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Ryne Sandberg Passes Away

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Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg has passed away at age 65. The Cubs announced the devastating news on Monday evening. Sandberg had battled metastatic prostate cancer since at least January 2024.

“Ryne Sandberg was a legend of the Chicago Cubs franchise and a beloved figure throughout Major League Baseball. He was a five-tool player who excelled in every facet of the game thanks to his power, speed and work ethic. Ryne earned 10 consecutive All-Star selections, nine straight Gold Gloves, seven Silver Sluggers and 1984 National League MVP honors,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.

“Ryne remained active in the game he loved as an ambassador for the Cubs, a manager for the Phillies and in the Minor Leagues, and a frequent participant at the Hall of Fame. His many friends across the game were in his corner as he courageously fought cancer in recent years. We will continue to support the important work of Stand Up To Cancer in Ryne’s memory. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Ryne’s family, Cubs fans everywhere and his admirers throughout our national pastime.”

Cubs owner Tom Ricketts released his own statement of condolences. “Ryne Sandberg was a hero to a generation of Chicago Cubs fans and will be remembered as one of the all-time greats in nearly 150 years of this historic franchise,” Ricketts said. “His dedication to and respect for the game, along with his unrelenting integrity, grit, hustle, and competitive fire were hallmarks of his career. He was immensely proud of his teammates and his role as a global ambassador of the game of baseball, but most of all, he was proud of Margaret, his children and his role as husband, father and grandfather.”

While Sandberg would become an iconic figure in Cubs history, he began his career in Philadelphia. The Phillies signed the Spokane native away from a commitment to Washington State after drafting him in the 20th round in 1978. Sandberg debuted with the Phils as a September call-up in 1981, going 1-6 while appearing in 13 games. His first hit, a single off Mike Krukow as a visitor at Wrigley Field, would be the only one of his major league career that did not come in a Cubs uniform.

During the 1981-82 offseason, the Phillies traded a 22-year-old Sandberg alongside veteran shortstop Larry Bowa to the Cubs for outfielder Iván de Jesús. It was one of the best moves in Chicago’s franchise history. Sandberg opened the season as their starting third baseman. He earned a sixth-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year balloting after hitting .271 with 33 doubles and seven home runs. The Cubs acquired six-time All-Star third baseman Ron Cey from the Dodgers the following offseason. Sandberg moved permanently to second base by 1983.

He’d go on to become one of the greatest ever at the position. Sandberg won a Gold Glove in his first full season at the keystone. While he was mostly a light-hitting defensive stalwart in ’83, Sandberg truly broke out offensively in his third year in the big leagues. He batted .314/.367/.520 while leading the National League in runs scored and topping MLB with 19 triples. He hit a matching 19 home runs, two of which were game-tying shots off future Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter in the so-called “Sandberg Game” against the Cardinals in June. He reached 200 hits for the only time in his career.

Sandberg won his second straight Gold Glove and led the Cubs to a 96-win season and an NL East title — the franchise’s first playoff berth in 39 years. Sandberg was resoundingly voted the Senior Circuit’s most valuable player. He hit .368 in what was then a best of five NL Championship Series, but the Cubs dropped three straight after taking a 2-0 series lead and fell a game shy of a World Series berth.

That was the first of 10 consecutive All-Star seasons for Sandberg. He won the Gold Glove nine straight times between 1983-91 while claiming the Silver Slugger in all but two years from 1984-92. He hit .306 with 26 longballs and a career-high 54 stolen bases as a follow-up to his MVP season.

After a trio of relatively average seasons with the bat in the mid-1980s, he had a four-year resurgence as one of the best hitters in MLB. Sandberg finished fourth in MVP balloting in both 1989 and ’90. He led the Cubs back to the playoffs in ’89, where he hit .400 in a losing effort against the Giants in the NLCS. The 1990 campaign was arguably the best of Sandberg’s career. He led National Leaguers with a career-high 40 home runs and paced the NL with 116 runs scored. He drove in 100 runs in consecutive seasons in 1990-91.

The Cubs signed Sandberg to a four-year, $28.4MM extension going into the ’92 season. That made him MLB’s highest-paid player at the time, and he responded with a monster .304/.371/.510 showing with 26 homers and 87 RBI. He hit .309 in 1993 but was off to a very slow start to the ’94 season. Sandberg shockingly announced his retirement that June, later explaining that he’d lost the drive to play every day and felt he’d be doing a disservice to the organization, fans and himself by playing at less than 100%. He sat out the ’95 season before making a comeback, finishing his playing career with two more seasons in Wrigleyville.

