wonder what that's about

I knew about Clemente's and Dick Allen's pushback, but I didn't know Aaron shared that. I've always called him Hank, but I'll change that. Weird that the Times wouldn't amend their headline!

hard to reverse 60+ years of sports page colloquialism

Clemenza, the WaPo obit has your answer:

The Dodgers’ pitcher was left-hander Al Downing, who wore the same uniform number as Mr. Aaron, 44. On a 1-0 count, Downing threw a slider that caught too much of the plate, and Mr. Aaron unloaded a blast that carried over the head of Dodgers left fielder Bill Buckner and into the Braves’ bullpen, where it was caught by relief pitcher Tom House.

RIP Hank Aaron.

That's it. It's a great trivia answer--I think he rode that small bit of fame for the rest of his career and many years beyond as a coach. (Highly respected, I think.) I was reading his Wikipedia page and never knew this: "House has admitted to using anabolic steroids in the 1970s making him one of the earliest players to admit to using performance-enhancing drugs...House has stated that 'six or seven' pitchers on every major league staff in the 1970s were 'fiddling' with steroids or human growth hormone." He even tweeted today:

Hank Aaron changed my life. The greatest moment I ever got to be a part of was catching 715. That moment bonded us forever as friends and teammates. My heart hurts today to learn of his passing. We watched Hank shrug off the weight of the world and just keep swinging.

I was at a Jays vs Braves game in T.O. and Aaron was honoured in a special ceremony before the game. That was the only time I "saw" him. Where can you even start with Aaron? He was the very definition of an inner circle HOF. I have never heard a bad word spoken about him. He was the model of consistency, excellence, and grace under pressure. Why did it take 25 years (after his retirement) to name an award after this guy?

Until Bonds (who had a nice tweet today) came along, Aaron's 1973 season was my frame of reference for preternaturally great old-guy seasons. 40 HR in 392 AB for a 39-year-old? It was like science-fiction. And that was the heyday of all those future 300-game winners: Seaver, Carlton, Niekro, and Sutton were all active in the NL.

This is great!.

I want to find a similar piece now on the two people holding up the sign on the back of Kiss's Alive!.

https://www.mlb.com/news/us-presidents-remember-hank-aaron

Every living president...almost.

i haven't heard a word from trump since he fucked off, and i want to keep that going as long as possible

otm

For sure. I have to admit, I love how the five of them will be making the other one look bad without even trying.

utility man ron johnson, 64

played 22 games over three seasons with the royals and expos in the early '80s, then won 1752 games over 24 seasons as a minor league manager. he was the red sox's bench coach in 2010-2011

damn, wrong Ron Johnson. RIP utility man ron johnson

he was the red sox's bench coach in 2010-2011

first base coach according to Youkilis' tribute.

covid, btw

grant jackson, 78. winner of game seven of the 1979 world series

I remember him as part of the great Orioles '71 staff. (Don't hate me: '79 was my first year at university--don't think I watched an inning of the '79 Series!)

ESPN remembers SportsCenter reporter Pedro Gomez, who passed away unexpectedly today at the age of 58.https://t.co/0Q75PlBEvG pic.twitter.com/4B5r7OG9Ni

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) February 8, 2021

ugh that sucks, always liked him ever since he was on the barry bonds beat

joe altobelli, 88

Ray Miller, former Orioles manager and longtime pitching coach, dies https://t.co/votxYjQtE7

— Baltimore Sun Sports (@BaltSunSports) May 5, 2021

Mookie must have missed this: Rennie Stennett.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31467032/former-pittsburgh-pirates-second-baseman-rennie-stennett-loses-battle-cancer-age-72

First thing I thought of was "lost his job to Willie Randolph," but he actually drew MVP votes in a couple of seasons.

Did I ever have that backwards...Randolph was only with the Pirates for one season. Stennett was why they traded him away, part of the Dock for Doc trade.

Fading 45-year-old memories...I think I have it straight now. Without checking again, the Pirates had Dave Cash at second base, he goes to the Phillies, then they're left with two promising young guys, and they picked the wrong one (albeit a good player).

i did miss that about rennie stennett, thanks

Sad report: Cy Young winner and pitching iconoclast Mike Marshall of the Dodgers has passed away at 78, according to @Think_BlueLA. https://t.co/BWccBx8iNi

— Jon Weisman (@jonweisman) June 1, 2021

What a character--one of the many reasons to read Ball Four. (Probably no one in the book garnered as much respect from Bouton.) I remember his Cy Young season very well, or at least the commotion over whether or not he'd pitch in 100 games. (Same year as the commotion over Lou Brock and the SB record; we loved to count things then, and we especially loved the number 100.) By WAR, Niekro should have won the Cy going away; compared to some of the other relief CYs given out, though, he wasn't the worst pick ever. His best years were his last two with the Expos.

Actually, his best year came later with the Twins.

jim ‘mudcat’ grant, 85

According to a MLB source former #Astros star JR Richard passed away last night in a Houston hospital at the age of 71. JR played for the Astros from 1971-1980. Led the National League in strikeouts in 1978 & 1979. Led the NL in ERA in 1979 and made the All-Star Team in 1980.

— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) August 5, 2021

Sad story.

covid-related, I see.

Bill Freehan, 1968 World Series champion and 11-time all-star

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2021/08/19/bill-freehan-detroit-tigers-dies-alzheimers-disease/511651001/

One of my coaches played with him and a bunch of friends/ex-teammates/adversaries played for him (all at Michigan). Seemed beloved without exception.

Bill James responding to a question about him today: "He was pretty obviously the best catcher of the 1960s, he is a reasonable Hall of Fame candidate, and that team should have won several more pennants, at least." My dad and I drove in to see a couple of Tigers' games in the mid-'70s, so there's a chance I saw him play.

Just saw the news that Ray Fosse passed away..I’m so sorry & give my deepest condolences to Carol and the family..Ray was always incredibly kind to me..he was a good supportive friend..he loved his family deeply..his impact on Bay Area baseball will be forever..RIP my friend

— Marty Lurie (@baseballmarty) October 14, 2021

Immortal for one play.

https://miro.medium.com/max/1050/1*PzLL51AcRkDaAECOvjqGzg.jpeg

that is a remarkable baseball photo

Lot of recent deaths of players I knew as a young kid with baseball cards of the 70s.

Leo Durocher as 3rd base coach in that shot.

Dude played with Babe Ruth, member of the Gas House Gang and was manager in the Bobby Thompson game...that is a pretty Zelig moment him being in that picture.

Kinda wild...

oh wow, didn't realize that was durocher as the 3B coach! that does elevate the pic, damn

rip jerry remy

pretty sad about this

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41Rro3LpXCL._AC_.jpg

Being more of a NL baseball fan as a kid, seeing the Red Sox or their local broadcasts was never really an option except on an occasional Saturday game or perhaps when they played the White Sox on WGN.

Jerry Remy does have a bit of a point to me as a childhood baseball fan though as his card was the last one I needed to find to complete my first full set of Topps cards in the 1980 set. I searched high and low and no one had this card forever. I don't think I ever found it until after the 81' strike. This was a set that I mostly put together the old fashioned way pack by pack as there wasn't until a year or so later we started to have a local flea market that would have people selling cards. But even then, this 'common' was impossible to find. It was like finding 'excalibur' when I finally found one.

RIP Mr. Remy.

Too young.

The MLBPAA is deeply saddened to hear about the passing of 12-year MLB veteran, Julio Lugo. Our thoughts and prayers are with Julio's loved ones. pic.twitter.com/hrQYJzjHWh

— MLBPAA (@MLBPAA) November 15, 2021