Here’s the rundown of some more recently reported baseball deaths, ordered by date of death.
Ted Gray – Died June 15, aged 86
Position: Pitcher
Teams: Detroit Tigers (1946, 1948-1954), Chicago White Sox (1955), Cleveland Indians (1955), New York Yankees (1955), Baltimore Orioles (1955)
Notes: Went 10-7 with a 4.40 ERA in 1950, earning All-Star selection…won 59 games in big league career…led pitchers in fielding percentage in 1948…had 2.07 ERA in minors in 1942…served in World War II
Richie Myers – Died June 24, aged 81
Position: Pinch Runner
Teams: Chicago Cubs (1956)
Notes: Appeared in four games for Cubs in 1956 and had one at-bat…scored one run at big league level…spent nine years in minors, including six in Pacific Coast League…hit as many as 18 home runs in a season
Elmer Sexauer – Died June 27, aged 85
Position: Pitcher
Teams: Brooklyn Dodgers (1948)
Notes: Pitched two games at major league level…posted 13.50 ERA with no decisions…1948 was only season in professional baseball…went 11-7 with a 2.25 ERA in 24 games at minor league level
Billy Baldwin – Died June 28, aged 60
Position: Outfielder
Teams: Detroit Tigers (1975), New York Mets (1976)
Notes: Hit .273 in nine games with Mets…hit .231 with five home runs and 13 RBI in 39 big league games…traded to Mets with Mickey Lolich for Bill Laxton and Rusty Staub…hit .283 in minors
Don Buddin – Died June 30, aged 77
Position: Shortstop
Teams: Boston Red Sox (1956, 1958-1961), Houston Colt .45s (1962), Detroit Tigers (1962)
Notes: Hit .241 with 41 home runs and 225 RBI in 711 big league games…Hit over 10 home runs twice…traded for Eddie Bressoud in 1961…played in minors until 1965…hit as many as 25 home runs at the minor league level
Wes Covington – Died July 4, aged 79
Position: Left Fielder
Teams: Milwaukee Braves (1956-1961), Chicago White Sox (1961), Kansas City Athletics (1961), Philadelphia Phillies (1961-1965), Chicago Cubs (1966), Los Angeles Dodgers (1966)
Notes: Hit .279 with 131 home runs and 499 RBI in 11-year career…hit .305 with 45 home runs and 139 RBI between 1957 and 1958…hit over .300 twice…had four RBI in 1958 World Series…hit .312 in minors
Dick Williams – Died July 7, aged 82
Position: Manager, outfielder
Teams: As player: Brooklyn Dodgers (1951-1954, 1956), Baltimore Orioles (1956-1957, 1958, 1961-1962), Cleveland Indians (1957), Kansas City Athletics (1959-1960), Boston Red Sox (1963-1964). As manager: Boston Red Sox (1967-1969), Oakland Athletics (1971-1973), California Angels (1974-1976), Montreal Expos (1977-1981), San Diego Padres (1982-1985), Seattle Mariners (1986-1988)
Notes: Won 1,571 games as manager…led teams to four Pennants and two World Series titles…won over 90 games seven times and 100 games once…as player, hit .260 with 70 home runs and 331 RBI…hit as many as 16 home runs in a season…elected to Hall in 2008
Howard Hilton – Died July 12, aged 47
Position: Pitcher
Teams: St. Louis Cardinals (1990)
Notes: Pitched in two games with Cardinals…posted 0.00 ERA…first batter he faced was Spike Owen…last batter he faced was Spike Owen…pitched in minors for eight seasons…won 44 games at that level
Tex Nelson – Died July 22, 2011, aged 74
Position: Outfielder
Teams: Baltimore Orioles (1955-1957)
Notes: Played 79 games for Orioles over three seasons…hit .205…two of his five hits in 1957 were triples…two of his 14 hits in 1956 were doubles…spent five years in minors…hit as high as .301 there
Mike Palm – Died July 24, aged 86
Position: Pitcher
Teams: Boston Red Sox (1948)
Notes: Cup of coffee lasted three games…posted 6.00 ERA…walked five batters in three innings…struck out one…went 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA for Birmingham (Southern Association) in 1948…won 54 games in minors
Hideki Irabu – Died July 27, aged 42
Position: Pitcher
Teams: New York Yankees (1997-1999), Montreal Expos (2000-2001), Texas Rangers (2002)
Notes: Went 34-35 in major league career…won 13 games for Yankees in 1998…pitched in Japan for nearly a decade before moving stateside…pitched in Japan for two years after leaving majors
Joe Caffie – Died August 1, aged 80
Position: Outfielder
Teams: Cleveland Indians (1956-1957)
Notes: Hit .342 in first year with Indians…hit .291 with three home runs and 11 RBI in career…nicknamed “Rabbit”…played in Negro Leagues…spent 11 years in minors, hitting as high as .342
Al Federoff – Died August 2, aged 87
Position: Second Baseman
Teams: Detroit Tigers (1951-1952)
Notes: Hit .238 with 14 RBI in 76 big league games…averaged more than one walk per strikeout…had .973 fielding percentage…played 14 seasons in minor leagues, collecting nearly 2,000 hits at that level…hit as high as .308 on the farm
Joe Trimble – Died August 11, aged 80
Position: Pitcher
Teams: Boston Red Sox (1955), Pittsburgh Pirates (1957)
Notes: Posted 0.00 ERA in cup of coffee with Red Sox…went 0-2 with 7.48 ERA in career…pitched six seasons in minors…won as many as 11 games at that level…had .733 winning percentage in 1955
Bob Will – Died August 11, aged 80
Position: Right Fielder
Teams: Chicago Cubs (1957-1958, 1960-1963)
Notes: Hit .247 with nine home runs and 87 RBI in 410 big league games…was Cubs’ starting right fielder in 1958…was used as a pinch hitter most of career…spent eight years in minors…hit .333 at that level
Ernie Johnson – Died August 12, aged 87
Position: Pitcher
Teams: Boston Braves (1950, 1952), Milwaukee Braves (1953-1958), Baltimore Orioles (1959)
Notes: Early relief pitcher…posted .635 winning percentage…had 1.29 ERA in 1957 World Series…led NL pitchers in fielding percentage in 1954…went 40-23…served as broadcaster in Braves organization for decades
Mike Flanagan – Died August 24, aged 59
Position: Pitcher
Teams: Baltimore Orioles (1975-1987, 1991-1992), Toronto Blue Jays (1987-1990)
Notes: Won 167 games in big league career…won 15 or more games five times, 20 or more games once…1979 Cy Young winner…1978 All-Star…received votes for the Hall of Fame in 1998…finished 6th in AL MVP voting in 1979
Frank Fanovich – Died August 27, aged 88
Position: Pitcher
Teams: Cincinnati Reds (1949), Philadelphia Athletics (1953)
Notes: Pitched in 55 games…posted 5.49 ERA…struck out 64 batters…fought in World War II…played eight seasons in minor leagues…won 73 games at that level…posted 2.41 ERA and won 16 games in 1947
Executive Howard Fox, Negro Leaguer Willie Williams, Mexican League Hall of Famer Leo Rodriguez and Manny McIntyre, the first African-Canadian to play professional baseball, died recently as well.
