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Orlando Cepeda Passes Away

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Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda has passed away at age 86, the Giants announced. Cepeda played nine of his 17 MLB campaigns in San Francisco and won the 1967 National League MVP award as a member of the Cardinals.

A native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Cepeda secured a minor league contract with the Giants in 1955. He hit 22 home runs as a 17-year-old in his first minor league season, hinting at the power he’d eventually show in the big leagues. Cepeda quickly hit his way up the ladder, reaching the majors midway through April in 1958. His arrival coincided with the franchise’s move to San Francisco.

The first baseman wasted no time in cementing himself as one of the faces of the organization. He raked at a .312/.342/.512 clip with 25 homers and a National League-high 38 doubles at age 20. Cepeda was a unanimous choice as the Senior Circuit’s Rookie of the Year and finished ninth in MVP balloting. While he didn’t earn an All-Star selection in his first season, Cepeda would earn trips to the Midsummer Classic in the six seasons thereafter.

The 6’2″ slugger reached 35 doubles and topped 20 homers in his second and third years. He took his already excellent form to another level in his fourth season. Cepeda blasted a career-high 46 longballs to top the National League. He drove in a staggering 142 runs while hitting .311/.362/.609 over 152 contests. Cepeda led the majors in RBI and finished runner-up to Frank Robinson in MVP balloting.

While he didn’t quite match those numbers in 1962, Cepeda popped another 35 homers and drove in 114 runs. He finished 15th in MVP voting and helped the Giants capture the pennant. He didn’t have a great World Series as the Yankees dropped the Giants in a seven-game set, but he’d get another couple cracks at the Fall Classic later in the decade.

Those didn’t come in San Francisco. Cepeda remained a productive hitter for the next couple seasons, topping 30 homers while hitting over .300 in each of the next two years. He lost most of the ’65 campaign to injury, though, putting something of a sour end on an illustrious run with the organization. The Giants traded Cepeda to the Cardinals for left-hander Ray Sadecki in May 1966. While Sadecki was a solid starting pitcher for the next couple seasons, that blockbuster turned out squarely in the Cards’ favor.

Cepeda hit .303/.362/.469 in his first year with the Cardinals. He paced the NL with 111 RBI the following season, running a .325/.399/.524 line over 644 plate appearances. Cepeda helped the Cardinals to 101 wins and a trip to the World Series. He topped teammate Tim McCarver to win the MVP. While Cepeda only had three hits in the Series, the Cards triumphed over the Red Sox in seven games to claim the eighth title in franchise history.

The Cardinals won a second straight pennant the following season, though they fell to the Tigers in the ’68 World Series. St. Louis traded Cepeda to the Braves the following Spring Training in a one-for-one swap for Joe Torre. The star catcher and future Hall of Fame manager would win the ’71 MVP in St. Louis, so the Cardinals netted a future MVP on both ends of their respective Cepeda trades.

Cepeda was a key contributor for Atlanta over three and a half seasons in his own right. He remained a well above-average hitter, running a .281/.343/.486 line in 401 games as a Brave. Atlanta traded him to the A’s in 1972 for Denny McLain, a deal that didn’t work out for either team. Cepeda signed with the Red Sox as a full-time designated hitter in 1973 and hit .289/.350/.444 to earn a few more down-ballot MVP votes. He retired after a brief stint with the Royals the year after.

Over a career that spanned parts of 17 seasons, Cepeda hit .297/.350/.499 in more than 2100 games. He finished his playing days with 379 home runs, 2351 hits and 1365 runs batted in. He’s 74th on the all-time leaderboard in homers and tied with Garret Anderson for 87th in RBI. Cepeda spent 15 years on the Hall of Fame ballot, falling just shy of induction with 73.5% of the vote share in his final year (1994). Five years later, he was enshrined by the Veterans Committee.

While Cepeda had an accomplished run for three franchises, he’ll always be best remembered for his time with the Giants. He hit .308/.352/.535 in more than 4500 plate appearances in a San Francisco uniform. The franchise retired his #30 and unveiled a statue in his honor outside of Oracle Park back in 2008. His passing unfortunately comes only 10 days after the death of his longtime teammate and fellow Giants/MLB icon Willie Mays. MLBTR joins others throughout the sport in sending condolences to Cepeda’s family, loved ones, former teammates and the countless fans whose lives he touched over his excellent career.

Willie Mays Passes Away

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Willie Mays passed away peacefully on Tuesday afternoon, the Giants announced. One of the greatest players of all-time and a legend in the sports world, Mays was 93.

“All of Major League Baseball is in mourning today as we are gathered at the very ballpark where a career and a legacy like no other began,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement alluding to Thursday’s game between the Giants and Cardinals at Birmingham’s Rickwood Field, the home of the Negro Leagues’ Birmingham Black Barons. “Willie Mays took his all-around brilliance from the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League to the historic Giants franchise.

