Baseball passings 2026

[Edgy MD]

Dites au revoir à Jacques Doucet, la voix légendaire des Expos de Montréal.

 

[Frayed Knot]

Any relation to Roger Doucet, long time singer of the Canadian National Anthem at Montreal Canadiens games?

[Edgy MD]

I don't believe so, but that's a name that goes way back.

[Edgy MD]

And while you're thinking about the oldschool NL East, please pause in honor of Larry Christensen, the 1973-1983 Phillies rotation fixture who wasn't Steve Carlton.  Larry died unexpectedly yesterday during a phamily phishing trip.

Larry came up at 19.  Phillies phans know him from their division-winning 1977-78 teams, their 1980 championship under Dallas Green, and their unexpected 1983 pennant, when everybody on the team was at or near the end of the line.

Larry was the starting pitcher on the one day (May 19, 1979) the Phillies wore their all-burgundy uniforms.  The team lost, rebelled against the threads, and told management they wouldn't wear them again.

[whippoorwill]

Always thought Butch Huskey was just a badass name

[Frayed Knot]

Better than Robert Leon Huskey? (his given name)

[Frayed Knot]

6 hours ago, Edgy MD said:

Larry [Christenson] came up at 19. 

And threw his final pitch at the age of just 29. Must have been an injury as his last game was in early June before being  released by the Phils that winter never to resurface in the majors or minors with any other org.

[MFS62]

I may be wrong, but I think I remember Larry as a pitcher who came off the (those days) disabled list, threw a shutout against the Mets, then went back on the DL. It may have been someone with a similar name.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

No evidence of that.

Christenson did win his ML debut vs the Mets (4/13/73) with a complete game 5-hitter in a 7-1 PHI win

And in 1976 he beat the Mets five times while holding them to one run or less in each including twice in back-to-back starts:

5/19 - 6 IP, 4-1 PHI win

5/24 - CG, 5-1 PHI win

7/26 - 6 IP, 4-1 PHI win

7/31 - 5.2 IP, 2-1 PHIL win

9/5 - 8.1 IP, 3-1 PHI win

The 101 win Phils went 13 - 5 against those bicentennial (86 - 76) Mets.

[Cowtipper]

Rich Rowland died.

https://www.thebiglead.com/red-sox-tigers-catcher-rich-rowland-cause-of-death/

Who was Rich Rowland?

Rich Rowland (1964–2026) was an American professional baseball catcher who spent six seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox from 1990 to 1995. A 17th-round draft pick in 1988, Rowland spent much of his nine-year minor-league career with the Tigers' Toledo Mud Hens, where he was a productive hitter, including a standout 1993 season in which he hit 21 home runs and posted a .548 slugging percentage. In the majors, he was primarily a backup catcher and appeared in just 98 games, batting .213 with nine home runs and 26 RBIs; his best MLB season came in 1994 with Boston, when he hit all nine of his career homers in 46 games. After his final major-league appearance in 1995, he continued playing in the minor leagues through 1997 before retiring. A native of Cloverdale, California, Rowland died there on August 25, 2026, at age 62; both of his sons also went on to play professional minor-league baseball.

Who was Larry Christensen? 

Larry Richard Christenson (1953–2026) was a right-handed pitcher who spent his entire 11-year Major League Baseball career with the Philadelphia Phillies. Born in Everett, Washington, he excelled at Marysville High School, where he was initially better known for basketball but had an extraordinary senior baseball season, striking out 143 batters in 72 innings with a 0.28 ERA. The Phillies selected him third overall in the 1972 MLB draft, and he reached the majors at just 19 years old in 1973. His debut was impressive, as he threw a complete-game five-hitter against the New York Mets in a 7–1 victory, though he struggled initially before establishing himself as a full-time major leaguer in 1975.

Christenson became an important member of the Phillies teams that won three consecutive NL East titles from 1976 through 1978. He won 13 games in 1976, then enjoyed the best season of his career in 1977, going 19–6 while winning 15 of his final 16 decisions and pitching 219⅓ innings. He followed that with a 13–14 season in 1978 while posting a career-best 3.24 ERA and starting Game 1 of the NLCS. He was also an unusually capable hitter for a pitcher, eventually hitting 11 home runs, including two in one game against the Mets in 1976 and a grand slam during Philadelphia's 1977 division-clinching victory over the Cubs.