Sandberg retired for good after the 1997 campaign. He finished his illustrious career with a .285/.344/.452 batting line. Sandberg tallied 2386 hits, drilled 282 home runs, and drove in more than 1000 runs. He topped 400 doubles, hit 76 triples, and stole 344 bases. He ranks fourth in Cubs history in hits, fifth in homers, and seventh in runs batted in. According to Baseball Reference, only Cap Anson and Ron Santo had more Wins Above Replacement in a Cubs uniform among position players.

That kind of production from a middle infielder is almost unheard of — much less from as sure-handed an infielder as Sandberg was. Among second basemen, only Roberto Alomar topped Sandberg’s nine Gold Gloves. He still ranks fifth all time at the position in career home runs, surpassed only by Jeff Kent, Robinson Canó, Rogers Hornsby and Craig Biggio. Sandberg is 11th among second basemen in bWAR and by Jay Jaffe’s JAWS score, which measures a player’s career value and peak seasons as a proxy for his Hall of Fame candidacy.

Sandberg’s numbers compared favorably to other Hall of Famers at the position. It took three years on the ballot, but he was deservedly voted into Cooperstown in 2005. The Cubs retired his #23 not long after his Hall of Fame induction. Sandberg took a managerial position in their farm system a year later, hoping to eventually work his way up to manage the franchise with which he’d starred.

While that never came to pass, Sandberg did get an opportunity to manage his former team in Philadelphia. The Phillies hired him on an interim basis after firing Charlie Manuel midway through the 2013 season. Sandberg signed a three-year contract to take the position permanently the following offseason. He resigned during the 2015 campaign when the rebuilding club had a 26-48 record, finishing with a 119-159 record overall. He returned to the Cubs in a part-time instructional role and worked with the team as recently as this past Spring Training.

On top of his laundry list of on-field accomplishments, Sandberg was held in high esteem by teammates, fans and colleagues for his work ethic and humility. The Cubs will wear a jersey patch honoring him for the remainder of the season. His legacy will live on far beyond this year in the memories of generations of fans within and outside Chicago. MLBTR joins others throughout the game in sending condolences to Sandberg’s family, loved ones, friends and the countless people whose lives he impacted.

Image courtesy of David Banks, Imagn Images.

Jim Clancy Passes Away

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Former All-Star Jim Clancy has passed away, the Blue Jays announced. He was 69.

Clancy was drafted by the Rangers in the fourth round of the 1974 draft out of a Chicago high school. The 6’4″ right-hander pitched three seasons in the minors. The Blue Jays selected him in the expansion draft in advance of their inaugural season in ’77. Clancy made his big league debut against his former club that July. He started 13 games as a rookie and would remain a fixture in Toronto’s rotation for the next decade.

He won 10 games with a 4.09 earned run average over 31 outings during his first full MLB season. He struggled through an injury-plagued ’79 season before breaking out the following year. Clancy turned in a career-low 3.30 ERA across 250 2/3 innings in 1980. After a down season in ’81, he was one of the top pitchers in the sport in 1982. Clancy led MLB with 40 starts and tossed a career-high 266 2/3 innings. He won 16 games and earned an All-Star nod.

That kicked off a six-year run in which he posted five seasons with a sub-4.00 ERA. Clancy surpassed 30 starts and 200 innings in all but one of those years. While injuries limited him in 1985, he managed a 3.78 ERA across 23 starts and helped the Jays to the first playoff berth in franchise history.

Clancy pitched in Toronto through the end of the ’88 campaign. He finished his Jays tenure with a 4.10 earned run average and 128 wins. Longtime teammate Dave Stieb is the only pitcher in franchise history to top Clancy’s 2204 2/3 innings pitched. He trails only Stieb and Roy Halladay on the franchise leaderboard in strikeouts and wins. After leaving Toronto in free agency, he finished his career as a swingman with the Astros and Braves.

