baseball obituaries 2020

and one of the best names of all time

As I've mentioned many times, my fandom began in 1970, so his '71 season looms so large for me: one of those things that you spend the rest of your life measuring everything else against. (Everything baseball...I think.) Greatest season (eclipsed by Gooden and a few others since), greatest name, greatest decade, greatest everything.

All in all, underrated after that, in that '71 was an albatross he could never duplicate, plus the holdout, plus the drug issue, plus the itinerant nature of his career. For his career, his numbers are probably better than at least a few pitchers in the HOF.

Vida Blue was awesome, RIP. Loved hearing him talk too.

There's a decent argument for him being in the HOF and sometimes I think briefer peak value types like him really belong. That's more in line with what the NBA and NFL halls do. I know the MLB HOF loves longevity though.

The other thing he has going against him besides what I mentioned was pitching in a pitcher's era--not to the degree the '60s were, but his old-school stats only leave him with 45 bWAR after adjustments. Plus he's surrounded on all sides by 300-game winners like Seaver, Carlton, Perry, Niekro, and Sutton, and also legends like Gibson, Marichal, Palmer, and others.

Looking at his '71 game log is amazing:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=bluevi01&t=p&year=1971

He made a DeGrom like run at Gibson that year (without going down). His ERA was 1.03 after his May 23 start (12th), and he was still at 1.37 as late as July 25. He tailed off a bit after that and ended up with 1.82.

Lots of other eye-opening stuff in there, like six consecutive CG more than once.

Thought he moved around more than he actually did: only three teams (two stints in San Francisco). That's not many in the free-agent era. (His '72 holdout, where--surprise--Finley railroaded him into coming back should get more credit than it does in ending the reserve clause.)

Posnanski on Vida, with a nice tweet from Fergie Jenkins:

https://open.substack.com/pub/joeposnanski/p/blue-monday?r=1jtu0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

Reminded me of how close his career numbers were to Catfish Hunter's.

roger craig, 93

Last words, as he sat at home watching the A's: "Can't anybody here play this game?"

People you thought were 80 years old already when his team humiliated yours in the 1989 NLCS

He had been in ill health for some time aiui

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/419Yf4Bi7WL._AC_UL600_SR600,600_.jpg

Enjoyed this book as a young Tigers fan. (Shout-out to scott pl.)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F1mlG0PXgAIHZDF.jpg:small

We mourn the passing of Jim Price, a treasured member of the Tigers organization for decades.

He spent all five years of his playing career wearing the Olde English ‘D’, including the 1968 World Series championship season.

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 8, 2023

A Statement from the Robinson Family and the Orioles:

“We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Brooks Robinson. An integral part of our Orioles Family since 1955, he will continue to leave a lasting impact on our club, our community, and the sport of…

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) September 26, 2023

Ah happy trails

Just heard that. He was something else in the '70 Series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_XHZbhR9qc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6FkSuRWZtA

Apparently he was left-handed, and did everything left-handed, except bat and throw

Jim Palmer said Brooks "never had a bad day in his life"

Thanks for the videos, clemenza. Wild to see video of that time. Great play

Jim Palmer reflects on the legacy of Brooks Robinson. pic.twitter.com/2UlvMt5gBd

— Orioles on MASN (@masnOrioles) September 26, 2023

Nice clip. I'm going by memory here--and will feel silly if I'm wrong (can't seem to find confirmation online)--but I think Ken Burns used "Theme from Shaft" for the segment on Robinson and the '70s Series. He cheated by a year, but it was great. Clemente and Santana's "Oye Como Va" for the '71 Series was a perfect match; Robinson and "Shaft" was a brilliant contrast.

jim palmer is in awfully good shape for a guy who'll turn 78 in a couple weeks

Sorry, forgot this thread existed for a moment.

Our hearts are broken with the loss of Tim Wakefield.

Wake embodied true goodness; a devoted husband, father, and teammate, beloved broadcaster, and the ultimate community leader. He gave so much to the game and all of Red Sox Nation.

Our deepest love and thoughts are with… pic.twitter.com/ah5kV2Yt8j

— Red Sox (@RedSox) October 1, 2023

Highly recommend Knuckleball, about his quest for his 200th win but really about this small fraternity of four or five people who account for almost everyone in the world who knows how to throw that pitch well. They golf together, keep in touch, and mentor Wakefield.

rip The Young Knuckleballer

went to see him do a rehab start for the carolina mudcats in 1993, but he ended up being scratched. andy van slyke was there rehabbing tho

classic pirates move to waive a guy who would win 186 games and put up 33 bWAR elsewhere. always rooted for him ;_;

Tim Wakefield, Knuckleballer Extraordinaire pic.twitter.com/QElTCrnSMT

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) October 1, 2023

For those that didn’t notice, George Kirby threw a first-pitch knuckleball to Corey Seager for a swing and miss. Statcast had it as a splitter, but Kirby has been threatening to throw his knuckleball once in a game.

— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) October 1, 2023

This Mike Timlin-Tim Wakefield video from the 2007 World Series resonates even more now. Seemed like the absolute best teammate you could have. pic.twitter.com/4A3hx6nEIi

— Mike Cole (@MikeColeNESN) October 1, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZf9UeZa4uA

I'm sure many of you have read this before, but it's well worth a re-read in the aftermath of Wakefield's death. By my lights this is the best oral history about any baseball event ever: The Doug Mirabelli trade.

https://tht.fangraphs.com/the-doug-mirabelli-trade-an-oral-history/

baseball writer jim caple, who i used to enjoy reading back in the espn page 2 days and again years later at the athletic

thanks for posting that, tracer hand!

Great read.

Loved watching (and imitating) him.

Hondo, one of the legendary guys from my youth:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/mlb/article-12690331/Frank-Howard-Washington-Senators-dies-87-MLB.html

It's not so much how many HR he hit--under 400 for his career, reached 40+ three times--as when he hit them: 44 in '68 (with a slugging pct. of .552), when pitchers dominated like no year since the 1910s, and 48 in '69, which was wasn't as extreme but still pitching-dominated. And he was huge (standing next to Mantle here).

https://ladodgertalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/gettyimages-52909635-612x612-1.jpg

"His coming-out party came in May 1968, when, during a stretch of 20 at-bats, Howard blasted 10 home runs. It still stands as the record for most home runs hit in one week."

https://www.mlb.com/news/frank-howard-dies

Little bit in Posnanski's post today about how much Ted Williams brought Frank Howard around as a hitter.

Then in 1969, the team hired their new manager, a guy named Ted Williams, and it’s utterly REMARKABLE how much that changed Frank Howard as a hitter. Up to that point, he was a wild free swinger with a .336 lifetime on-base percentage. Under Williams, he immediately cut down the strikeouts and doubled the walks; that year he hit .296/.402/.574 with those career-high 48 homers. The next year, he led the league with 132 walks. Ted Williams was a famously ineffective manager for many reasons, but Frank Howard would always say he made him a great hitter and he would lament not playing for Ted when he was young.

Peter Seidler, grandson of Wally O'Malley, owner/controlling partner of SDP from 2012-2023.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/padres/story/2023-11-14/padres-chairman-peter-seidler-passes-away

Whoa

The Padres are super fucked, jeez

Werehavingafiresale.gif

Willie Hernandez, 1984 CY and MVP winner.

Wow. One of the great then vs. now seasons when tracing historical attitudes towards closers and how they're used. His '84 vs. Felix Bautista's 2023:

WH - 140.1 IP, 1.92 ERA, 3.1 WAR, Cy Young + MVP
FB - 61 IP, 1.48 ERA, 3.0 WAR, 11th-place for the Cy (one 5th-place vote), 0 MVP votes

(Weirdly enough, similar W-L records: Hernandez 9-3, Bautista 8-2.)

Like one of those Academy Award tributes: 2023 in memoriam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JarNaBC2Y4

Meant to say that there's a Seattle Pilot in there: Wayne Comer.

How did we miss this?

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39286514/bud-harrelson-scrappy-mets-ss-fought-pete-rose-dies-79

I didn't know about the Alzheimer's. Only won one GG, surprisingly--his defensive reputation was up there with almost anyone's through the '70s. (Usually lost out to Concepcion.) Got an MVP vote in '73 for playing 106 games and hitting .258--his career high till he hit .282/.272 his final two seasons. Immortal, of course, for this (Monday afternoon game, so I was probably sitting in Mr. Gudgeon's grade 8 class and missed it).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8xKLnO4hOs

Rose in 2008: "You had Seaver, who was the greatest pitcher I ever saw, and you had great hitters like Cleon Jones and Tommie Agee, and later Rusty and Milner. But the heart and soul of that team — ask anyone who played against them — was Bud Harrelson."

(Note to Thermo: if there was ever a player who was going to have "scrappy" in his obit headline, Harrelson's the guy.)

A member of the @Mets extended family has passed away. (Okay, REALLY extended family). Joyce Randolph, who played Trixie Norton on “The Honeymooners” was 99 years old. Her grandnephew Tim Redding pitched for the Mets 15 years ago. TV, if not necessarily Mets royalty. RIP. pic.twitter.com/PlbXqMy0ws

— Howie Rose (@HowieRose) January 14, 2024