His career was increasingly disrupted by injuries, particularly recurring elbow problems. After missing time in 1979 and suffering a broken collarbone during a charity bicycle ride, he underwent elbow surgery in 1980 but returned in time to help the Phillies win their first World Series championship. He started Game 4 of the World Series but lasted only one-third of an inning. He remained capable of effective stretches, including a strong performance in the 1981 division series against Montreal, and made 32 starts in 1982. However, another elbow injury ended his 1983 season after nine starts, and the Phillies released him on his 30th birthday. Several attempted comebacks followed, but he was unable to return to professional baseball.

Christenson finished his MLB career with an 83–71 record, a 3.79 ERA, 781 strikeouts and six shutouts in 243 games. After retiring, he began a career in institutional investing in 1985 and eventually became president of Christenson Investment Partners. He remained connected to the Phillies and was active in charitable work, while former teammates remembered him as an energetic, eccentric and highly social personality. Christenson died at age 72 on August 28, 2026, while on a fishing trip in Washington, leaving behind the legacy of a highly touted young pitcher who became a key part of the Phillies' successful teams of the 1970s, a member of their first championship club, and a career ultimately cut short by persistent injuries.

And who was Jacques Doucet? 

Jacques Doucet (1940–2026) was a pioneering Canadian French-language baseball broadcaster whose career became inseparable from the Montreal Expos. Born in Montreal, he began as a translator for the Canadian Press before working as a sports journalist for La Presse. When the Expos were awarded to Montreal in 1968, Doucet became the newspaper's beat writer for the new team and also served as an official scorer, eventually making the transition into broadcasting during the club's inaugural 1969 season.

Beginning in 1972, Doucet became the Expos' full-time French-language radio play-by-play announcer, a position he held for the team's entire existence in Montreal through 2004. Over more than three decades, he called more than 5,000 major-league games, including two perfect games, and became famous for his distinctive bass voice and precise, descriptive style. Perhaps his greatest contribution was developing and popularizing French-language baseball terminology, effectively creating a natural vocabulary for describing a sport traditionally dominated by English-language expressions.

After the Expos departed Montreal, Doucet remained a prominent advocate for baseball in Quebec. He served as a spokesman for Encore Baseball Montréal and broadcast Quebec Capitales home games from 2006 to 2011 before joining TVA Sports as the French-language television voice of the Toronto Blue Jays. He continued broadcasting the Jays until retiring in 2022, and he also co-authored several books, including a definitive two-volume history of the Expos with Marc Robitaille.

Doucet was widely regarded as one of the most important figures in Canadian baseball broadcasting, earning induction into the Quebec Baseball Hall of Fame, Montreal Expos Hall of Fame and Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Although he was a five-time finalist for the Baseball Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award, he never received the honor, with his French-language work receiving less exposure among American voters. Often compared to broadcasters such as Vin Scully and Jaime Jarrín, Doucet died on August 27, 2026, at age 86, leaving behind a legacy as the iconic voice of the Expos and one of the people most responsible for establishing baseball as a fluent part of French-Canadian culture.

Also ...

Shosuke Doi (1937-2026) was a Japanese professional baseball player who spent eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball from 1956 to 1963, playing primarily shortstop for the Kokutetsu Swallows, Yomiuri Giants, and Daimai Orions. After retiring as a player, he enjoyed a long coaching and managerial career in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, including roles with the Orions, Lotte Giants, Brother Elephants, and Kaoping Fala.

[Edgy MD]

Call your Red Sox pals and offer condolences on the passing of former skipper Joe Morgan.

Morgan had the thankless task of taking over mid-season for pennant-winning John McNamara.  A manager without MLB playing experience was such a rarity at the time, more than a few outlets ran pictures of his Hall of Fame-bound secondbaseman namesake.  As such, he was widely considered to be a placeholder, but ended up lasting three and a half years, always finishing above .500 despite playing in baseball's most competitive division, and having a veteran team changing the guard on his watch, and he ended up joining the Sox Hall of Fame.

[whippoorwill]

On 8/29/2026 at 5:45 PM, Frayed Knot said:

Better than Robert Leon Huskey? (his given name)

Oh much better!

[Cowtipper]

Who was Joe Morgan?

Joe Morgan, nicknamed “Walpole Joe,” was a Massachusetts-born baseball lifer whose greatest contributions came as a manager and coach rather than as a player. Born in Walpole in 1930, he attended Boston College, where he played both hockey and baseball, before signing with the Boston Braves in 1952. He reached the majors with the Milwaukee Braves in 1959 and also played for several other clubs, but struggled to establish himself. In parts of four major-league seasons, he appeared in just 88 games and hit .193. His minor-league career was considerably more successful, however, and he won the 1964 International League MVP award with the Jacksonville Suns.