At age 35, Clancy was part of Atlanta’s pennant-winning ’91 team and made three appearances in that year’s classic World Series against Minnesota. He was the winning pitcher in Game 3, recording one out in the top of the 12th inning before Atlanta walked it off in the bottom half. He made his final major league appearance two nights later, tossing two innings of one-run ball to record a hold in an eventual blowout win. That pulled Atlanta ahead in the series by a 3-2 margin, but Minnesota won the final two games in extras (capped by Jack Morris’ 10-inning shutout in Game 7) to win the title.

MLBTR joins others throughout the game in sending our condolences to Clancy’s family, friends, loved ones and former teammates.

Lee Elia Passes Away

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Former MLB player and manager Lee Elia passed away on Wednesday, according to announcements from multiple teams. He was 87.

A Philadelphia native, Elia signed with his hometown club in 1959 after attending the University of Delaware. He had an unremarkable MLB playing career. He briefly reached the majors with the Cubs and White Sox and hit .203 in 95 games. He moved into coaching after spending parts of 12 seasons in the minor leagues. Elia had a lengthy and successful run in coaching.

He won a World Series with the Phillies as third base coach under skipper Dallas Green in 1980. Green was hired by the Cubs as general manager going into the ’82 season. He hired Elia to manage in Chicago. Elia held the position for a season and a half, leading the team to a 127-158 record before being fired. His tenure was most memorable for an expletive-laden tirade ripping Cubs fans who’d expressed displeasure with the team’s slow start to the ’83 campaign.

Elia got another brief managerial opportunity later in the decade. He returned to Philly and managed the club to a 111-142 record during parts of the 1987-88 seasons. While Elia never managed in the majors after that, he worked in scouting and various coaching capacities for the Yankees, Mariners, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Devil Rays, Braves and Orioles in a career that ran well into the 2010s. MLBTR joins others throughout the game in sending condolences to Elia’s family, loved ones, and many friends and former colleagues around baseball.

Joe Coleman Passes Away

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Former big league pitcher Joe Coleman has passed away yesterday, according to multiple reports. He was 78 years old.

Coleman was a baseball lifer. His father, also named Joe Coleman, pitched in the majors in the ’40s and ’50s. The younger Coleman was born in 1947 and grew up around the game. “I can remember a time that I sat on Mr. (Connie) Mack’s knee for a picture,” Coleman once said. “After the games I used to run around the infield and slide into every base.”

By the mid-’60s, Coleman was pitching in high school. The very first Major League Baseball draft was held in 1965 and Coleman went third overall. The Athletics went first and took Rick Monday, followed by the Mets taking Les Rohr. The Washington Senators, the franchise which would eventually become the Texas Rangers, took Coleman with the third pick.

Shortly after being drafted, Coleman got some cups of coffee in the majors. He made two starts in his draft year, at the age of 18, and one more start in 1966. He would get lengthier stints in subsequent seasons. He logged 134 innings in 1967, posting a 4.63 earned run average. He followed that up with 223 innings with a 3.27 ERA in 1968.

Going into 1969, the Senators hired Ted Williams to manage the club. Coleman and Williams didn’t get along, but the pitcher still managed to post good numbers. Over the 1969 and 1970 seasons, Coleman logged 466 1/3 innings with a 3.42 ERA.

Perhaps due to the contentious relationship with Williams, Coleman was shipped out of town shortly after the 1970 season. He was sent to the Tigers alongside Ed Brinkman, Jim Hannan and Aurelio Rodríguez in exchange for Elliott Maddox, Denny McLain, Norm McRae and Don Wert.

The change of scenery worked out well for Coleman and the Tigers. He posted a 3.15 ERA in 286 innings in 1971. The following year, he dropped his ERA to 2.80 in 280 innings, getting selected to the All-Star team in the process.

Detroit ended up atop the American League East in that strike-shortened season. In the ALCS, which was a best-of-five series at that time, the Athletics took the first two games in Oakland. The series shifted back to Detroit and Coleman got the ball for game three. He tossed a complete game shutout as the Tigers won 3-0. His 14 strikeouts that day were an ALCS record at the time. Though Mike Boddicker tied the record in 1983, it wasn’t topped until Mike Mussina got to 15 in 1997. The Tigers would also win the fourth game of that series but dropped the fifth and were eliminated. That one brilliant performance would eventually go down as Coleman’s only postseason appearance.

