So young, I didn't know he was sick. I always think of him as the 22 year old phenom and potential best SS in the game from the '85 division winners. Many people probably remember him as the guy whose error might have given away the '97 WS. Each of his stints with the Jays was memorable in some way. He's one of my favourite players ever and I'm really sorry to hear of his passing.
And yes, that 1990 trade was perhaps the last of its kind. It wasn't about big market vs small market teams, or trying to get value for players before they test free agency, or tanking/rebuilding to prepare for the future. It was a straight up challenge trade of four star players. There may never be another one like it again.
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Sunday, 16 February 2020 18:46 (four years ago) link
And there was a perfect symmetry to the trade in that the Jays got the best and the least of the four, and the Padres got the middle two guys--things could have gone either way, and if Alomar hadn't developed (which in turn got the Jays over the hump, which brought in Winfield and Molitor, all of which made Carter look better than he was), it could have been a terrible trade for Toronto.
― clemenza, Sunday, 16 February 2020 18:54 (four years ago) link
Olerud being able to replace McGriff was a big part of that deal too. iirc he went straight from collage ball to the majors. that aspect was definitely a risk aswell.
― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Sunday, 16 February 2020 21:21 (four years ago) link
orrin freeman, who had been a scout/farm director/special assistant to the gm for the marlins since their inception in 1991
― mookieproof, Friday, 21 February 2020 21:56 (four years ago) link
NY/SF Giants ace Johnny Antonelli
https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/2020/02/28/johnny-antonelli-dies-new-york-giants-pitcher-world-series-hero-1954-rochester-ny-businessman/4902150002/
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 29 February 2020 07:26 (four years ago) link
yankees' kelly rodman, one of very few female scouts in the game
not sure of the cause, but she was only ~40
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 4 March 2020 19:29 (four years ago) link
Jimmy Wynn was posted in the ILX thread, but he should get one here too.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/legendary-astros-outfielder-jimmy-wynn-dies-at-age-78/
I was a full-fledged Reds fan by '74, so I remember the phenomenal start the Dodgers had that year.
end of April: 17-6end of May: 36-14end of June: 52-24
Still, the Reds almost caught them, only finishing 4.0 out (they were within a game-and-a-half on Sept. 14). I thought Wynn had the same kind of start, but not quite: phenomenal May, surrounded by three good but not spectacular months (and a slow August/September). Really good year overall, though (it was a pitcher's year, I think), and he was 5th in MVP voting, finishing well ahead of winner Garvey and runner-up Brock in WAR (and basically tied with Bench, who finished 4th). Weird: spending the bulk of his career in the Astrodome and Chez Ravine, I just assumed he got killed by his home parks, but for his career he was .256/.376/.443 at home, .245/.355/.429 on the road. One of the great nicknames ever, and one of those guys who was a walking machine before anybody cared.
― clemenza, Friday, 27 March 2020 14:04 (four years ago) link
RIP Toy Cannon
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Friday, 27 March 2020 22:32 (four years ago) link
We mourn the death of Ed Farmer who passed away Wednesday night.Farmer worked as a radio broadcaster for the Chicago White Sox for nearly 30 years, played 11 seasons in the major leagues, including three with his hometown White Sox, and was a strong advocate for organ donation. pic.twitter.com/wx7itjfEYk— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 2, 2020
― mookieproof, Thursday, 2 April 2020 14:27 (three years ago) link
al kaline, 85
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2020/04/06/al-kaline-dies-detroit-tigers/505371001
― mookieproof, Monday, 6 April 2020 19:44 (three years ago) link
That's a big one. As I just posted on Facebook, though, of all the famous HOF'ers who played most of their careers in the '60s, I have less of a sense of Kaline than any of them.
― clemenza, Monday, 6 April 2020 20:58 (three years ago) link
I remember seeing him on TV at the end of his career.
per Ben Lindbergh on EW, Kaline had the most career HR (399) w/out ever hitting 30 in a year.
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 7 April 2020 14:19 (three years ago) link
There is a lot of love coming out in the articles about Al Kaline, that guy seems to have been well liked by seemingly everyone. I knew him from baseball cards as a kid, but that he was supposed to be the real deal as a player good all the way around.