Morgan began managing in the Pittsburgh Pirates' farm system in 1966, steadily advancing from Class A to Double-A and Triple-A. His teams frequently posted winning records and developed numerous future major-league players, and his 1973 Charleston Charlies won their division. He subsequently joined the Boston Red Sox organization and managed the Pawtucket Red Sox from 1974 through 1982, becoming the longest-tenured manager in that franchise's history. Among the players he managed were future Hall of Famers Jim Rice and Wade Boggs. Morgan was also Pawtucket's manager during the famous 33-inning game against Rochester in 1981.

After serving as a Red Sox scout and Major League coach, Morgan unexpectedly became Boston's manager in July 1988 when John McNamara was fired. The struggling Red Sox immediately caught fire, winning their first 12 games under Morgan and 19 of their first 20, producing a remarkable turnaround dubbed “Morgan's Magic.” Boston won the AL East that year, although Oakland swept them in the ALCS. Morgan subsequently became the permanent manager and led the Red Sox to another division championship in 1990, but they again lost the ALCS to Oakland. After the 1991 season, he was fired despite finishing with an overall Major League managerial record of 301–262 (.535).

Morgan remained a beloved figure in New England baseball, known for his colorful personality, folksy expressions, and the nicknames “Walpole Joe” and “Turnpike Joe,” the latter referencing his offseason work driving a snowplow on the Massachusetts Turnpike. He was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2006 and the International League Hall of Fame in 2008, and the Red Sox honored him with “Joe Morgan Night” at Fenway Park in 2013. Morgan died in September 2026 at age 95, leaving behind a legacy centered not on his brief playing career but on decades of managing, coaching, developing players, and his unforgettable role in the 1988 Red Sox turnaround.

Also, Rollie Sheldon died.

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/kansas-city-mo/roland-sheldon-13022029

Who was Rollie Sheldon?

Rollie Sheldon (1936–2026) was an American right-handed pitcher who spent parts of five seasons in Major League Baseball, best known for his time with the New York Yankees in the early 1960s. A Connecticut native, Sheldon attended Texas A&M briefly before serving four years in the U.S. Air Force and then playing baseball at the University of Connecticut. The Yankees signed him at age 23, and he immediately impressed in his first professional season, going 15–1 with 15 complete games in Class D ball. He reached the majors in 1961 and had an excellent rookie season, going 11–5 while appearing in 35 games, including 21 starts.

Sheldon remained with the Yankees in 1962, although his performance declined to a 7–8 record and 5.49 ERA. The Yankees won the World Series in both 1961 and 1962, making Sheldon a member of two championship teams, though he did not pitch in either World Series. After spending much of 1963 and part of 1964 in Triple-A, he returned to New York in June 1964 and contributed to another pennant-winning club. He appeared in Games 1 and 7 of the 1964 World Series against St. Louis, pitching 2⅔ scoreless innings in relief, although the Yankees ultimately lost the series.

Sheldon was traded to the Kansas City Athletics in 1965, where he went 10–8 with a 3.95 ERA despite pitching for a team that lost 103 games. He began 1966 with Kansas City before being traded to the Boston Red Sox in June. His time in Boston was unsuccessful, as he went 1–6 with a 4.97 ERA, and he never returned to the majors after the season. He continued pitching in Triple-A through 1970 before retiring. Overall, he appeared in 160 major-league games, compiling a 38–36 record, 4.05 ERA, 371 strikeouts, 17 complete games, four shutouts, and two saves.

Sheldon's career was ultimately defined by a promising beginning with the Yankees followed by a gradual decline that ended his major-league career after only a handful of seasons. Nevertheless, his story was unusual: he reached the majors relatively late after military service and college, became a useful pitcher on two World Series championship teams, and even appeared in the 1964 World Series. He died on August 31, 2026, at age 89, leaving behind a career that, while relatively short, included several memorable seasons during one of the Yankees' most celebrated eras.

Also ...

Les Novak (1933–2026) was a Minnesota softball umpire who briefly entered Major League Baseball history as a replacement umpire, working five American League games during the regular umpires’ strike at the beginning of the 1979 season. He was far more distinguished in softball, serving as Minnesota’s umpire-in-chief for roughly four decades, officiating national, NCAA, and international competitions, conducting umpiring clinics worldwide, and earning induction into the International Softball Congress Fastpitch Hall of Fame in 2002.

Kenny Marrero (1970-2026) was a professional baseball player who began his minor-league career as a catcher in the Detroit Tigers organization before converting to pitching in 1994, where he enjoyed several successful seasons in the Tigers' system. He later pitched in the Arizona Diamondbacks' organization, Taiwan's CPBL, and independent leagues, retiring after the 2001 season following a career marked by both strong minor-league performances and struggles at the higher levels.

