RIP to Jay Johnstone, who had a 20-year career as a outfielder and a well-earned reputation as one of the game's all-time great characters and pranksters. He died on September 26 at the age of 74. He had been living with dementia and was living at a nursing home in Granada Hills, Calif. when he … Continue reading Obituary: Jay Johnstone (1945-2020)
RIP to John McNamara, who managed six different teams as part of a nearly 20-year big-league career -- most notably the 1986 Red Sox that came within an out of winning the World Series. He died on July 29 in Tennessee at the age of 88. McNamara had a 14-year career in the minor leagues … Continue reading Obituary: John McNamara (1932-2020)
RIP to former All-Star outfielder Claudell Washington, who died on June 10 at the age of 65. According to his former teammate John D'Acquisto and PastPros, a company that represented him for autographs, Washington died from prostate cancer. He went public with his battle in 2018, when he announced he had discontinued treatment. Washington played … Continue reading Obituary: Claudell Washington (1954-2020)
RIP to Matt Keough, a pitcher who was a part of Oakland's "Five Aces" pitching staff in the early '80s. He died on May 1 at the age of 64. Keough was part of a baseball family that included his father Marty Keough, his uncle Joe Keough, and his son Shane, who played in the … Continue reading Obituary: Matt Keough (1955-2020)
RIP to Bobby Winkles, a big-league coach and manager as well as a tremendously successful college baseball coach. He died on April 17 at the age of 90. After a career as an infielder in the minor leagues, Winkles served as the manager of the California Angels (1973-74) and Oakland Athletics (1977-78). "He was a … Continue reading Obituary: Bobby Winkles (1930-2020)
RIP to Ed Farmer, who had a long career as a MLB career and an even longer career as a radio broadcaster for the White Sox. He died on Wednesday night, April 1, from idiopathic cardiomyopathy, per his family, though he had been suffering from kidney problems for several years. (See comments from his sister … Continue reading Obituary: Ed Farmer (1949-2020)
RIP to Ed Sprague Sr., a relief pitcher who was a part of the original Oakland A's teams. The A's reported on January 10 that he had died at the age of 74. Sprague pitched for the Athletics (1968-69), Cincinnati Reds (1971-73), St. Louis Cardinals (1973) and Milwaukee Brewers (1973-76). His son, Ed Jr., was … Continue reading Obituary: Ed Sprague Sr. (1945-2020)
RIP to Bob "Rocky" Johnson, an infielder and standout pinch-hitter who played for a decade in the majors in the 1960s. Former teammate Jim Palmer reported on Twitter that Johnson, 83, died in Minnesota. Wikipedia notes that Johnson died on November 12 from Parkinson's disease. Johnson played for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics (1960, 1969-70), Washington … Continue reading Obituary: Bob Johnson (1936-2019)
RIP to Ron Fairly, who over the course of a nearly 50-year baseball career was an All-Star, a World Series champ, an announcer and an author. He died in Indian Wells, Calif., on October 30 at the age of 81. His death, from pancreatic cancer, was announced by the Seattle Mariners, for whom Fairly had … Continue reading Obituary: Ron Fairly (1938-2019)
RIP to Joe Keough, who drove in the winning run of the first ever Royals game. The outfielder/first baseman, who had a 6-year career in the major leagues, died on September 9 in Miami after a brief illness. He was 73 years old. Keough played for the Oakland Athletics (1968), Kansas City Royals (1969-1972) and … Continue reading Obituary: Joe Keough (1946-2019)
RIP Baseball 