RIP for non-HoFers 2022

[milladrive]

The first passing of the year is Larry Biitner.

https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2022/1/2/22863913/larry-biittner-former-cubs-outfielder-passed-away

I'm not as good with the eulogies as abolish is, so I'll leave it for him if he so chooses. I'll just say I remember seeing him play when he was a Cub.

[abolishthedh]

First, thank you milladrive for your generous comment.

It had come to mind recently that I might share where this morbid fascination has come from. Circling headlines like a vulture over who has recently left us isn't something I saw coming.

The pandemic claimed four lives in my own circle. A former girlfriend, a college buddy, a high school girl-friend, and a local acquaintance in recent years have all moved on. Each of these victims had health issues which left them with compromised lifestyles. So.... when I received news from any of them by email, facebook, or conversation around town, I was sad but also actually glad for them. Each one has moved on to a better place. Yes, I will always believe that. My grieving was brief, and I was glad for them more or less.

And then Jay Johnstone died. On that I was far more affected than I would have expected. No, I never knew him personally. No tears shed per se, but I was far sadder than any of those friends would have expected. As I grieved on that, I remembered all the other ballplayers I had learned had also passed, right in the midst of a tsunami of HoF deaths. Those HoFers were discussed at length, even during games over the radio. I was more affected by all these idols whose presence on baseball cards and in lineups seemed more accessible.

How great it would have been to be Jay Johnstone, to play 20 years for various teams, and be valued for personality and humor over ability on the field? To be an Allstar briefly, but still sign with teams for intangibles..... this is something to be remembered. We should remember it, mostly because the likes of it almost certainly won't be seen again (or at least during our own journeys).

Anyway, that's where all this has come from. IMHO, this is what makes baseball the greatest sport. With all due respect to football fans, a great many football HoFers have also passed on from this frigging pandemic, but with less said in media.

It is my hope and belief that the omicron virus is truly weaker in strength. From what I've learned about the '18 epidemic of flu, a weaker strain might be a sign that the strain itself will peter out soon. We... can....only.... hope.

[abolishthedh]

RIP Larry Biittner

Role players are to be envied. A player who has earned his place by having a special skill will always hold a special place in this fan's heart. Nevermind that Loopy relievers, or even Roopy relievers, should do the same. Instead, those guys annoy us when called from the pen.

A career pinch hitter is doubly special, as that made Larry Biittner. He was 96 for 374 in the PH role, a career .257. This is exceptional for the role, from my research on these threads. Biittner was an overall .273 hitter, mostly as a singles hitter. This meant being able to move runners over, carry out the hit-and-run, and avoid striking out. He struck out rarely. He did that for 14 years, and means he averaged only 296 PAs per season.

RIP Larry Biittner

[milladrive]

RIP Jim Corsi

https://boston.cbslocal.com/2022/01/...-steve-burton/

https://www.baseball-reference.com/p...orsiji01.shtml

[milladrive]

First, thank you milladrive for your generous comment.

It had come to mind recently that I might share where this morbid fascination has come from. Circling headlines like a vulture over who has recently left us isn't something I saw coming.

The pandemic claimed four lives in my own circle. A former girlfriend, a college buddy, a high school girl-friend, and a local acquaintance in recent years have all moved on. Each of these victims had health issues which left them with compromised lifestyles. So.... when I received news from any of them by email, facebook, or conversation around town, I was sad but also actually glad for them. Each one has moved on to a better place. Yes, I will always believe that. My grieving was brief, and I was glad for them more or less.

And then Jay Johnstone died. On that I was far more affected than I would have expected. No, I never knew him personally. No tears shed per se, but I was far sadder than any of those friends would have expected. As I grieved on that, I remembered all the other ballplayers I had learned had also passed, right in the midst of a tsunami of HoF deaths. Those HoFers were discussed at length, even during games over the radio. I was more affected by all these idols whose presence on baseball cards and in lineups seemed more accessible.

How great it would have been to be Jay Johnstone, to play 20 years for various teams, and be valued for personality and humor over ability on the field? To be an Allstar briefly, but still sign with teams for intangibles..... this is something to be remembered. We should remember it, mostly because the likes of it almost certainly won't be seen again (or at least during our own journeys).

Anyway, that's where all this has come from. IMHO, this is what makes baseball the greatest sport. With all due respect to football fans, a great many football HoFers have also passed on from this frigging pandemic, but with less said in media.

It is my hope and belief that the omicron virus is truly weaker in strength. From what I've learned about the '18 epidemic of flu, a weaker strain might be a sign that the strain itself will peter out soon. We... can....only.... hope.

I've been following the deaths of notable people for many years. Not out of a morbid interest, but just to know who is and isn't still with us. I suppose my being active in music and film history has something to with it, because I like to keep my entertainer vitas up to date.

[abolishthedh]

RIP Jim Corsi

He had a better ERA (3.25) than good friend and teammate, Dennis Eckersley (3.50), and the Eck never minded getting kidded about it. (Per the link below.) A reliever who gave up under 9 hits/IP overall, also earned a total of 8 WAR for his career, not bad for 10 years. In this fan's view, he must have had good stuff on the ball in order to leave these three career facts on the board, given that he wasn't a strikeout pitcher.

After his career had ended, he served as an analyst with NESN from 2002 to '05. He loved doing this, since he had grown up as a fan of the Red Sox.

RIP Jim Corsi

[Chadwick]

I've been following the deaths of notable people for many years. Not out of a morbid interest, but just to know who is and isn't still with us. I suppose my being active in music and film history has something to with it, because I like to keep my entertainer vitas up to date.