Hilario Soriano (1955-2026) was a long-time minor-league catcher who reached Triple-A during a career spanning several organizations, including the Dodgers, Expos, and Blue Jays, before finishing his playing career in Mexico. After retiring as a player, he became a manager and scout, working for several MLB organizations and signing multiple players, while also being the uncle of MLB All-Star Alfonso Soriano.

[MFS62]

Quote

Who was Larry Christensen?  His debut was impressive, as he threw a complete-game five-hitter against the New York Mets in a 7–1 victory, 

What I remember about him was later in his career. He came off the Disabled List, threw something like a two hitter against the Mets, and then went back on the Disabled list. He was definitely on my list of players who did well against the Mets and not as good against other teams.

Later

[Edgy MD]

Big ginger American League corner infielder, originally drafted by the Mets.

He apparently died two weeks ago, but it is only being reported as of yesterday.

Supposedly (and this is hard to believe), was the first player from southwest Florida in the bigs, and opened up the territory for the players that would follow.

[Cowtipper]

Who was Pat Putnam?

Pat Putnam (1953-2026) was a left-handed-hitting first baseman whose professional career included seven seasons in Major League Baseball with the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, and Minnesota Twins, followed by two seasons with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan. A highly regarded prospect, Putnam won the Western Carolinas League Triple Crown and was named Minor League Player of the Year in 1976, but his promising major-league career never fully developed; his best MLB season came in 1979, when he hit .277 with 18 home runs and 64 RBIs and earned a spot on the Topps All-Star Rookie Team.

Putnam remained a productive hitter in 1983 with Seattle, hitting a career-high 19 home runs, but twice lost his starting job to highly touted rookies—Dave Hostetler with Texas and Alvin Davis with Seattle. After a brief stint with Minnesota in 1984 and a season in Triple-A, he continued his career in Japan, hitting .286 with 25 home runs and 78 RBIs in his first season before declining in 1987 and retiring from professional baseball, aside from a brief 1989 comeback in the Senior Professional Baseball Association.

[Edgy MD]

The Japanese flag hangs still today with news of the passing of NPB legend Isao Harimoto.

Born in Hiroshima to Korean immigrant parents, it was a minor miracle that he made it to professional baseball at all, first badly damaging his hand in a childhood accident that forced him to become a lefty and use a specialize glove for his right hand, and then surviving the atomic blast that has become synonymous with his native city, as he and a sister were shielded from the explosion by his mother.

Known as the only Hiroshima attack survivor to play professional ball, he — like Ty Cobb and Rusty Staub — debuted as a teenager and continued to play into his 40s, a tenure that allowed him enough years to compile more hits than any other player in Japanese professional baseball, and clobber 500 homers along the way.

[Cowtipper]

Who was Isao Harimoto? 

Isao Harimoto (1940–2026) was one of the greatest and most distinctive players in Japanese baseball history. Born in Hiroshima to Korean parents, he survived both a devastating childhood hand injury and the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, in which he lost a sister. His damaged right hand forced him to become a left-handed hitter and thrower, and despite facing discrimination as an ethnic Korean, he never concealed his heritage. He entered professional baseball with the Toei Flyers in 1959 and immediately won Pacific League Rookie of the Year.

Harimoto quickly established himself as an extraordinary combination of contact hitting, power, patience, and speed. He won 7 batting titles, made 18 All-Star teams, earned 16 Best Nine selections, and won the Pacific League MVP and Japan Series in 1962. His greatest individual season came in 1970, when he hit .383, then an NPB record, with 176 hits, 34 home runs, and a .467 on-base percentage. Even after moving to the Yomiuri Giants late in his career, he remained an elite hitter, batting .355 and leading the Central League with 182 hits in 1976 at age 35.

Harimoto finished his 23-year career with 3,085 hits, 504 home runs, 1,676 RBI, 1,523 runs, 319 stolen bases, and a .319/.399/.534 batting line. He became the first player in Japanese professional baseball history to reach 3,000 hits in 1980 and later that year hit his 500th home run. His unusual combination of 3,000 hits, 500 homers, and 300 steals placed him in extremely rare company internationally. He also became the only NPB player to combine a .300 career average with at least 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases.

After retiring in 1981, Harimoto became a prominent television baseball commentator and was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990. He was later named to Japan's All-Century Team, and when Ichiro Suzuki surpassed his professional hit record in 2009, Harimoto had already predicted years earlier that Ichiro was the player most likely to do so. Harimoto's legacy therefore extends beyond his remarkable statistics: he was a survivor of Hiroshima, a Korean-Japanese athlete who refused to hide his origins, and one of the most durable and complete hitters Japanese baseball has ever produced.

