RIP for non-HoFers 2023

[That_guy]

RIP Gary Peters

His story was one of perseverance. Four times he was called up, pitched a few games, and returned to the minors. Yet by age 26, he still qualified as a rookie. And so his Rookie of the Year campaign in 1963 was laudable. For the White Sox, he went 19-8 with an AL league-leading 2.33 ERA. He also led the AL in fewest HR per 9, with 0.3. The sophomore slump was just a rumor to Peters, as he went 20-8, with a 2.50 ERA. Over each season, he had a H/9 ratio of 7.1. Through age 30 he was pitching like a future HoFer. In 1966, he once again gained the AL ERA title, with a 1.98 ERA and a league leading WHIP of 0.982. In 1967, his age 30 season, he was nearly as stingy with a 2.28 ERA and another league leader stat: just 6.5 hits per 9.

From 5 decades of fandom, an easy guess is that a pitching coach in the minors during the offseason following 1962, or during the '63 spring training season, reached him somehow. Someone taught him a new pitch or altered his mechanics. By the stats, I would go with the former choice. He walked 104 batters and led the AL with 15 wild pitches that year. A major change occurred somewhere.

Personally, Gary Peters was a 1970 or 1971 baseball card which kept cropping up in the packs purchased downtown. By then, he was part of the back-end of the Red Sox rotation.

RIP Gary Peters

[Jar of Flies]

RIP Gary Peters

His story was one of perseverance. Four times he was called up, pitched a few games, and returned to the minors. Yet by age 26, he still qualified as a rookie. And so his Rookie of the Year campaign in 1963 was laudable. For the White Sox, he went 19-8 with an AL league-leading 2.33 ERA. He also led the AL in fewest HR per 9, with 0.3. The sophomore slump was just a rumor to Peters, as he went 20-8, with a 2.50 ERA. Over each season, he had a H/9 ratio of 7.1. Through age 30 he was pitching like a future HoFer. In 1966, he once again gained the AL ERA title, with a 1.98 ERA and a league leading WHIP of 0.982. In 1967, his age 30 season, he was nearly as stingy with a 2.28 ERA and another league leader stat: just 6.5 hits per 9.

From 5 decades of fandom, an easy guess is that a pitching coach in the minors during the offseason following 1962, or during the '63 spring training season, reached him somehow. Someone taught him a new pitch or altered his mechanics. By the stats, I would go with the former choice. He walked 104 batters and led the AL with 15 wild pitches that year. A major change occurred somewhere.

Personally, Gary Peters was a 1970 or 1971 baseball card which kept cropping up in the packs purchased downtown. By then, he was part of the back-end of the Red Sox rotation.

RIP Gary Peters

RIP, voted no. 1129 all-time in or on-going BBF Ranking Game.

[Jar of Flies]

Ray Herbert passes at 93: https://apnews.com/article/mlb-sport...d5efb6396db5bd

[milladrive]

RIP Japanese Hall of Famer Hiromitsu Kadota

RIP Bert Peña

[Jar of Flies]

Move to 2023 thread care of That_guy:

RIP Ray Herbert

Since his passing occurred Dec 20th, he is listed as part of this thread. Thank you Jar Of Flies for the headsup.

Ray Herbert was a teammate of Gary Peters while part of the White Sox' rotation in 1963. As stated in the post over Peters' demise just recently, Peters' ROY 1963 season left him the ace of that staff. However, Herbert would have been considered the ace in the Spring Training season of '63, coming off of his 20-9 season. He was an Allstar in '62, with 12 CGs and a 3.27 ERA. Keeping the ball in the ballpark was Herbert's forte, for he led the league with 0.5 HRs per 9 in '62, and repeated that number in '63. This fact helped Herbert finish 1963 with a league leading 7 shutouts, and an ERA of 3.24.

By those two seasons, Herbert was a veteran pitcher. As hinted in the Peters' post, maybe it was Herbert who helped Peters turn the corner as a rookie. That would be anyone's guess at this point.

Ray Herbert pitched batting practice for several decades in his retirement. His arrival in the majors is best summarized in the following paragraph from the link below:
Herbert was a part of a generation of Detroiters who flocked to the diamonds of the city’s historic Northwestern Field, a sandlot that turned out players such as Willie Horton, Bill Freehan and Frank Tanana. It was famed Tigers scout “Wish” Egan who spotted Herbert and his older brother, Donald, on the field so loaded with talent that sponsors, reporters and scouts alike were in attendance.


Ray Herbert, Detroit sandlot ace and 1962 AL All-Star, dies

https://apnews.com/article/mlb-sports-oakland-athletics-philadelphia-phillies-detroit-tigers-5ed4d8f89cf1969a7ed5efb6396db5bd

Ray Herbert, a 1962 All-Star Game winning pitcher who threw batting practice for his hometown Detroit Tigers for decades after retiring, died peacefully in Plymouth, Michigan, five days after his 93rd birthday.

That is the kind of remembrance which makes reading obits a morbid pleasure.

