Greg Spira

[Edgy MD]

Sad news in the passing of baseball analyst and Baseball Prospectus contibutor Greg Spira.

He won me when I realized that he outlined the "relative age effect" six months before super celebrity big-brain Malcolm Gladwell documented it in Outliers. He didn't discover it or anything, but still, he identified it as a thing before it became a thing.

[G-Fafif]

Very decent sort. Didn't know him well but we went to a few games together through the courtesy of mutual friend Matthew Silverman, and he was good company. Thorough researcher, as I learned when he wanted to touch base via phone one day for a Mets article he was doing and we wound up talking for close to three hours...three very enjoyable hours.

His Miracle Has Landed piece carries a bit more poignancy now.

Obviously a terrible, terrible shame.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I liked Greg a lot. Not just knowing him from baseball but one of the only people I knew who cared about what I do in my real job, he would call just to ask about supermarkets. Met him once to play mini golf at randalls island, and stood thru a monsoon rain delay at cf last summer. As a fan he was dour and very knowledgeable. He'd had health problems for as long as I knew him, but hadn't realized he was so bad.

[Edgy MD]

Hadn't known you both knew him so well. Now I'm doubly sorry. Triply.

[Edgy MD]

Tribute to Greg at MLB.com.