He stayed in Detroit for a few more years, though with declining results. His ERA climbed to 3.53 in 1973, 4.32 the year after that and then 5.55 in 1975. He went into journeyman mode from there, pitching for the Cubs, Athletics, Blue Jays, Giants and Pirates throughout the rest of the decade. He finished his playing career with a 3.70 ERA over 2,569 1/3 innings.

After his playing days were done, he went into coaching, doing some minor league work within the systems of the Mariners and the Angels. He would eventually get up to the majors with the latter club, serving as bullpen coach. He then spent a few years as the pitching coach of the Cardinals from 1991 to 1994 before returning to the Angels, serving at times as bullpen coach and pitching coach. He later spent some time coaching in the minors for the Rays, Tigers and Marlins. His son Casey Coleman pitched for the Cubs and Royals about a decade ago, making three straight generations of Coleman men pitching in the majors.

We at MLB Trade Rumors join the baseball world in sending our condolences to the Coleman family and everyone else in mourning this week.

Photo courtesy of Malcolm Emmons, Imagn Images

Bobby Jenks Passes Away

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Two-time All-Star and 2005 World Series champion Bobby Jenks passed away yesterday, per an announcement from the White Sox. Chicago also released a tribute video alongside the announcement. Jenks passed after a battle with adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer. He was just 44 years old.

Jenks was a fifth-round pick by the Angels in the 2000 draft but was designated for assignment by the Halos before he even made it to the big leagues. He was claimed off the waiver wire by the White Sox and joined the big league bullpen in July of 2005. He scuffled a bit early on, with four runs allowed across his first five appearances in the big leagues, but settled in not long after that and notched his first career save on August 25 when he closed out a ten-inning game against the Twins.

He continued in a late-inning role for those White Sox down the stretch, and finished the regular season with a 2.75 ERA, six saves, and a 29.8% strikeout rate. Jenks’s dominance carried over into the postseason with a 2.25 ERA, four saves, and eight strikeouts in eight playoff innings. The right-hander was on the mound to finish off the club’s four-game sweep of the Astros in the Fall Classic, closing out a 1-0 victory by inducing a groundout from Orlando Palmeiro to emerge from his rookie season as a World Series champion.

He followed up that performance in his first season by pitching his way into an All-Star berth in both 2006 and 2007. He fully settled into the White Sox closer role by that point, with 81 saves across those two campaigns. That dominant 2007 season in particular saw him retire 41 consecutive batters, which was good for an MLB record at the time. By the end of the 2008 campaign, Jenks had a career 3.21 ERA with a 3.27 FIP with 146 saves collected over his time with the Sox. His numbers took a nosedive in 2009, however, as he surrendered a 4.44 ERA in 52 2/3 innings of work. Underlying analytics suggest that Jenks had pitched better than that ERA would suggest given his 2.59 FIP and 26.4% strikeout rate that year, but that wasn’t enough to stop the White Sox from deciding to part ways with him after the season.

Jenks went on to sign with the Red Sox on a two-year, $12MM contract not long after that, but the deal proved to be ill-fated. He struggled with injuries throughout the 2011 season, and posted a 6.32 ERA across the 19 appearances he was healthy enough to get on the mound for. The injuries worsened, and an MRI eventually revealed bone spurs on his spine. He underwent surgery on his back in December of 2011, but complications from that surgery arose after his surgeon left a serrated edge in his back. The effects of that mistake left Jenks bedridden and he ultimately was released by the Red Sox in June of 2012 and retired from baseball at just 31 years old.

Jenks retired from baseball with a career 3.53 ERA, 351 strikeouts, and 173 saves despite having his career cut short after just seven seasons. He returned to baseball as a coach in 2021, serving as pitching coach for the independent Pioneer League’s Grand Junction Rockies that year. He was promoted to manager for 2022 and later served as a coach in the Appalachian League and a manager in the Frontier League, though a cancer diagnosis he announced in February of 2025 forced him to bring his coaching career to a close.

In the wake of today’s news, former teammate A.J. Pierzynski remembered Jenks in a post on social media, while longtime MLB.com White Sox beat writer Scott Merkin shared a conversation he had with Jenks back in February, shortly after his diagnosis. We at MLB Trade Rumors join them and the rest of the baseball world in extending our condolences to Jenks’s family, friends, loved ones, and all of those whose lives he touched during his time in the game.

