baseball obituaries 2020

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.

o_O

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.

no, it was solid

tbf, he made 18 all-star games, so *someone* recognized he was good

I quoted the battery line on Facebook!

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?

Brooks Robinson said he was the best he played against

gen believed he forsook some power for average and walks

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/remembering-al-kaline-mr-tiger-1934-2020/

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

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.)

hank steinbrenner, 63, non-covid-related

https://nypost.com/2020/04/14/hank-steinbrenner-yankees-co-owner-dead-at-63/

jim frey, 88

https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2020/04/14/former-royals-cubs-manager-jim-frey-dies-at-88

Within a few months of Tony Fernandez, Dámaso García.

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2020/04/15/long-time-blue-jays-infielder-damaso-garcia-dies/

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

http://www.cnn.com/2020/05/18/us/arizona-diamondbacks-player-wife-dead-spt-trnd/index.html

biff pocoroba, 66

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

Sad MLB news. Claudell Washington passed away this AM...

— Full Dissident (@hbryant42) June 10, 2020

Wasn't he basically the star of the team for a season after Finley got rid of everyone or they cleared out?

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.

he had a very nice age-20 season, which was before my time. i only remember him with the barves

a linchpin of the 1980 Mets

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.

1967 NL cy young winner mike mccormick, 81

Mike Ryan

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29442904/former-catcher-long-coach-mike-ryan-dies-78

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

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

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

John McNamara

https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2020/07/29/former-red-sox-manager-john-mcnamara-dies-at-88/

avatar of a blessedly crap Yankees era

Column: RIP Horace Clarke, who unwittingly lent his name to an era of #Yankees futility but never let a terrible case of bad timing alter the fact that he loved his life and cherished his memories. https://t.co/Sf96AGGvGv

— Mike Vaccaro (@MikeVacc) August 6, 2020

:(

tom seaver

:( rip

paul giamatti's dad waxes hardcore rhapsodic on seaver after the mets traded him: https://harpers.org/archive/1977/09/tom-seavers-farewell

this is pretty cool

Every Mets player has dirt on their right knee as a tribute to Tom Seaver, who’s knee would hit the ground as a result of his delivery 🧡 pic.twitter.com/3QkXueO8di

— SI MLB (@si_mlb) September 3, 2020

Nice tweets from Palmer ("Baseball lost the best pitcher of my era") and Jenkins. One of my favourite SI covers:

http://phildellio.tripod.com/toughest.jpg

Mr Baseball to me

His beginnings:

https://mcusercontent.com/70117f7e29064e68418377637/files/9ac95a1f-1d62-433b-8de2-44f0e9716a50/20073_Seaver_Beginning.pdf

RIP Jay Johnstone, who played for 8 teams in his 20-yr #MLB career (1966-1985). A excellent PH & role player, Johnstone was one of baseball's great pranksters & fan favorite. He was 74. His @sabr bio https://t.co/a82uL7ta16 pic.twitter.com/81At5sLOu4

— SABR BioProject (@SABRbioproject) September 28, 2020

Bob Gibson

RIP to a real one

damn, within a couple weeks of lou brock, too.

RIP Bob Gibson. :(

One of the two times I was in Cooperstown, he was on the street signing autographs--not near anything, just sitting there on his own. I remembered reading something where he wished fans would just shake his hand instead of asking for autographs, so, very proud of myself, that's what I did, walked up and asked to shake his hand--not thinking that there might be a difference between signing for money and getting interrupted in a restaurant and signing. He put out his hand, half looked away, and gave me the deadest handshake in the history of handshakes.

I view it as a funny, embarrassing story. I in no way stopped being a fan or anything. I cut major slack for any African-American player who came up through the '50s.

World moves on...sad to see them go.

I remember Jay Johnstone having some big pinch hits for the Cubs back in 84.

I dunno, clem, I don't think Ernie Banks or Buck O'Neil would've done that.

The Roger Angell profile of Gibson I posted two weeks ago:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1980/09/22/distance

They wouldn't have, no, but I understand both reactions. The whole signing business--I'm not part of that world, but my collector friend is immersed in it, so I hear all his stories--is bizarre.

missed this but former pirates/cardinals/white sox/etc pitcher jose deleon died a few weeks ago at 63

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.

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!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PqXNWS4aRU

Three or four famous Mets on there...Did we mention Bill Plummer on this thread? Remember him well as Bench's backup.

Peter Angelos

https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/03/23/peter-angelos-orioles-owner-dies/

Pat Zachry, 1976's NL ROY (tied with Butch Metzger):

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2024/04/06/pat-zachry-obituary/a4456638-f465-11ee-a4c9-88e569a98b58_story.html

Also beat Dock Ellis in G3 of that year's WS sweep of the Yankees.

I missed the biggest part of his story: he was one of the four players sent to the Mets for Seaver in '77 (along with Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, and Dan Norman).

catcher, most notably with the mets, jerry grote, 81

the notorious fritz peterson, 82

Wow. Also a close friend of Bouton's (or at least was described that way in Ball Four). If you don't know about the notorious part, look him up!

"I always did my best work when I was scared stiff. In fact, if I'm not scared for a game I'll create some critical situations in my mind. Like, I'll pretend it's a World Series game and that it really counts big. I told Fritz Peterson about how I felt about being scared and one day before I was going to start a game he came over and whispered in my ear: 'If you want to see your baby again you'll win today.'"

-- Ball Four

despite peterson’s notoriety, i was not expecting to receive a new york times push notification about his death

if we're going by ny baseball fan importance jerry grote (rip) way more notable than sex freakazoid peterson, his nice run with the non-competitive yankee clubs not withstanding

When Kenny Holtzman was a rookie in 1966, his start against Sandy Koufax was a big event for many of us — two Jewish left-handers going head-to-head a day after observing Yom Kippur. Holtzman pitched eight no-hit innings and the Cubs beat the Dodgers 2-1 at Wrigley Field. RIP. https://t.co/ahs4DJbn5V pic.twitter.com/IwDT6LI1uK

— Mark Potash (@MarkPotash) April 15, 2024

Just heard about this from a friend. Kind of overshadowed on the A's dynasty by Hunter, Blue, and Fingers.

When I was growing up, they would always show those retrospective programs covering the World series and they always showed ones from the Athletics dynasty. Holtzman was one of the singular guys I remembered, and growing up he loomed larger in legend for me than almost anyone from those teams outside of Reggie. When you look at his statistics, it's kind of unbelievable he never received a single Cy Young vote.

https://i.postimg.cc/gJNYQhwk/kevin.jpg

Don't remember him at all.

Holtzman won game 7 of the 73 series versus the Mets, hit a double and scored a run. I'll never not miss pitchers batting, yes I'm old. Also, very good Grid choice because of brief and mostly forgotten Orioles and Yankees years.

I didn't know that Holtzman played for the '77 and '78 Yankees, he won five WS rings! And yeah, it's surprising that he never got a CY vote with those pitching lines, but then again it's not surprising considering his competition on those WS winning teams.