Part 1| Part 2 | Part 3 Mike Sadek, 74 (d. Jan. 20): Mike Sadek spent 8 seasons as a backup catcher for the Giants, from 1973 to 1981. He saw his most action in 1980, when he hit .252 with a home run in 64 games. He joined the Giants front office as a … Continue reading In Memoriam 2021 (Part 4)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4 Don Leppert, 90 (d. Jan. 5): Second baseman Don Leppert had 8 hits in 70 at-bats for the 1955 Baltimore Orioles. Originally a Yankee farmhand, Leppert was part of a 1954 trade that sent Don Larsen and Bob Turley to New York and Gus Triandos and Gene … Continue reading In Memoriam 2021 (Part 3)
Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4 Chuck Dobson, 77 (d. Nov. 30): Chuck Dobson won 75 games for the Athletics and Angels between 1966 and 1975. He had a 15-5 record for Oakland in 1971, but an injury suffered toward the end of the year kept him off the team when it won … Continue reading In Memoriam 2021 (Part 2)
To date, the baseball world has bid farewell to about 100 former ballplayers and managers. Some of them were Hall of Famers, and others played in just a game or two. But every one of them played a part in the history of baseball, so it's time to take a look back at their stories. … Continue reading In Memoriam 2021 (Part 1)
A 40-year-old woman and her 2-year-old son died after a fall at Petco Park on Saturday, September 25. The incident happened minutes before the start of the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves ballgame, which started at 4:15 without delay. The names of the two people have not yet been released. (Update: police have identified … Continue reading Mother and son die in fall at Petco Park
As 2020 comes to a close, it's a good time to look back on some of those notables in the baseball world who left us in 2020. It's been a particularly tough year, as more than 110 ex-MLB ballplayers passed away, as well as a number of managers, executives, Negro League ballplayers and All American … Continue reading Remembering those we lost in 2020
The death of Charley Pride left a giant hole in the heart of country music. He was the genre’s first African-American star, and decades later, still one of a handful of people of color to have any kind of lasting success as a country singer. Despite enduring a stream of racist behavior from country music … Continue reading Charley Pride and Nashville’s lethal ignorance
Ever wonder what it's like writing baseball-related obituaries in 2020? In a word, it's been exhausting. Let's use this week as an example. I wrote and published stories on Tommy Sandt and Bill Spanswick on December 5 and 7, respectively. While I was working on those, reports came out that that Lorenzo "Chico" Fernandez died, … Continue reading 2020 was as bad as you thought it was
RIP to Ryan Costello, an infielder in the Minnesota Twins organization. It was announced that Costello died in Auckland, New Zealand, overnight. The 23-year-old had arrived in the country last week in preparation to play with the Auckland Tuatara of the Australian Baseball League over the winter. Initial reports indicate that Costello died of natural … Continue reading Twins prospect dies in New Zealand
Chace Numata, a switch-hitting catcher in the Detroit Tigers organization, died on September 2 from injuries suffered in a skateboarding accident. Numata, who was 27 and a member of the Erie SeaWolves, was hospitalized in Erie, Pa., after a fall early on August 29. Video surveillance footage showed that Numata's skateboard suddenly stopped as if … Continue reading Tigers minor-leaguer dies after skateboarding accident
RIP Baseball 