[Cowtipper]

Brian Wolfe died.

https://www.si.com/mlb/bluejays/onsi/former-toronto-blue-jays-reliever-brian-wolfe-passes-away

Who was Brian Wolfe?

Brian Thomas Wolfe (1980–2026) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played three seasons in Major League Baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays before spending the majority of his career in Japan. A sixth-round selection by the Minnesota Twins in the 1999 amateur draft, Wolfe worked his way through the minor leagues and underwent elbow surgery in 2004. After being released by the Twins in 2005, he joined the Milwaukee Brewers organization and was later traded to Toronto.

Wolfe made his MLB debut with the Blue Jays on May 30, 2007, and had a strong rookie season, going 3–1 with a 2.98 ERA in 38 relief appearances. He remained with Toronto through 2009, finishing his major-league career with a 5–5 record, 3.81 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 72 games. After becoming a free agent following the 2009 season, he signed with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.

Initially used as a reliever, Wolfe moved into the starting rotation in 2011 and enjoyed the best stretch of his career, going 12–11 with a 3.60 ERA in 2011 and 10–9 with a 2.66 ERA in 2012. He later spent two injury-plagued seasons with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, who won the Japan Series in both 2014 and 2015. Wolfe joined the Saitama Seibu Lions in 2016 and mounted a successful comeback in 2017, going 9–4 with a 3.73 ERA at age 36. He retired after the 2018 season with a 56–40 record, 3.43 ERA and 414 strikeouts in NPB.

Wolfe died unexpectedly on September 15, 2026, at the age of 45. His wife, Rachell, said that he had endured a “difficult and torturous battle” with leukemia. He was survived by his wife and three children.

Also, who was Joe McDonald?

Joseph Anthony McDonald (1929–2026) was a longtime Major League Baseball executive whose career spanned more than six decades. A Staten Island native and 1951 graduate of Fordham University, McDonald joined the New York Mets organization in the 1960s and held a succession of positions overseeing their minor-league system, scouting, and player development. He became the Mets' general manager in 1974 and remained in the position through 1978, later serving as a vice president and assistant general manager before leaving the organization following its sale in 1980.

McDonald subsequently joined the St. Louis Cardinals as an executive assistant and assistant general manager under Whitey Herzog. He became general manager in April 1982, allowing Herzog to concentrate on his managerial duties, and the Cardinals won the National League pennant and World Series that season. McDonald remained the Cardinals' GM through 1984 before resigning in January 1985.

After several years away from a general-manager position, McDonald joined the Detroit Tigers in 1987 as director of player development and vice president. He became the Tigers' senior vice president and general manager in 1991 and held those positions through 1992. He later returned to scouting, working for the California Angels, Colorado Rockies, and Boston Red Sox. With Boston, he became a professional scout in 2004 and continued working well into his 80s, retiring after the 2019 season at age 90.

McDonald accumulated six World Series rings during his career: with the Mets in 1969, the Cardinals in 1982, and the Red Sox in 2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018. He was also the father of sports-radio personality Jody McDonald. Joe McDonald died on August 28, 2026, at the age of 97, leaving behind a baseball career that included front-office and scouting roles with multiple major-league organizations and spanned from the early expansion era of the Mets through the modern Red Sox dynasty.

[Cowtipper]

Jim Rittwage died.

https://www.facebook.com/100063653014500/posts/james-jim-rittwage-a-former-major-league-pitcher-whose-brief-but-memorable-time-/1773530578112026/

Who was Jim Rittwage?

Jim Rittwage (1944–2026) was a Cleveland-area pitcher who spent nearly a decade in professional baseball and reached the majors with his hometown Cleveland Indians in 1970. Born in Cleveland on October 23, 1944, he attended Bedford High School and signed with the Indians in 1964 after being scouted by Elmer Flick, choosing Cleveland despite a larger offer from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Rittwage spent most of the 1960s working through Cleveland's minor-league system, briefly pitching for the Kansas City Athletics' Birmingham affiliate before being reacquired by Cleveland. He had his best minor-league season in 1968, posting a 2.33 ERA in the Eastern League, and reached Triple-A the following year.

Rittwage made his major-league debut in September 1970, appearing in eight games and making three starts. He went 1–1 with a 4.15 ERA and 16 strikeouts. His highlight came September 19, when he threw a complete-game victory against the powerful Baltimore Orioles, allowing six hits and two runs; the Orioles went on to win the World Series.