Billy Hunter Passes Away

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Former big league player, coach, and manager Billy Hunter passed away at age 97 earlier this week, the Orioles announced.  Long associated with the Orioles organization for most of his career, Hunter was the last surviving player who played for both the St. Louis Browns (the Orioles’ previous incarnation) and for the franchise’s first season in Baltimore in 1954.

A veteran of six MLB seasons overall, Hunter made his big league debut with the Browns in 1953 and was an All-Star as a rookie, quickly gaining notice for his strong glovework at shortstop.  Following the now-Orioles’ 1954 debut season, the club included Hunter as part of the largest trade ever in terms of pure volume — a 17-player swap between the Orioles and Yankees that sent Hunter to the Bronx as part of a trade package that also included future Cy Young Award winner Bob Turley and World Series perfect game hero Don Larsen.

Hunter saw a good chunk of playing time at shortstop in 1955, but the Yankees went with longtime shortstop Phil Rizzuto down the stretch and into the postseason.  Shifted into more of a clear backup role in 1956, Hunter nevertheless earned a ring for his contributions to the Yankees’ championship season, though he didn’t see any action during the 1956 World Series.  New York then sent Hunter to the Athletics that offseason as part of another gigantic deal, this time a 14-player swap that saw such notables as Clete Boyer, Bobby Shantz, and Art Ditmar head to the Yankees.  Hunter spent parts of the 1957 and 1958 seasons with the A’s, and finished his Major League career with 76 games with the Indians in 1958.

After a year of minor league ball, Hunter transitioned into a scouting role, and then worked as a minor league manager in the Orioles’ farm system.  This work led to a job as Baltimore’s third base coach, a role Hunter held from 1964-77.  He left the coaching staff in June 1977 to become the Rangers’ new manager, and Texas promptly went 60-33 with Hunter in the dugout.  Though the Rangers still won 87 games in 1978, Hunter was fired before the final day of the regular season.  That was his last gig in pro baseball, as Hunter went onto become a baseball coach and then athletic director at Towson State University.

Hunter appeared in 630 career games and hit .219/.264/.294 over 2052 plate appearances in the majors.  His career resume includes that first-year All-Star nod, as well as three World Series titles — his 1956 ring with the Yankees, and two as a coach with Baltimore in 1966 and 70.  The Orioles inducted Hunter into their franchise Hall of Fame in 1996.

We at MLB Trade Rumors send our condolences to Hunter’s family, friends, and loved ones.

Dave Parker Passes Away

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Hall-of-Famer Dave Parker passed away at age 74 today after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease, as the Pirates announced just prior to the start of today’s game.  The sad news comes less than a month before Parker was officially set to be inducted into Cooperstown, as Parker and Dick Allen (like Parker, a former MVP and seven-time All-Star) were voted into the Hall by the Era Committee last winter.

A veteran of 19 Major League seasons from 1973-1991, “the Cobra” was one of the sport’s most feared hitters for the majority of his career.  Parker batted .290/.339/.471 over 10184 career plate appearances and 2466 games, amassing 339 homers and 2712 career hits.  Along with his seven All-Star nods and the 1978 NL MVP Award, Parker was a two-time batting champion and a three-time Gold Glover.  With 154 steals also on his resume, Parker was a legitimate five-tool threat during his prime years, before knee problems sapped Parker’s speed and ability to regularly play the field.

This spectacular career arose from a modest start as a 14th-round pick for the Pirates in the 1970 draft.  A part-timer in his first two MLB seasons, Parker emerged as an everyday force in 1975, joining forces with Pittsburgh legend Willie Stargell and other notables of the era like Al Oliver, Bill Robinson, and Richie Zisk to wreak havoc in the middle of the lineup.

The Pirates had several outstanding teams during Parker’s 11 seasons in Pittsburgh, but back in the days when only the two division winners reached the postseason, playoff success was harder to come by.  The Buccos won three division titles during Parker’s tenure but didn’t reach the World Series until 1979, when the “We Are Family” Pirates overcame a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Orioles and capture the franchise’s most recent championship.  Parker naturally played a big role in the title run, hitting .341/.396/.415 over 48 postseason PA to help the Pirates capture the crown.

Parker also achieved a notable contractual milestone before the 1979 season even started, as he signed a five-year, $5MM contract with the Pirates that was (at the time) the sport’s biggest contract.  Technically the deal made Parker the first player to earn $1MM per season, even if some deferred money within the deal left his actual annual average value south of the seven-figure mark.