― earlnash, Tuesday, 7 April 2020 16:40 (three years ago) link
the most career HR (399) w/out ever hitting 30 in a year
I'd say that pinpoints his relative anonymity outside of Detroit better than anything.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 7 April 2020 17:45 (three years ago) link
(By which I mean next to Mays, Aaron, Clemente, Yaz, etc.)
― clemenza, Tuesday, 7 April 2020 17:46 (three years ago) link
Yaz is a pretty good comparison in a lot of ways -- Kaline didn't have nearly the same peak, but both spent most of their career operating not at that superstar peak but at a slightly lower tier of stardom in terms of production. Similar to Cal Ripken and Brett, I guess -- a couple other members of the 20+ seasons with one team club. Kaline also didn't have the same level of fame as any of those guys, probably just a matter of him not having a single season with truly eye-popping counting stats.
disappointing that he never played catcher even for just an inning, would have been cool for Al Kaline to be part of a battery.
― omar little, Tuesday, 7 April 2020 18:30 (three years ago) link
o_O
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 7 April 2020 18:33 (three years ago) link
No dad jokes on the obit thread?
I was going to say he was one of the few players of his caliber where it could be argued his best season was his first full one, but his age 20 season (didn’t turn 21 til December of that year) was actually his second full one.
― omar little, Wednesday, 8 April 2020 00:53 (three years ago) link
no, it was solid
tbf, he made 18 all-star games, so *someone* recognized he was good
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 8 April 2020 01:45 (three years ago) link
I quoted the battery line on Facebook!
― clemenza, Wednesday, 8 April 2020 02:22 (three years ago) link
Kaline was definitely highly thought of by other players. All-Star voting wasn't handed over to fans until 1970; I assume all those AS appearances were voted on by players?
― clemenza, Wednesday, 8 April 2020 02:26 (three years ago) link
Brooks Robinson said he was the best he played against
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 8 April 2020 11:18 (three years ago) link
gen believed he forsook some power for average and walks
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/remembering-al-kaline-mr-tiger-1934-2020/
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 8 April 2020 11:57 (three years ago) link
Al Kaline’s family put a “regular” obit in the Sunday @freep. By blending in, it’s an example of how one-of-a-kind he really was. pic.twitter.com/CR7ej9aZAT— Matt Friedman (@mattfrieds) April 12, 2020
― Andy K, Sunday, 12 April 2020 16:06 (three years ago) link
Glenn Beckert:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/former-chicago-cubs-star-glenn-beckert-dies/
One of those random stats that will stick in my mind forever: he hit .340 one year, when Rod Carew was the only second baseman who did that. (Okay, I checked--.342.)
― clemenza, Monday, 13 April 2020 00:49 (three years ago) link
hank steinbrenner, 63, non-covid-related
https://nypost.com/2020/04/14/hank-steinbrenner-yankees-co-owner-dead-at-63/
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 14 April 2020 14:59 (three years ago) link
jim frey, 88
https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2020/04/14/former-royals-cubs-manager-jim-frey-dies-at-88
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 14 April 2020 18:50 (three years ago) link
Within a few months of Tony Fernandez, Dámaso García.
http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2020/04/15/long-time-blue-jays-infielder-damaso-garcia-dies/
― clemenza, Wednesday, 15 April 2020 18:30 (three years ago) link
RIP I remember being super bummed as a 9 or 10-yr old when he was included in that Chambliss trade
And being down on Rick Cerone
― Yanni Xenakis (Hadrian VIII), Wednesday, 15 April 2020 21:40 (three years ago) link
Steve Dalkowski, a wild left-hander who was said to have been dubbed "the fastest pitcher in baseball history" by Ted Williams, died this week in New Britain, Connecticut. He was 80.Dalkowski, who once struck out 24 batters in a minor league game -- and walked 18 -- never made it to the big leagues.Writer-director Ron Shelton, who spent five years in the Orioles farm system, heard about Dalkowski's exploits and based the character Nuke Laloosh in 'Bull Durham' on the pitcher.