Rittwage continued pitching in the minors through 1973, playing for Wichita, Portland, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa. He went 8–1 for Oklahoma City in 1973, mostly in relief, before finishing his career in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He died in August 2026 at age 81, leaving behind a long minor-league career and a memorable, if brief, major-league stint.

Also:

Denny Lorsung was a longtime college baseball coach who led St. John’s University in Minnesota from 1976–1977 before becoming head coach at St. Cloud State University, where he served from 1979 through 2006. A St. Cloud State alumnus, Lorsung died on September 12, 2026.

[Cowtipper]

Herb Hutson died. 

https://foxandweeks.com/obituaries/o/11456/George-Herbert-Hutson

Who was Herb Hutson?

Herb Hutson spent only one season in the major leagues, twenty games in a Chicago Cubs uniform in 1974, and yet those twenty games contained the thing every ballplayer spends his life chasing: proof that, for a little while, he belonged. A Georgia Southern pitcher drafted by Baltimore and later taken by the Cubs in the Rule 5 draft, Hutson worked his way through the minors, once leading the Southern League in shutouts, until one April afternoon he walked onto a major-league mound against Philadelphia.

He was 24. By September, it was over. Hutson finished 0–2 with a 3.45 ERA and 22 strikeouts, numbers that say something and almost nothing. Arm trouble would end his playing career at 26, sending him home to Savannah, where he became a pitching coach, a husband, a father, and a man whose baseball life continued long after the uniform was gone. He and Janet were married for 55 years. In 1986, his hometown baseball community put him in its hall of fame.

There are thousands of men who played in the major leagues, and there are thousands more who nearly did. Hutson occupied that narrow country between the two: a man who made it, if only briefly. His name remains in the record books beside twenty games from 1974, but behind those numbers was a lifetime of buses, minor-league towns, sore arms, hopes, disappointments, and one unforgettable fact—that for one season, Herb Hutson was a major-league pitcher.

[Cowtipper]

Don Cooper died.

https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/white-sox-pitching-coach-don-cooper-dies/

Who was Don Cooper? 

Don Cooper entered baseball not as a chosen hero, but as a man determined to make something of the abilities he possessed. Born in New York City in 1956, he was selected by the Yankees in the 17th round of the 1978 draft and began his professional career in the minor leagues, where he immediately demonstrated his potential by throwing a no-hitter. He eventually reached the major leagues with the Twins, Blue Jays, and Yankees, but greatness as a player eluded him. In 44 games, he went 1–6 with a 5.27 ERA. The conventional measure of success had given its verdict—and Cooper refused to accept it as the measure of his life.

When one path closed, Cooper did not surrender his purpose; he changed its form. Beginning as a minor-league pitching coach in the White Sox organization in 1988, he steadily rose through the system until becoming the club's major-league pitching coach in 2002. There he found the field on which his abilities could achieve their fullest expression: not pitching, but teaching. He devoted himself to transforming young pitchers into better versions of themselves, treating their development not as an obligation but as a creative act. His philosophy was simple: he loved being part of young people's lives and helping them achieve the dreams they were dreaming about.

The results became his proof. Cooper remained the White Sox pitching coach for 18 seasons, helping guide the organization through its 2005 championship season, when its staff posted a 2.55 ERA during an 11–1 postseason run and threw four consecutive complete games in the American League Championship Series. Under his instruction, Mark Buehrle and Philip Humber threw perfect games, while Lucas Giolito threw a no-hitter. Cooper briefly served as interim manager in 2011, going 1–1, but his true legacy remained on the pitching staff, where his influence accumulated quietly over decades. In 2020, after 32 seasons with the organization, he was dismissed along with manager Rick Renteria.

Cooper died at his home in Brentwood, Tennessee, on September 22, 2026, at age 70. His playing statistics were modest, and his managerial career lasted only two games; yet those numbers describe only the man who stood on the mound, not the man he ultimately became. He discovered that a person's worth need not be measured by how much glory he personally receives, but by what he is capable of creating through his own effort. Cooper's greatest work was therefore not the career he failed to have as a star pitcher, but the careers he helped create for others. He entered baseball seeking his own place in it; he found that place by making himself indispensable to the success of other men.

[Cowtipper]

Bill Giles died.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/09/bill-giles-passes-away.html

Who was Bill Giles? 

Bill Giles (1934–2026) was a longtime Major League Baseball executive best known for his decades with the Philadelphia Phillies. Born in Rochester, New York, he was the son of former National League president Warren C. Giles. After graduating from Denison University with a degree in economics, Giles worked in minor league baseball and served in the U.S. Air Force before joining the Cincinnati Reds organization. He later helped launch the expansion Houston Colt .45s, now the Houston Astros, in 1962, working in publicity and promotions.