Funny you mention that because I have to (where actors are concerned, at least). I was in middle school coming home from summer camp when I picked up a newspaper the week of my birthday to find out that both Fred Astaire and Jackie Gleason had passed within days of each other. I remember being very upset on the ride home, having very fond memories of both of them from various Saturday double matinees on TV. My neighbor and friend who was riding with me had no idea who either man was so it was an opportunity for me to share about some of their wonderful bodies of work. It's been a point of marking the passing of time ever since. With my last surviving grandparent about to turn 96, I have found myself mentioning the passing of stars from her generation more frequently to my parents, but this is fast becoming marking older generations and now noticing my parents' generation passing, which I feel increasingly guilty about mentioning to them.

As for baseball, it was a big deal to me when I realized there was a guy in the majors as young as me. It was also a big deal to me when I realized there was no one left in the majors my age. I am now long past the age where I note guys who are the sons of major leagues I used to collect baseball cards of. I suppose I'm fast approaching the age where more players of my generation will start passing away in the years ahead.

Time flies and while this death tracking might seem morbid to some, I find that it increases my appreciation of time and the importance of respecting its scarcity. While our heroes may live on in our memories, we, ourselves, won't be around forever to remember them.

[abolishthedh]

RIP Tommy Matchick

During the Tigers' WS winning season of 1968, a few dramatic moments stuck out. One of these is summarized in the lead paragraph in the SABR link below. Matchick hit a walk-off home run before walk-off home runs were named such. He hit it off of Moe Drabowsky to beat the Orioles 5-4, with 2 out in the 9th. The crowd on 7/19/68 was a sellout, with several thousand turned away.

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/tommy-matchick/

Matchick is another of the over-achieving pinch hitters I have celebrated in these threads. A career .215 hitter in 826 career ABs, he went 14 for 48 as a pinch hitter overall (.292). He was also a plus fielder per baseball-reference.com. He would have been a reserve infielder on that Tiger team. The starting 2Bman on that championship squad was a young Dick McAuliffe, an Allstar former SS turned into a 2Bman.

RIP Tommy Matchick

[abolishthedh]

RIP Don Dillard

And still, another pinch hitter passes. Don Dillard served mostly in the role of PH, going 40 for 148 in the role, a .270 BA. This is much better than his .244 overall average. This was done in less than 1/3 of his career ABs, for more than a third of his career hits and for 4 of his 7 career dingers. In the offseason of 1962, Cleveland traded him with Frank Funk to the Milwaukee Braves for an aging Joe Adcock, Jack Curtis and Ty Cline.

One of these days, I will start a thread to debate the merits of a possible trend. Is the role of pinch hitter in decline? Has it been in decline for some time? What caused that, if so?

RIP Don Dillard

[abolishthedh]

RIP Eddie Basinski

Upon the passing of Eddie Robinson last Fall, Basinski was the second oldest living ballplayer at the time of his death. He was the oldest living player from his teams, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Pirates. In his debut game in 1944, his first hit was a triple as he went 1 for 4 at the plate. Over the '44-'45 seasons with the Dodgers, he hit .261.

Upon leaving the majors in 1947, he spent 10 or more years with the PCL's Portland Beavers. His time and accomplishments in Portland led to his inclusion in the PCL Hall of Fame, and the Oregon Sports HoF. He must have loved playing baseball, for he continued playing in the minors through 1959, in Baltimore's minor league system.

This information was found in the wikipedia link below:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Basinski

RIP Eddie Basinski

[Chadwick]

I completely forgot about Basinski, but I remember him as one of the players named in the song Van Lingle Mungo.

[ian2813]

RIP Cholly Naranjo

https://www.baseballhappenings.net/2022/01/cholly-naranjo-tribute-to-my-best.html

[abolishthedh]

RIP George Gerberman

On September 23rd, 1962, the Mets faced the Cubs in what became known as "one of the least important games in baseball history." The Mets, of course, were on the way toward their 40-120 finish. The Cubs would finish 59-103. The 100th loss for the Cubs occurred in Gerberman's only career start. In 5 and a third innings, he gave up only one run. That was a homer by Frank Thomas. After one more out, he was lifted for a reliever. He earned a no-decision in the game. Much of this information is found in the link below:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gerberman

Otherwise, he pitched well enough to deserve a second look in 1963. His final line included 3 hits given up, but 5 walks. His lack of control may have spooked management from additional time in the majors. Gerberman would pitch in the minors through age 26, most of that time in AA ball. He may have had control problems early in his career. Still, his minors record shows he improved sufficiently to (at least) become trade bait.

RIP George Gerberman

[milladrive]

RIP Gale Wade

https://www.beamfuneralservice.com/obituaries/gale-wade

[abolishthedh]

RIP Vic Roznovsky

Cubs' fans of the day must remember 1965 well. Three HoFers in the lineup, Billy Williams, Ernie Banks and Ron Santo, Don Kessinger staged at short and Glenn Beckert at second. It sounds like a fantasy team pulled together out of the Big Mac encyclopedia. Baseball-reference.com lists 26 year old Vic Roznovsky as the starting catcher for this squad. His true role in the majors was like that of so many catchers... pinch hitting.

As a pinch hitter for his career, Roznovsky went 17 for 66, a .258 ave. This is much better than his career BA. He is another case whose career was that of a role player who would not have such a chance today. FWTW, he was father of Memorial Panthers head basketball coach Brad Roznovsky (per Twitter).

In the posts for these threads, I have noticed that catchers often have turned up as such role players. Several other examples existed. One of these days, once the bickering stops, I'll post a thread with the intent of exploring the topic. It could be an interesting discussion.

RIP Vic Roznovsky