That contract led to increased expectations, and while Parker’s outgoing and bombastic personality made him a fan favorite during the good times, some in Pittsburgh started to view Parker as arrogant when the Pirates’ play tailed off after 1979 and Parker’s own numbers started to diminish.  Parker’s knee problems and a cocaine addiction were clearly impacting his performance, and he left Pittsburgh to sign with the Reds following the 1983 season.

The second act of Parker’s career had several more memorable moments, including a big comeback year in 1985 that saw him lead the NL in total bases, doubles, and RBI while finishing second in NL MVP voting.  Parker followed up his four seasons in Cincinnati with two seasons with the pennant-winning Athletics in 1988 and 1989.  While not quite the premium bat of his prime years, the Cobra still helped the A’s win the World Series in 1989.  The move to the American League also allowed Parker to become a designated hitter for the first time in his career, and he was essentially a DH-only player with plenty of pop still in his bat from 1989-91 with the A’s, Brewers, Angels, and Blue Jays.

After retirement, Parker had moved into coaching, and spent a long time waiting for his eventual call to Cooperstown.  Parker never received much support from the writers during his 15 years on the BBWAA ballot, with his cocaine habit and his involvement in the 1985 Pittsburgh drug trials often viewed as the key reason for the lack of voter support.  It is bittersweet that Parker will be a posthumous induction at next month’s ceremony in Cooperstown, but he at least received the satisfaction of learning last December that he had finally been properly minted as a Hall of Famer.

All of us at MLB Trade Rumors share our condolences with Parker’s family, friends, and many fans.

Diego Segui Passes Away

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Former ERA champion Diego Segui has passed away. He was 87.

Born in Cuba and a natural left-hander, Segui nevertheless began throwing a baseball right handed. He initially signed with the Reds but never got an opportunity in the Cincinnati farm system. He spent some time pitching for an independent team before the A’s purchased his contract. Segui would spend three seasons climbing the minor league ladder and reached the big leagues in 1962. The A’s, based in Kansas City at the time, used him mostly as a starting pitcher.

The 6’0″ hurler ate a lot of innings but didn’t have great numbers. The A’s sold his contract to the Washington Senators in 1966 before reacquiring him the following year. A move to the bullpen seemed to spark him, as he posted a 3.09 ERA over 70 innings. He turned in a career-low 2.39 mark over 52 appearances the following year, the franchise’s first in Oakland.

After that season, the Seattle Pilots — a team that played one season before moving to Milwaukee and rebranding as the Brewers — selected Segui in the expansion draft. He worked to a 3.35 ERA while logging 142 1/3 frames in an age when relievers frequently threw multiple innings. The Brewers traded him back to Oakland the following offseason.

The A’s third acquisition of Segui was their most successful. He had a career year in 1970, firing 162 innings across 47 appearances (including 19 starts). He led all qualified pitchers with a 2.56 earned run average. The A’s reached the postseason the following year, allowing Segui to make his playoff debut. He got the start in an elimination game against the Orioles during the AL Championship Series. He was outpitched by Jim Palmer and the A’s dropped the game 5-3.

Segui’s time with the organization ended for good the following season, as they dealt him to the Cardinals midway through the ’72 campaign. That unfortunately immediately preceded Oakland’s run of three consecutive titles in 1972-74. Segui spent a couple seasons in St. Louis before being traded to the Red Sox. He didn’t post great numbers with Boston but was on the ’75 team that ended his former club’s three-peat in the ALCS.  While Segui did not appear in that series, he tossed a mop-up inning in a Game 5 loss to the Reds in the World Series. An inherited runner scored on a sacrifice fly, but he retired George Foster, Dave Concepcion and Cesar Geronimo in order.

The Sox dropped the ’75 World Series in a classic seven-game set, which kept Segui from ever winning a championship. He finished his big league career in 1977 with the expansion Mariners. He was the first pitcher in team history as the Opening Day starter and earned the distinction of appearing for both Seattle franchises. Thanks to his age (39) and previous Seattle ties, he received the fantastic nickname “The Ancient Mariner.”