From coast to coast in New York and San Francisco, Willie inspired generations of players and fans as the game grew and truly earned its place as our National Pastime. … Thursday’s game at historic Rickwood Field was designed to be a celebration of Willie Mays and his peers. With sadness in our hearts, it will now also serve as a national remembrance of an American who will forever remain on the short list of the most impactful individuals our great game has ever known.”

A native of Westfield, Alabama, Mays started his professional career in 1948. He appeared in 13 games for a Black Barons team that was on its way to that year’s Negro World Series. Once Mays finished high school the following year, he received interest from American League and National League clubs. He signed with the Giants (still playing in New York at the time) on a $4,000 bonus. Mays spent the 1950 season in the minors before making his team debut the following year.

Mays immediately hit the ground running. He hit .274 with 20 home runs and dazzling center field defense to win the National League Rookie of the Year. The Giants would win the pennant on Bobby Thomson’s famous “Shot Heard ’Round The World” against the Dodgers. While they dropped that year’s Fall Classic to the Yankees, it wasn’t long before they returned to the World Series. Mays missed most of 1952 and the entire ’53 season after being drafted into the Army during the Korean War. Upon his return to the playing field in 1954, he established himself as one of the best players the game has ever seen.

At 23 years old in his first full major league season, Mays hit .345 with an MLB-best .667 slugging percentage en route to the NL MVP award. The Giants won 97 games to head back to the World Series. In Game 1, Mays made perhaps the most iconic defensive play in major league history. His over-the-shoulder basket catch a few feet in front of the center field wall at the Polo Grounds — a play that would live on in history as “The Catch” —  likely saved two runs in what was then a tied game in the eighth inning. The Giants would go to win in 10 innings and sweep the Indians to win the fifth championship in franchise history.

The rosters around Mays dipped after that season. They wouldn’t return to the Fall Classic until 1962 despite their center fielder’s all-around dominance. Mays hit 51 home runs in 1955, the first of three times he would lead the majors in that regard. He paced the National League in stolen bases in four straight seasons from 1956-59 while leading the league in OPS three times during that decade. Mays was established as arguably the best player in the majors by the time the franchise moved to San Francisco in advance of the 1958 season.

The Say Hey Kid earned an All-Star nod during his first MVP season in 1954. His combination of otherworldly talent and incredible durability — he’d play in at least 140 games in each subsequent year until 1968 — sent him back to the Midsummer Classic in 19 straight seasons. Mays was selected as an All-Star 24 times and in 20 separate seasons (there were multiple All-Star teams for a few years in the early 60s). Only Henry Aaron reached the All-Star Game more frequently in his career.

MLB introduced the Gold Glove Award in 1957, four seasons into Mays’ career with the Giants. He’d earn the honors in the award’s first 12 seasons. That ties him with Roberto Clemente for the most among outfielders in league history despite the honors not coming into existence until Mays’ age-26 season.

Mays would have had a strong Hall of Fame case based on his glove alone. He’s also among the best hitters of all time. He hit .296 or better in each season from 1954-65. He never hit fewer than 29 homers in that stretch. Mays ranked in the top 10 in MVP voting in all but one year between 1954-66, finishing among the top five on nine occasions. He won the MVP as a 34-year-old in 1965 behind a .317/.398/.645 batting line with an MLB-leading 52 home runs. He was the runner-up to Maury Wills during the Giants’ pennant-winning ’62 campaign. Mays didn’t have a great offensive showing in the World Series, though, and San Francisco came up a run short in a seven-game series loss to the Yankees.

Between 1954-66, a stretch that represented one of the greatest peaks in MLB history, Mays compiled a .315/.390/.601 slash line with 518 homers as the game’s preeminent outfield defender. While his production in his late-30s wasn’t quite at that exceptional standard, Mays remained an elite hitter past his 40th birthday. He led the NL in walks and on-base percentage at age 40 in 1971, the final season in which he’d top 100 games.

Mays’ time with the Giants came to a close in May 1972 when San Francisco traded him to the Mets. He finished his career as a role player with New York, returning to the World Series in his final season. Mays retired after the ’73 campaign and moved into coaching with the Mets. He’d later work in an advisory role with the Giants, a franchise with which he’s so synonymous that Oracle Park’s official address is 24 Willie Mays Plaza.

That concluded a playing career that spanned parts of 23 seasons in the major leagues (including his abbreviated stint with the Black Barons). Mays played in more than 3000 MLB games, the ninth-most in history. He’s on virtually every leaderboard. Mays was 13th all-time with 3293 hits. He’s 12th in runs batted in (1909) and seventh in runs scored. Mays is one of nine players to reach the 600-homer mark and sits in sixth place on the all-time leaderboard with 660 longballs. At the time he retired, only Aaron and Babe Ruth had more.

