baseball obituaries 2018

growing up in the NYC area, read a lot about Newcombe in the papers and The Boys of Summer in the early '70s, around Jackie's death. As one did, since most of the writers had covered the departed teams.

boston globe writer nick cafardo, 62, died today at the red sox's spring training park in fort myers

For the past 34 years, one guy who was always terrific and on top of it, always worth a giggle, as well as a meaningful phone call, and who always was the best of professionals and colleagues, was Nick Cafardo. And I am sick to my stomach and going for a long, long walk. https://t.co/UvVgpTAkFA

— Lynn G. Henning (@Lynn_Henning) February 21, 2019

It is with a heavy heart to report that former #PeoriaRedwings catcher, Terry Donahue passed away last night at the age of 93. She was one of the Canadians who came south to play in the #AAGPBL from 1946 - '49. Please keep her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. pic.twitter.com/Hqqridfyx6

— AAGPBL Official (@AAGPBL) March 15, 2019

RIP Chuck Harmon, 94, African American baseball pioneer who broke the color barrier for the Cincinnati @Reds in 1954. He was also a basketball star at @ToledoMBB who played and coached hoops professionally. Read his #SABR bio: https://t.co/6gwQvJKvcw pic.twitter.com/LwFxkeRW76

— SABR (@sabr) March 20, 2019

bill buckner

RIP BB

In a statement, Mookie Wilson says he and the late Bill Buckner developed a friendship that lasted over 30 years. The two will forever be linked in history.

"Bill was a great, great baseball player whose legacy should not be defined by one play," Wilson said.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 27, 2019

When we started on our fourth day of provincial grade 3 testing this today, it became evident, after about five minutes, that I had totally messed up the first two days. They were supposed to do two language sections last Tuesday; they did one. Two more on Wednesday; they did one. You'd think I would have figured out that something was amiss--both days I was in the staff room complaining about how much time they'd been given to do so little. I had to call the principal to my room this morning: "Um, I've got an emergency."

My little tribute to you, BB.

(I'm being unfair, I know--he was a good hitter who, because of the era he played in, was sometimes mistakenly viewed as a great hitter.)

On Sunday, the last full day of Bill Buckner's life, 16 major leaguers struck out at least three times. Buckner played 22 seasons and never did it once.

— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) May 27, 2019

Some of my earliest childhood memories of watching baseball was Jack Brickhouse announcing "Billy Buck" lining frozen ropes down the right field line in Wrigley.

If you watched Bill Buckner play much, you would obviously see a guy that maximized his skills and with the 2 days of stubble on top of the handlebar mustache and eye black, the guy had the clutch hustler dirty uniform look down that fans come to love. On top of this, by all counts his knees were totally screwed and he pretty much played over a decade on bad legs.

To err is human and Bill Buckner seemed to be a decent human being pretty well centered considering having to deal with that World Series play.

Bob Stanley and Calvin Schraldi should have thanked Buckner for years that most fans probably outside Boston forgot their part in the Red Sox collapse.

Right--Buckner's error let in the winning run in a game that had already become a nightmare. The sequence before the error--singles by Carter, Mitchell, and Knight, then the wild pitch--was the real catastrophe (something I thought at the time).

I watched that ending happen and it was craziest end to any playoff sporting event to that point I had ever seen.* One thing that would be interesting to see is the odds of winning the game and how it changed play by play. That type of graph is pretty easy to find these days, but I have never seen it for that game.

Less talked about than the Cubs/Marlins game, I think the Rangers collapse against the Cardinals being down to the last strike lord knows how many times to win the series in 2011 was pretty awful. It doesn't have that iconic play, but it was just as big a a belly flop failure.

*I'd say for mid-80s, Flutie's BC hail mary against Miami and NC State's tip in against Phi Slamma Jamma were pretty unexpected too. I seem to remember the Dwight Clark catch being a bigger deal after the Sports Illustrated magazine came out with that amazing picture than when it happened in some ways. I do kinda remember Reggie's 3HR game in the World Series, but was too young for Fisk's HR.

if you scroll down a bit, you can find a win expectancy graph for the game here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198610250.shtml

It doesn't have that iconic play

a lot of cardinals fans would point to the david freese walk-off HR

https://sp.yimg.com/j/assets/p/sp/editorial_image/f1/f1a2ffa4922626ec6aa3ecb26c5e14a3/cardinals_put_rally_squirrel_on_world_series_ring.jpg

Fully aware of Buckner's limitations, the strikeout contrasts to today really are amazing. From Posnanski:

In 1980, the year Buckner led the league in batting, he came to the plate 615 times. He struck out 18 of them.

Bryce Harper has struck out 19 times in the last two weeks.

Joey Gallo struck out 207 times in 2018.

Bill Buckner struck out 205 times in the 1970s. The whole decade.

(I will preemptively add that no, I would not take Buckner over Harper--obviously.)