Dalkowski, who once struck out 24 batters in a minor league game -- and walked 18 -- never made it to the big leagues.
Writer-director Ron Shelton, who spent five years in the Orioles farm system, heard about Dalkowski's exploits and based the character Nuke Laloosh in 'Bull Durham' on the pitcher.
― mookieproof, Friday, 24 April 2020 18:31 (three years ago) link
The A's are mourning the loss of former Athletic minor leaguer Miguel Marte, who passed away earlier this week due to complications from COVID-19. Marte played in the A's system from 2008-2012. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.https://t.co/PV7UEuAuvL pic.twitter.com/mVeLdOUciU— Oakland A's (@Athletics) May 1, 2020
― mookieproof, Friday, 1 May 2020 19:41 (three years ago) link
journeyman Matt Keough, AL All-Star as a rookie in 1978 & was selected AL Comeback Player of the Year in 1980, both for the A's.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 3 May 2020 23:39 (three years ago) link
Tonight my dad and hero Bob Watson has passed away after a long fight with kidney disease.. #Astros #Yankees #RedSox #Braves #Athletics #USABAseball #MLB #1stBlackGM pic.twitter.com/obKe1mwJYc— K Dubb (@TheReal_KDubb) May 15, 2020
― Andy K, Friday, 15 May 2020 12:45 (three years ago) link
Understand that I realize why, but Watson was the very definition of what James called "the RBI guy with mystique," something you can't have in the era of analytics.
― clemenza, Friday, 15 May 2020 15:10 (three years ago) link
http://www.cnn.com/2020/05/18/us/arizona-diamondbacks-player-wife-dead-spt-trnd/index.html
― clemenza, Tuesday, 19 May 2020 18:54 (three years ago) link
biff pocoroba, 66
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 27 May 2020 19:37 (three years ago) link
Not sure where to post this, but this is a must read (and pretty devastating):
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29224260/inside-roy-halladay-struggle-pain-addiction
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Thursday, 28 May 2020 22:25 (three years ago) link
Sad MLB news. Claudell Washington passed away this AM...— Full Dissident (@hbryant42) June 10, 2020
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 10 June 2020 16:41 (three years ago) link
Wasn't he basically the star of the team for a season after Finley got rid of everyone or they cleared out?
― clemenza, Wednesday, 10 June 2020 18:40 (three years ago) link
Checked, and no--he was gone by '77 himself, and in '76, Tenace, Campanaris, Bando, Rudi, and North were still there. Really, only Jackson, Hunter, and Holtzman were gone.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 10 June 2020 18:45 (three years ago) link
he had a very nice age-20 season, which was before my time. i only remember him with the barves
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 10 June 2020 18:49 (three years ago) link
a linchpin of the 1980 Mets
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 10 June 2020 19:11 (three years ago) link
I seem to remember Claudell Washington making an unbelievable catch when he was with the Braves where at full speed goes up the wall catches the ball then goes over the wall. To my memory, it was in the part of the wall back at the old Braves stadium when the walls were like plexiglass and visible through them, so in the clip you see him falling behind the wall.
Looked and could not find the clip, but I seem to remember it being in one of those "best all time catch" clips you would see back in the 80s.
― earlnash, Thursday, 11 June 2020 00:25 (three years ago) link
1967 NL cy young winner mike mccormick, 81
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 16:49 (three years ago) link
Mike Ryan
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29442904/former-catcher-long-coach-mike-ryan-dies-78
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 12 July 2020 12:09 (three years ago) link
Heartbroken today with the news of Tony Taylor’s passing. To me, he was more than a former teammate... he was my best friend and one of finest human beings on the planet pic.twitter.com/enXxCvzu1k— Dick Allen (@DickAllen_15) July 16, 2020
― mookieproof, Thursday, 16 July 2020 17:25 (three years ago) link
Earlier this week, Johan Maya welcomed his pregnant wife home after she recovered from COVID-19. Then the Diamondbacks scout got sick. He died on Thursday, leaving a hole in the baseball community.With @jakemkaplan:https://t.co/N2ZvRkjU7F— Zach Buchanan (@ZHBuchanan) July 24, 2020
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 25 July 2020 13:46 (three years ago) link
by all accounts a good guy, was in minor league baseball forever
Awful news. Longtime MiLB owner Lou Schwechheimer, currently owner of the new AAA club in Wichita has passed away from the novel coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/KO6LGeFjWJ— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) July 29, 2020
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 29 July 2020 20:57 (three years ago) link
John McNamara
https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2020/07/29/former-red-sox-manager-john-mcnamara-dies-at-88/
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 30 July 2020 14:32 (three years ago) link
Peter Seidler, grandson of Wally O'Malley, owner/controlling partner of SDP from 2012-2023.