Mays was an obvious call for Hall of Fame induction when he was first eligible in 1979. The exemplar of a five-tool player, he’s on the short list in debates about the greatest all-around players in baseball history. Among position players, Mays is only narrowly behind Barry Bonds and Ruth in Baseball Reference’s Wins Above Replacement metric with an estimated 156 career WAR. No single statistic will ever definitively answer the question of the “best player of all-time.” Fans can debate where Mays precisely stacks up against Bonds, Ruth, Aaron, Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, etc. It’s impossible to have that conversation without mentioning him.

Of course, Mays’ reverence in baseball circles goes well behind the stat sheet. He’s an icon, a fan favorite of many on both coasts during his heyday. Mays was one of the first Black players to emerge as a superstar once MLB teams began to integrate in the late 1940s and the early part of the 50s. His influence transcended baseball into broader American culture.

Mays and Yogi Berra were among the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. MLBTR joins others throughout the sports world in sending condolences to his family, friends, loved ones and the countless fans whose lives he impacted through nearly eight decades as a face of baseball.

Mike Brumley Passes Away

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Former big league player and coach Mike Brumley passed away yesterday in a car accident, as initially reported by MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (X link).  Brumley was 61 years old.

A second-round pick for the Red Sox in the 1983 draft, Brumley played in 295 big league games over parts of eight seasons from 1987-1995.  The early years of his pro career were defined by his inclusion in a pair of trades involving future Hall-of-Famers — the Red Sox traded Brumley and Dennis Eckersley to the Cubs for Bill Buckner in May 1984, which led to Brumley making his MLB debut in a Chicago uniform in 1987.  The Cubbies then dealt Brumley and Keith Moreland to the Padres in February 1988 in the swap that brought Goose Gossage and Ray Hayward to Chicago.

Overall, Brumley was traded four different times as part of his journeyman career.  He saw action with six different teams at the Major League level, and his 92 games with the Tigers in 1989 marked the most playing time he received in a season.  Besides the Cubs and Tigers, Brumley also played with the Mariners, Red Sox, Astros, and Athletics, and he was a member of four other organizations (Padres, Orioles, Angels, Marlins) without ever appearing with any of those teams in a big league game.  He hit .206/.261/.272 over 697 plate appearances while playing mostly shortstop, and also bouncing around the diamond as a second baseman, third baseman, and all three outfield positions.

Brumley moved into a long coaching career after his playing days ended, including stints as a minor league manager with Angels and Dodgers affiliates, while also working as a roving instructor for the Dodgers and as a field coordinator in the Rangers’ organization.  His work in a big league dugout came with two of his former teams — Brumley was a third and first coach with the Mariners from 2010-13, and then an assistant hitting coach with the Cubs during the 2014 season.

Brumley went on to work as a minor league hitting coordinator with the Braves in 2021, and built some lasting bonds with several members of Atlanta’s organization that lasted well beyond his lone season in the role.  Austin Riley today spoke at length about his friendship with Brumley, crediting him behind only Riley’s father as his greatest “role models in my baseball career.”

We at MLB Trade Rumors send our condolences to Brumley’s family, friends, and colleagues.

Hank Foiles Passes Away

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Former All Star catcher Hank Foiles passed away late last month at the age of 94, as noted by various sources including Jami Frankenberry of The Virginian-Pilot. An veteran of 11 major league seasons, Foiles played for the Reds, Indians, Pirates, Athletics, Tigers, Orioles, and Angels throughout his time in the big leagues.

Foiles started his professional career at the age of 19 as a member of the Yankees organization back in 1948, but he didn’t make his big league debut for several years. He was selected in the 1951 Rule 5 draft by the Reds but didn’t make his big league debut with the club until 1953. He appeared in just 12 games at the big league level that season between Cincinnati and Cleveland and collected three hits across his first 20 major league at-bats. Foiles wouldn’t play at the big league level in 1954 but split time with Hal Naragon as the backup to five-time All Star Jim Hegan in 1955. In 132 plate appearances that year, Foiles hit .261 with a solid .354 on-base percentage.

Foiles would appear in just one more game with Cleveland before being traded to Pittsburgh during the 1956 season. Although he had a down season at the plate during his first year with the club, his years in Pittsburgh would prove to be the most significant of his career as he earned the everyday catching job for the Pirates in 1957 and 1958. Foiles made the lone All Star appearance of his career in 1957 when he combined his glove-first profile with above average offense to slash .270/.352/.431 in 109 games.