Segui’s MLB playing days concluded after the ’77 season. He pitched in parts of 15 seasons and logged a 3.81 ERA in more than 1800 innings. Segui won 92 games, recorded nearly 1300 strikeouts, and collected 71 saves. His playing days stretched far beyond the end of his big league time, though. He pitched in the Mexican League until 1984, going through age 46. Segui also had an extended run in the Venezuelan winter league during his MLB career, for which he was inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. His son David Segui would go to a 15-year MLB career of his own as a first baseman/outfielder. MLBTR sends our condolences to the Segui family and others affected by his loss.

Scott Miller Passes Away

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Longtime baseball writer Scott Miller passed away recently, as relayed by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Miller spent more than 30 years covering Major League Baseball full time, starting in 1994 when he began work as the Twins beat reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He later wrote for CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, and the New York Times as a national writer and served as an analyst on MLB Network Radio. Miller also published two books about baseball: Ninety Percent Mental, which was co-authored by former All-Star and 13-year MLB veteran Bob Tewksbury and published in 2018, as well as Skipper: Why Baseball Managers Matter and Always Will which published just last month.

MLB released a statement this afternoon following news of Miller’s passing:

“Tonight we remember Scott Miller – a true gentleman, a class act, and an expert of his craft who loved our National Pastime. We extend our deepest condolences to his loved ones and his readers throughout the game.”

Doug Goodnough published an article about Miller for Hillsdale College, the pair’s alma mater, back in February. The article provides an account of Miller’s life, career, and love for the game of baseball that includes quotes from Miller himself. Countless fellow baseball writers from around the game — including Nightengale, Ian Browne, and Mike DiGiovanna — offered their remembrances. MLBTR joins them and the rest of the baseball world in sending condolences to Miller’s family, friends, and loved ones.

Ron Taylor Passes Away

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Former MLB reliever and physician Ron Taylor has passed away, according to an announcement from the Mets. He was 87.

A Toronto native, Taylor began his career in the Cleveland organization in 1956. He reached the big leagues six years later and had a memorable debut at Fenway Park. Tabbed as the starting pitcher — one of just 17 starts he’d make in his career — Taylor began with 11 scoreless innings. Boston’s Bill Monbouquette matched him zero for zero, though, working through 12 scoreless frames. Taylor’s remarkable first outing came to a disappointing end, as he surrendered a walk-off grand slam to Carroll Hardy in the twelfth.

That was one of eight appearances that Taylor would make in his rookie season. After the year, Cleveland swapped him to the Cardinals for first baseman Fred Whitfield. Taylor had a strong first year in St. Louis, turning in a 2.84 ERA across 133 1/3 innings in a long relief role. He’d add another 4 2/3 scoreless frames against the Yankees in the World Series. Almost all of those came in Game 4, when he fired four scoreless without allowing a hit to save a 4-3 victory. That evened the series at two games apiece, and the Cards would go on to win in seven behind Bob Gibson.

Taylor struggled over the next couple seasons, leading St. Louis to deal him to the Astros midway through the ’65 campaign. He didn’t pitch particularly well during his year and a half in Houston. The Astros sold his contract to the Mets going into 1967. Taylor turned things around in Queens, working to a sub-3.00 ERA in each of his first three seasons.

He tossed 76 innings of 2.72 ERA ball with 13 saves for the ’69 Miracle Mets team that won 100 games and knocked off the Braves and Orioles en route to the first championship in franchise history. Taylor made four appearances in the postseason, striking out seven across 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He recorded one save apiece in the NLCS and World Series, getting Brooks Robinson to ground out with two runners on in a 2-1 ballgame to lock down Game 2 of the Fall Classic.

Taylor pitched a few more seasons in New York and finished his playing days with a very brief stint for the Padres in 1972. He remained in the game after the end of his playing career, but he didn’t follow the coaching or scouting paths of most former players. Taylor went to medical school immediately after retiring and was later hired as the team physician for the Blue Jays, a role he’d hold for a few decades. He added two more World Series rings in that capacity when Toronto went back-to-back in the early 1990s.

During a playing career that spanned parts of 11 seasons, Taylor posted a 3.93 ERA in exactly 800 regular season innings. He recorded 464 strikeouts and collected 74 saves. His postseason résumé was brief but impactful, as he didn’t allow a run in 10 1/3 frames while getting the save in three of his six playoff appearances. He played a key role in winning a pair of championships and was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. MLBTR sends our condolences to Taylor’s family, friends, loved ones and former teammates and colleagues throughout the game.

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