Bob Stanley and Calvin Schraldi should have thanked Buckner for years that most fans probably outside Boston forgot their part in the Red Sox collapse.

i never actually saw the BB misplay at first. as i have probably recounted here somewhere, i was already lying flat on my back, staring up at the ceiling, as a result of the hits and of schiraldi. for me, it was already all over. it was so obviously all slipping away. my dad had to come back to the bedroom and gently break it to me what had happened. it barely registered. i already knew, somehow.

What I remember most, besides Mookie Wilson barely fouling off a few pitches before the grounder, is that with one out, I think, NBC announced that Boston's Marty Barrett was the World Series MVP.

Also when the Mets won, my dad and I didn't celebrate, but just stared at each other; we couldn't believe it.

Marc Okkonen, uniforms expert

https://uni-watch.com/2019/05/29/marc-okkonen-1933-2019/

Frank Lucchesi

https://www.lonestarball.com/2019/6/9/18658598/frank-lucchesi-former-texas-rangers-manager-died-92

that book about the '70s Texas teams Seasons in Hell is a doozy

Tyler Skaggs has passed away. We do not have details yet about how he passed, but tonight's game between the Angels and Rangers has been canceled.

— Levi Weaver (@ThreeTwoEephus) July 1, 2019

what the fuck

awful

omg that's horrible

just shy of 28, pitched on Saturday

good bio piece, RIP:

https://www.ozy.com/the-huddle/this-mlb-pitcher-gets-it-from-his-mama/88403

Jay Jaffe remembers Jim Bouton, personally. (I was at those SABR panels mentioned, in 2006 and 2017.)

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/pitcher-author-everyman-hero-jim-bouton-1939-2019/

Joe Grzenda, who threw the final pitch in Senators history (and kept the ball), dies at 82 https://t.co/2nvj9OfzV5

— Post Sports (@PostSports) July 16, 2019

Pumpsie Green--never would have guessed he was still alive.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2019/07/17/pumpsie-green-black-player-red-sox-dies/s7L4dEAIq14aThFN7mnu0N/story.html

The obituaries emphasize that he was the first African-American on the Red Sox, but I think--I might be wrong--they were the last team in the majors to integrate.

They were the final team to integrate (in 1959 -- the Globe article mentions this)

His appearance on the roster had followed picketing at Fenway Park. In spring training that year, Mr. Green hit .400 and was hailed by some reporters as the “camp rookie of the year.”

But to questions about whether Mr. Green would make the team, owner Tom Yawkey said: “The Red Sox will bring up a Negro when he meets our standards.”

We are heartbroken to report the passing of Rob McQuown. Rob has been a pillar of Baseball Prospectus for a decade, and we are devastated by this news. We will pass along more information and appropriate tribute in due time. For now, please join us in grieving his loss.

— Baseball Prospectus (@baseballpro) July 17, 2019

7-foot-1 dutch reliever loek van mil, 34

In the 2017 WBC, he faced Israel’s Nate Freiman (6'8") in what was believed to be the tallest batter-pitcher matchup in baseball history.

RIP to original Met, Al Jackson, who passed away earlier today. pic.twitter.com/nOdjJOxzLx

— New York Mets (@Mets) August 19, 2019

also returned in '68-69

more to come

https://ktla.com/2019/08/30/angels-pitcher-tyler-skaggs-died-of-alcohol-fentanyl-and-oxycodone-intoxication-choked-on-his-vomit/

terrible

i wonder if he was seeing an unscrupulous doctor who overprescribed or if someone on the medical staff of the Angels is pushing oxy. it's an awful drug.

(i recently revived the oxycontin thread on ILE and it was...interesting...to see how willing at least one ILXor was to give advice on how to take it to get high...)

team connection is suspected

Detroit Tigers statement regarding the passing of Chace Numata: pic.twitter.com/H6TCAQO1S8

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 2, 2019

Skateboarding accident

Chris Duncan, a 2006 #STLCards World Series champion, has passed away at the age of 38. Our thoughts are with his friends and family. pic.twitter.com/CBWbvGsayc

— FOX Sports Midwest (@FSMidwest) September 7, 2019

Whoa, wtf?

Charlie Silvera, Berra backup and coach

https://www.sfchronicle.com/giants/article/Charlie-Silvera-San-Francisco-native-and-14426637.php

former syracuse chiefs president don waful, 103

he was captured by the germans in tunisia in 1942 and spent the next three years in POW camps -- much of it with davey johnson's dad fred at the oflag 64 camp in poland

Masaichi Kaneda, winningest Japanese pitcher

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/10/06/baseball/japanese-baseball/japans-time-wins-leader-masaichi-kaneda-dies-86/#.XaHSkkZKiWY

shortstop jackie hernández, 79, who amassed -3.9 bWAR over nine seasons and had the assist on the final out of the 1971 world series

umpire eric cooper, 52. did the yanks-twins series two weeks ago.