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, 14 November 2023 19:27 (four months ago) link
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/padres/story/2023-11-14/padres-chairman-peter-seidler-passes-away
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, 14 November 2023 19:28 (four months ago) link
Whoa
― reggae mike love (polyphonic), Tuesday, 14 November 2023 20:30 (four months ago) link
The Padres are super fucked, jeez
― reggae mike love (polyphonic), Tuesday, 14 November 2023 20:31 (four months ago) link
Werehavingafiresale.gif
― Its big ball chunky time (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Tuesday, 14 November 2023 20:31 (four months ago) link
Willie Hernandez, 1984 CY and MVP winner.
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Thursday, 23 November 2023 07:03 (four months ago) link
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 + MVPFB - 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.)
― clemenza, Thursday, 23 November 2023 14:09 (four months ago) link
Like one of those Academy Award tributes: 2023 in memoriam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JarNaBC2Y4
― clemenza, Friday, 15 December 2023 18:03 (three months ago) link
Meant to say that there's a Seattle Pilot in there: Wayne Comer.
― clemenza, Friday, 15 December 2023 20:38 (three months ago) link
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."
― clemenza, Friday, 12 January 2024 17:29 (two months ago) link
(Note to Thermo: if there was ever a player who was going to have "scrappy" in his obit headline, Harrelson's the guy.)
― clemenza, Friday, 12 January 2024 19:25 (two months ago) link
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
― mookieproof, Monday, 15 January 2024 04:09 (two months ago) link
Steve Staggs, 72. Not sure if Facebook links to a public group work here:
https://www.facebook.com/TorontoBlueJaysBaseballFans/posts/pfbid0yWgxshR6QWTC1C8d8DFFvAWci77arNW12vSUDmwtvgRHtmWnahK9RbAvRRL2tXa5l
I don't remember him at all, even though he was the Jays' leadoff hitter for half their first season. Looks a lot like Wade Boggs here:
https://i.postimg.cc/9fhb6xDH/staggs.jpg
― clemenza, Wednesday, 24 January 2024 17:58 (two months ago) link
Jimy Williams (if he'd been a character in Goodfellas, he would have been Jimy One-M).
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/mlb/former-blue-jays-manager-jimy-williams-dead-at-80-1.7098047
1) Had the difficult task of taking over from Bobby Cox in 1986, after the Jays' first divisional title.
2) Manger when they collapsed in '87. After play on Sept. 26, the Jays were 96-59, the best record in baseball by 4-1/2 games. They proceeded to lose their final seven games, the last three by one run to the Tigers, the team that overtook them for the A.L. East title.
3) In the middle of probably the most memorable player-manager confrontation in team history:
https://mopupduty.com/a-memorable-blue-jays-opening-day-041117/
The Jays started the '89 season 12-24, Williams was fired and replaced by Cito Gaston, and it went from there.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 30 January 2024 00:22 (one month ago) link
"Manger"--I do remember invoking Jesus's name a number of times those final seven games.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 30 January 2024 01:04 (one month ago) link
I don’t know anything about him but you might enjoy this Red Sox Stats tweet about the time he benched Pedro
On August 14, 1999, Pedro was 16-3 with 199 strikeouts, a 2.46 ERA and 1.62 FIP.He showed up late for a start, and Jimy sat his ass. pic.twitter.com/WJ7av91tU2— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) January 29, 2024
― Roman Anthony gets on his horse (gyac), Tuesday, 30 January 2024 01:05 (one month ago) link
I'd completely forgotten he went on to manage other teams...Houston, too. Weird: he had a winning record in all three places (.535 for his career), and in every case, the team went on to their greatest success soon after he left (Jays and Red Sox win WS within three years, Houston goes to their first WS the very next year).