Giles joined the Phillies in 1969 as vice president of business operations and steadily rose through the organization. In 1981, he led a group that purchased the franchise from the Carpenter family for approximately $30 million, and at one point he owned about 20 percent of the club. He served in several prominent positions, including president and general manager, before becoming chairman. After decades in the Phillies' front office, he became chairman emeritus in 2015.

In 2001, Giles was named honorary president of the National League, following in the footsteps of his father, who had served as the league's president from 1951 to 1969. Giles represented the league at major events such as the All-Star Game and postseason and presented the Warren C. Giles Trophy, named for his father, to the winner of the National League Championship Series. His contributions to baseball were also recognized through the Bill Giles Invitational, a tournament for Philadelphia-area NCAA Division II baseball programs.

Giles remained closely associated with baseball and the Phillies for the rest of his life and chronicled his experiences in the 2007 book Pouring Six Beers at a Time: And Other Stories from a Lifetime in Baseball. His wife, Nancy, died in 2020. Giles died at his home in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, on September 25, 2026, at age 92, concluding a baseball career that stretched from the game's mid-20th-century era into the modern age.

[Cowtipper]

Jeoff Long died.

https://www.thebiglead.com/former-cardinals-white-sox-infielder-dies-at-84/

Who was Jeoff Long?

Jeoffrey Keith Long (1941–2026) was a Kentucky-born professional baseball player whose brief major-league career was shaped by an unusual transition from pitcher to power-hitting first baseman. Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1959, Long struggled badly as a pitcher in the low minors, going 2–14 over his first two seasons. After converting to the infield, however, his bat emerged as his calling card, and he hit 30 home runs for the Tulsa Oilers of the Texas League in 1962, earning a promotion to the majors the following year at age 21.

Long appeared in parts of the 1963 and 1964 seasons with the Cardinals, primarily as a pinch hitter and reserve first baseman and outfielder. He later joined the Chicago White Sox after St. Louis sold his contract in July 1964. His major-league career ultimately amounted to just 56 games, 16 hits, a .193 batting average, and one home run, which came against the Milwaukee Braves in May 1964. A knee injury suffered after slipping on the wet grass at Fenway Park that July severely limited him, and chronic knee problems eventually kept him out of baseball for several seasons.

After attempting a minor-league comeback in 1969, Long retired from professional baseball and entered the family business, Cincinnati Drum Service. He later found an unexpected sporting distinction away from baseball: in 1975, as a 15-handicap amateur golfer, he won the inaugural National Open Long Driving contest, defeating a field that included several PGA professionals. Long died in Elsmere, Kentucky, on September 25, 2026, at age 84, leaving behind a career remembered less for its statistical totals than for the remarkable path from struggling minor-league pitcher to major-league slugger and long-driving champion.

Also...

Helen Y'Barbo (1935–2026) was a Texas-born infielder who played for the South Bend Blue Sox and briefly the Kalamazoo Lassies during the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League's final season in 1954, before spending the following two decades playing softball and golf. Long overlooked because of incomplete records from the AAGPBL's final days, her career was rediscovered and officially documented in 2024.

[Cowtipper]

Al Herring (1936-2026) was a Los Angeles-born outfielder who spent six seasons in the minor leagues from 1958 to 1963, compiling a .268 batting average with 610 hits in 657 games and briefly reaching Triple-A. A productive hitter early in his career, he hit .332 in his first professional season and .300/.365/.417 in 1960 before being traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Chicago Cubs for Bobby Locke in April 1962.

[Cowtipper]

Jeff Scott was a prolific baseball writer and television producer whose career spanned more than four decades, including more than 1,100 television programs, 450 consecutive episodes of This Week in Baseball, and nearly every Official World Series Film from 1988–2014. His work across MLB Productions, ESPN, YES Network, MLB Network, and other outlets earned him numerous Emmy nominations and awards before his death at 72 in September 2026.

[Cowtipper]

Dave Rosello died.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/longtime-cubs-infielder-finished-career-110000779.html 

Who was Dave Rosello?

Dave Rosello (1950–2026) was a Puerto Rican infielder who spent nine seasons in Major League Baseball, playing for the Chicago Cubs from 1972–77 and the Cleveland Indians from 1979–81. Intended as the Cubs’ successor to longtime shortstop Don Kessinger, Rosello struggled offensively and defensively, finishing his career with a .236 batting average, 10 home runs, and 76 RBI, and later became associated with the Cubs’ struggles of the mid-1970s; he also played winter baseball in Puerto Rico. Rosello died in Kissimmee, Florida, on September 30, 2026, at age 76.