RIP Ray Herbert

[milladrive]

Here's one a little outta left field. Never having followed Cleveland in any capacity, I had never heard of this fella. But evidently he was quite renowned near the Lake, and I kinda think he's up there with the likes of Hilda Chester or Karl Ehrhardt.

RIP baseball "superfan" John Adams

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35558251/cleveland-drummer-baseball-fan-john-adams-dies-71

[Los Bravos]

I'm not a Cleveland fan either but I've known about John for years. He was really hard to miss up there. I had wondered what had become of him in the last couple of years. I'm glad they didn't actually ban, or at least discourage, him as part of their rebranding effort.

[That_guy]

RIP John Adams

From the following link:

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-offseason-reset-four-pieces-of-unfinished-baseball-business-as-spring-training-approaches/

Jan 30, 2023 at 3:18 pm ET•1 min read Getty Images
John Adams, a Cleveland baseball superfan that served as a ballpark drummer for nearly 50 years, died at 71, the Cleveland Guardians announced Monday. Adams' drum, a fixture in the outfield bleachers, could be heard at Cleveland home games dating back to the 1973 season.

"For nearly five decades the beat of John's drum was the heartbeat of baseball here in Cleveland," Guardians Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Bob DiBiasio said in a press release. "We are all saddened by John's passing. His dedication, commitment and passion for our franchise, at both Cleveland Stadium and Progressive Field, was unmatched. John will forever remain a member of our team."

According to the team, Adams began drumming at home games at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on Aug. 24, 1973 when he was just 21 years old. On that particular day, the Indians defeated the Texas Rangers 11-5 and Adams became a staple at home games following that day.

In a tribute video to Adams that was released by the Guardians, the team stated that his beating of his drum recreated the sound of pounding chairs that had become a fixture of Cleveland's baseball-watching experience. Adams originally purchased the bass drum that he brought to the games for just $25 at a local garage sale.

"John will always remain a member of Cleveland baseball and a part of the ballpark with his dedicated seat in the bleachers. We will never forget John Adams' bass drum and how it brought this ballpark to life," the Guardians said in the tribute video.

During his time in the stands at Cleveland games, Adams drummed at 11 different postseason series and three All-Star Games.
_____________________

FWTW, his mask suggests this pic was taken in recent years during the pandemic. The background does not appear to be that of a MLB stadium. Baseball needs fans like this, in every park across the land. Dedicated types who will stick behind their team through thick and thin.... that builds a much stronger fan base if given enough time. Adams was shown beating his drum during the Tribe's 1990s resurgence, and he had my admiration at that point. I can't imagine walking that walk and carrying around a bass drum like this.

RIP John Adams

[milladrive]

FWTW, his mask suggests this pic was taken in recent years during the pandemic. The background does not appear to be that of a MLB stadium. Baseball needs fans like this, in every park across the land. Dedicated types who will stick behind their team through thick and thin.... that builds a much stronger fan base if given enough time. Adams was shown beating his drum during the Tribe's 1990s resurgence, and he had my admiration at that point. I can't imagine walking that walk and carrying around a bass drum like this.

RIP John Adams

I'm not that familiar with Progressive Field, but that does indeed seem to be his spot in the stands.

Screenshot_20230203_144624_Google.png

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johnadams-Jeff-Arnold_BP.jpg

[beisbolfiebre]

Here's one a little outta left field. Never having followed Cleveland in any capacity, I had never heard of this fella. But evidently he was quite renowned near the Lake, and I kinda think he's up there with the likes of Hilda Chester or Karl Earhart.

RIP baseball "superfan" John Adams

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35558251/cleveland-drummer-baseball-fan-john-adams-dies-71

Thanks for that note. I do remember him ~ great loyalty to his team whether they won or lost. A true Super Fan.

[That_guy]

RIP Ron Campbell

Hard-core Cub fans will remember Ron Campbell as a September callup in 1964. He did well in his original cup-of-coffee trial. A check of that season's boxscores at BBRef shows him batting low in the order. He delivered 10 RBIs from those spots that month, with 6 doubles and a .272 average. He played 2B as a late season replacement for a struggling Joey Amalfitano.

RIP Ron Campbell

[That_guy]

RIP Ron Tompkins

He deserved better than his record suggests. Ron Tompkins gave up only 40 hits in his 50 career IP, yielding a 7.2 H/9. Tompkins first broke through to the majors at age 20 with the KC A's in 1965. He then labored through 6 years in AAA with 4 different teams before making it back for the 1971 season with the Cubs. In their awards column, BBRef leaves a crowded column for his minor league experiences. I am unsure what awards these must have been, but the list exists.

RIP Ron Tompkins

[Jar of Flies]

Brian DuBois gone at 55:

https://iloblog.org/how-did-baseball-pitcher-brian-dubois-die-know-more-about-american-major-league-baseball-player/

[Jar of Flies]

David Elder passed at 47:

https://ripbaseball.com/2023/02/09/obituary-david-elder-1975-2023/

[Jar of Flies]

Ron Tompkins is dead at 78:

https://ripbaseball.com/2023/02/12/obituary-ron-tomkins-1944-2023/