Maybe his biggest claim to fame, upon reconsideration, is managing Pedro in 1999 and 2000.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 30 January 2024 01:11 (one month ago) link
His biggest claim to fame is probably this:
Williams returned to the Braves as Cox's third base coach from 1991-96, memorably giving Sid Bream the green light for the pennant-winning run on Francisco Cabrera's single
I had no idea he was coaching for the Braves, although it makes sense that he'd follow his former boss to Atlanta.
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Tuesday, 30 January 2024 09:23 (one month ago) link
Didn't know that either...eventful career.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 30 January 2024 11:45 (one month ago) link
Who just died? I briefly saw one of those rotating online headlines about a pitcher who played for 10 seasons dying...can't find anything.
― clemenza, Saturday, 10 February 2024 22:16 (one month ago) link
im not seeing anything
― Its big ball chunky time (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Saturday, 10 February 2024 23:07 (one month ago) link
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Hannan
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Saturday, 10 February 2024 23:17 (one month ago) link
That'd be him, thanks. Never heard of him. Definite claim to fame: part of the massive Denny McLain trade in 1970.
― clemenza, Saturday, 10 February 2024 23:20 (one month ago) link
Geez, missed this:
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/don-gullett-world-series-champion-with-reds-and-yankees-dies-at-73/
Easily the best pitcher on my first favourite team. From Posnanski's post today: best winning percentage for pitchers who won 100 games before turning 27 (44 of them in the 20th century).
1. Roger Clemens, 116-51, .6952. Don Gullett, 109-60, .6863. Dwight Gooden, 142-66, .6834. Jim Palmer, 122-57, .6825. Pedro Martinez, 107-50, .682
Retired after that--never pitched in another game.
― clemenza, Monday, 19 February 2024 22:18 (one month ago) link
ed ott, 72
u l washington, 71
― mookieproof, Monday, 4 March 2024 14:38 (three weeks ago) link
also tim wakefield’s widow stacy, 57
― mookieproof, Monday, 4 March 2024 14:41 (three weeks ago) link
I remember Ed Ott, who then led me back to Duffy Dyer; Manny's backups.
― clemenza, Monday, 4 March 2024 15:08 (three weeks ago) link
having grown up with ed ott (and steve nicosia!) i have to stop and think whenever the the crossword is asking for MEL
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 5 March 2024 03:17 (three weeks ago) link
Ed Ott did Felix Millan dirty. RIP but you will pay for it in the afterlife.
― buzza, Tuesday, 5 March 2024 07:10 (three weeks ago) link
missed this but former pirates/cardinals/white sox/etc pitcher jose deleon died a few weeks ago at 63
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 13 March 2024 12:00 (two weeks ago) link
Such a strange pitcher, the disconnect between his peripheral stats and his W-L record--he got some attention for it at a time when few pitchers did. Both years he lost 19 (2-19 in '85!), he gave up fewer hits than IP. He walked too many, but he also struck out over 7 batters per 9 when, again, that wasn't common. For his career, a league-average ERA, a FIP of 3.61, and a W-L record 30 games under .500.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 13 March 2024 13:08 (two weeks ago) link
kind of amazing that deleon still put up 1.8 fWAR while going 2-19
he was unlucky, but the '85 pirates were a deeply awful team (apart from rick reuschel). their leading home run hitter had 12!
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 13 March 2024 20:13 (two weeks ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PqXNWS4aRU
― mookieproof, Thursday, 21 March 2024 16:48 (one week ago) link
Three or four famous Mets on there...Did we mention Bill Plummer on this thread? Remember him well as Bench's backup.
― clemenza, Thursday, 21 March 2024 18:17 (one week ago) link
Peter Angelos
https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/03/23/peter-angelos-orioles-owner-dies/
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Saturday, 23 March 2024 18:50 (five days ago) link