[Cowtipper]

Sam McDowell died.

https://www.thebiglead.com/sudden-sam-mcdowell-cause-of-death-cleveland-pittsburgh-pirates-yankees-indians-guardians-giants-mlb/

Who was Sam McDowell?

Sam McDowell (1942-2026), nicknamed “Sudden Sam,” was one of the most overpowering—and most volatile—left-handed pitchers of his era. A Pittsburgh native who reached the majors with Cleveland as an 18-year-old in 1961, McDowell developed into a six-time All-Star and one of baseball’s premier strikeout artists, leading the American League in strikeouts five times between 1965 and 1970. At his peak, his blazing fastball made him virtually unhittable: he won the 1965 ERA title, twice struck out more than 300 batters in a season, and in 1970 went 20–12 while leading the league in innings, strikeouts, and complete games, earning Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year honors.

McDowell's greatest strength was also accompanied by his greatest weakness. His extraordinary velocity and strikeout ability were offset by chronic control problems, as he led the league in walks five times and wild pitches three times. Injuries, contract disputes, and increasingly severe alcoholism contributed to his decline after 1970. Traded to San Francisco after the 1971 season, he struggled with the Giants, Yankees, and finally the Pirates before retiring in 1975 at age 32 with 141 wins, a 3.17 ERA, and 2,453 strikeouts. His 8.86 strikeouts per nine innings were among the highest totals in baseball history, and he remains one of the most prolific strikeout pitchers in Cleveland history.

McDowell's story ultimately became one of redemption as much as baseball. After retirement, alcoholism devastated his marriage and finances, eventually leaving him deeply in debt and living with his parents. He entered rehabilitation, overcame his addiction, earned degrees in sports psychology and addiction from the University of Pittsburgh, and returned to baseball as a counselor helping players struggling with substance abuse. He later worked with the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers and earned a World Series ring with Toronto in 1993. McDowell's career is therefore remembered not simply for his spectacular fastball and historic strikeout totals, but for the dramatic rise, fall, and recovery of one of baseball's most gifted and troubled pitchers.

Bob Fontaine Jr. died.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2026-10-05/bob-fontaine-jr-obituary-angels-padres-scout

Who was Bob Fontaine Jr.?

Bob Fontaine Jr. (1952 or 1953–2026) was a longtime Major League Baseball scout and executive who spent more than five decades evaluating and developing players. The son of former San Diego Padres general manager Bob Fontaine Sr., he began his scouting career with the Padres in 1974 and later served as the Montreal Expos' West Coast scouting supervisor in 1982. He became scouting director of the California/Anaheim Angels from 1987 to 1999, Director of Player Development for the Chicago White Sox from 2001 to 2003, and scouting director of the Seattle Mariners from 2004 to 2008. By 2014, he was working in the Toronto Blue Jays' professional scouting department.

Fontaine was particularly notable for his work with the Angels, where he helped oversee an unusual effort to establish a baseball presence in the newly opened Russian market. The Angels signed three Russian players— Ilya Bogatyrev, Yevgeny Puchkov, and Rudolf Razhigaev—in the early 1990s, although the experiment ultimately faded after the players spent only a few seasons in organized baseball. Fontaine also remained part of a baseball family: his son Matthew Thomas was selected by Seattle in the 41st round of the 2007 amateur draft.

A veteran evaluator who worked for numerous organizations across several decades, Fontaine built his career largely out of the public spotlight that typically accompanies successful players and executives. He died on October 3, 2026, at approximately 73 years old.

[Cowtipper]

Fred Claire died.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2026-10-06/fred-claire-former-dodgers-gm-1988-world-series-dies-91

Who was Fred Claire?

Fred Claire was a longtime Los Angeles Dodgers executive who served as the team’s general manager from 1987 to 1998 after beginning his career as a sportswriter and joining the organization’s public relations department in 1969. He rebuilt the Dodgers into World Series champions in 1988, earning Sporting News Executive of the Year honors, but later personnel decisions—including trading future Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martínez for Delino DeShields—marred his tenure. Claire’s influence over baseball operations diminished following Rupert Murdoch’s takeover of the franchise, and he was dismissed in 1998 after the controversial trade of Mike Piazza was made without his knowledge. He died on his 91st birthday, October 5, 2026, leaving a legacy defined by both a championship triumph and the turbulent final years of his Dodgers career.

[MFS62]

Sportswriters always seem to think they know more about baseball than the people who run the teams. Claire was given a chance to prove it, and he did.

Later