Baseball Passings of 2010

[Guest Edgy DC]

A thread for non-Met baseball figures.

Like John Kibler, forever telling Red Sox fans that, sorry, that ball is fair.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Kibler, by the way, survived about a quarter century longer than he expected.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1068820/1/index.htm

[G-Fafif]

Willie Davis, great Dodger defender from the '60s and '70s (who nonetheless made three errors in one 1966 World Series inning) at 69.

First thing I thought of when learning of the center fielder's passing, however, was an ep of Bewitched in which Samantha was overcome by a spell that made her incredibly hungry. She had [crossout]blinked[/crossout] twitched herself to Shea Stadium for a hot dog and was on a pay phone with an exasperated Darrin/Derwood when she excitedly reported, "Willie Davis just hit a grand slam!"

[Benjamin Grimm]

Jeannie blinked. Samantha twitched.

[G-Fafif]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Jeannie blinked. Samantha twitched.

And Willie Davis could go get 'em.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I have vague memories of being at a Mets game where Willie Davis caused major damage as an enemy player. Willie was a good name for ballplayers once. Now, it's all Ambiorix and Cory.

[Guest Edgy DC]

You know, you can probably thank Mr. Haim in large part for the 1980s spike in Coreys.

[Chad ochoseis]

Jim Pagliaroni, Red Sox and Pirates catcher from the '60s and one of the many supporting characters in Ball Four, age 72, of cancer on April 3.

[Met Hunter]

Dick Kenworthy. Former Chisox third baseman. Of interest to Met fans because Dick appeared as a Met on his 1968 Topps baseball card.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Ernie Harwell dies at 92
By JOHN LOWE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Ernie Harwell, the acclaimed Tigers broadcaster whose eloquence and kindness made him a beloved Michigan institution, died Tuesday night after a nearly year-long bout with cancer. He was 92.

He died in his apartment at Fox Run Village, a retirement center in Novi, with Lulu, his wife of 68 years, at his side. His death came eight months to the day after he revealed to his fans, in an interview with the Free Press, that he had a cancerous tumor in the area of his bile duct and that in late July he had been given only a few months to live.

�I�m ready to face what comes,� he said at the time. �Whether it�s a long time or a short time is all right with me because it�s up to my Lord and savior.�

In the ensuing months, in an emotional farewell ceremony at Comerica Park, in his columns for the Free Press and in interviews with national media, Harwell referred to death as his next great adventure, a gift handed down by God.

�I�ve had so many great ones,� he said. �It�s been a terrific life.�

(MORE...)

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Hall-of-Famer Robin Roberts, who came on my radar as a kid because of the Mets yearbook photo of him and Seaver, calling them "pitch-alikes" and noting a slight resemblance.

[Guest themetfairy]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Hall-of-Famer Robin Roberts, who came on my radar as a kid because of the Mets yearbook photo of him and Seaver, calling them "pitch-alikes" and noting a slight resemblance.

I remember that!

ON EDIT - when I read michigan's post, I didn't catch which thread it was in. RIP Robin!

[Met Hunter]

Tough week for legends.

[G-Fafif]

Robin Roberts was baseball coach where I went to college. I interviewed him once for a class assignment. He thought the team looked all right and didn't put down his sandwich.

A little more on Coach Roberts here.

[MFS62]

He was probably the most dominant righty pitcher of the era when I first started watching baseball. Comparisons to Seaver in style and stuff are pretty accurate.
RIP, Robin.
You showed us that guys with girls' names can be tough to hit against.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

Ralph Houk completes the Yankee trifecta.

[G-Fafif]

Houk was just so...constant when I was a kid. He had been the MFY mgr forever and it was hard to believe he wouldn't always be.

Then came Steinbrenner.

[MFS62]

I opened up the "Three Catchers" thread before this one.
Then I remembered that 1961 team that Houk managed.
He had three catchers on that team, too.
They all hit 20+ homers that year.
George, Bob and now Ralph.
At least Berra is safe for a while.

RIP Ralph.

LAter

[Benjamin Grimm]

Add Clint Hartung, 87, to the list of recent baseball passings. He was, as you probably know, the runner on third base when Bobby Thomson hit his pennant-winning homer.

[MFS62]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Add Clint Hartung, 87, to the list of recent baseball passings. He was, as you probably know, the runner on third base when Bobby Thomson hit his pennant-winning homer.

IIRC, Hartung was nicknamed "The Hondo Hurricaine". When he first came up, they didn't know if he was going to be the best pitcher ever or the best hitter ever.
Both projections turned out to be highly optimistic.

RIP, Clint.

LAter

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

G-Fafif wrote: Houk was just so...constant when I was a kid. He had been the MFY mgr forever and it was hard to believe he wouldn't always be. Then came Steinbrenner.

Just what I thought too.

[Guest Edgy DC]

My Clint Hartung association goes back to when Clint Hurdle's career hit the rocks, and the overspeculation on his expected greatness frequently compared to that of the simlarly named earlier phenom.

[Guest Edgy DC]

The first Houk Ralph Houk era with the Yanks was to me sort of a foreshadowing of the Steinbrenner years. He was was fired in 1963 by the Yankees after winning two World Series, then merely a pennant. He was replaced by Yogi Berra (allegedly in part because they were jealous of the ink the Mets got and wanted more character at the helm). Yogi wins 99 games but also loses the World Series (an all-time great one), and gets replaced after that one year by Johnny Keane, the guy who beat him.

Keane posts an unthinkable losing record in his first year and is fired a few weeks into his second season to be replaced by... Ralph Houk.

Yogi's bitterness and distrust of brass perhaps began then. He supposedly took his job seriously and wanted to be a team shaper and developer of young players and not a quoteable clown who brings out the lineup card. If you believe October 1964, there was a Yankee faction that wanted Yogi's catching partner Ellie Howard to get the job instead.

[G-Fafif]

Houk will be commemorated by a black armband. I'm guessing he's receiving the revered-MFY treatment because it would seem weird if they didn't give it to him on the heels of Sheppard and Steinbrenner. Had he passed without company, I'm guessing a moment of silence would have sufficed for someone who, war heroism and two world championships notwithstanding, had been absent from the organization for 37 years and wasn't a denizen of Monument Park.

Meanwhile, it's getting pretty mournful amid the pinstripes.

[G-Fafif]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Add Clint Hartung, 87, to the list of recent baseball passings. He was, as you probably know, the runner on third base when Bobby Thomson hit his pennant-winning homer.

Legend has it Durocher inserted Hartung to run for the injured Don Mueller because if there was going to be any kind of trouble with the Dodgers, Leo -- who coached third base as well as managed -- wanted the biggest SOB possible at his side.

[seawolf17]

There would be something gloriously macabre about the legendary pinstripes if, say, three or four more greats were to pass during the season.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Yeah. They could end up looking like NASCAR drivers.

[Frayed Knot]

seawolf17 wrote: There would be something gloriously macabre about the legendary pinstripes if, say, three or four more greats were to pass during the season.

Honestly though, how many more 'Win this one for _______' stories do you want to read/hear this fall?

[Benjamin Grimm]

I much fear that Yogi's grasp may be getting tenuous.

[G-Fafif]

Top-notch columnist Vic Ziegel passes away at 72. Covered the Mets in their early years and always gave them a fair shake from his later perch at the Daily News. One of the torch-bearers for the New York Giants. On more than one occasion I wrote to him and he always wrote back graciously and helpfully. Met him at Bob Murphy's memorial and he was a true mensch. Later came to our NY Giants meetings like a regular person.

Character and talent that will be missed.