On the 1957 NL All Star team, he joined legends of the game such as Stan Musial, Frank Robinson, and Henry Aaron opposite AL legends like Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, and Ted Williams. Foiles pinch-hit in the bottom of the ninth inning with Willie Mays on third base and drew a wild pitch to score Mays and bring the NL within two before delivering a single against longtime White Sox ace Billy Pierce. Foiles later scored from second on a single by Ernie Banks, though the NL would go on to lose the game 6-5.

Foiles would remain in Pittsburgh for two more seasons following his All Star season, and though his offense took step backward with a .209/.314/.355 line between the next two campaigns, he nonetheless made 157 appearances and 402 trips to the plate across those two seasons. 1960 saw Foiles change organizations multiple times, as he was traded from the Pirates to the then-Kansas City Athletics during the 1959-60 offseason but appeared in just six games with the club before being returned to the Pirates. He was then traded to Cleveland to act as their back-up catcher before a late July deal sent him to the Tigers. He finished the 1960 season in Detroit but was selected in the Rule V Draft for the second time that November, putting him in five different organizations over the course of one calendar year.

Over the next two years, Foiles would find his groove at the plate again as a back-up catcher for the Orioles and Reds with a combined slash line of .275/.338/.482 across 43 games. Foiles found himself on the move again in 1963 when he joined the Angels, and he appeared in 45 games for the club over the next two seasons with a roughly league average slash line of .216/.289/.386. He played his final game in the big leagues just a month before his 35th birthday on May 2, 1964. A career .243/.321/.392 hitter who appeared in 608 big league games, Foiles tallied 353 hits, 46 home runs, and 166 RBI during a solid major league career.

We at MLBTR offer our condolences to the Foiles family and to his friends, fans, and others who are mourning him around the game.

Tony Scott Passes Away

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Former major league player and coach Tony Scott recently passed away, per various sources, including Brent Maguire of MLB.com. Scott was 72 years old. A cause of death was not provided.

Scott was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1951. He attended Withrow High School in Cincinnati and the Montreal Expos selected him out of that school in the 71st round of the 1969 draft. He eventually made it to the big leagues with the Expos in 1973, the first of 11 major league seasons he would play in as a speed-and-defense outfielder.

That first season saw him get into 11 games but mostly as a pinch runner or defensive replacement, as he only stepped to the plate once. It was fairly similar in 1974, as he got into 19 contests but only receive eight plate appearances.

He finally got somewhat regular playing time in 1975, getting 159 trips to the plate over 92 games for Montreal that year. He stole five bases but was caught six times and hit just .182/.258/.238. He was kept in the minors in 1976 but performed well for Triple-A Denver, slashing .311/.361/.503 while stealing 18 bases in 24 tries.

In November of that year, he was traded to the Cardinals alongside Steve Dunning and Pat Scanlon, with Bill Greif, Sam Mejías and Ángel Torres going the other way. Scott got fairly regular playing time in St. Louis, getting into 487 games during the 1977-80 seasons. He hit .258/.313/.343 in his 1,663 plate appearances and also swiped 77 bags.

Midway through the 1981 campaign, the Cards traded him to the Astros for Joaquín Andújar. Scott played a fairly similar role with the Astros for a few years before being released in 1984. He returned to his original organization by signing with the Expos in June of that year, spending a couple of months with them in what eventually turned out to be his final stint as a major league player. He finished his playing career with 991 games played and 699 hits, including 17 home runs. He batted .249 and stole 125 bases.

After his playing career ended, Scott pivoted to coaching. He worked as a minor league coach in the Phillies’ system from 1989 to 2000 and was a part of the major league coaching staff in 2000 and 2001.

We at MLBTR send our condolences to Scott’s family, friends, former teammates and coaches and all those mourning him at this time.

Sean Burroughs Passes Away

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Former big league infielder Sean Burroughs passed away this week at just 43 years of age, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. Tragically, the former Little League World Series hero and No. 9 overall draft pick collapsed while coaching his son’s little league game.

The son of former No. 1 overall draft pick, two-time All-Star, and 1974 American League MVP Jeff Burroughs, Sean clearly had baseball in his DNA. He starred on the mound and at the plate while leading his Long Beach team to consecutive Little League World Series wins and eventually went on to be selected by the Padres with the ninth overall pick in the 1998 draft. Baseball America ranked him among the sport’s top-100 prospects in each of the next four years, including top-10 rankings each year from 2000-02. Burroughs represented the United States in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and won a Gold Medal.

Burroughs made his big league debut as the Padres’ third baseman on April 2, 2002 — collecting two hits in his first taste of MLB action. He struggled through the season’s first two months but returned from a Triple-A assignment to hit .377/.433/.410 in 67 September plate appearances. Burroughs was the Padres’ regular third baseman in 2003-04, hitting a combined .292/.350/.384 in 1142 trips to the plate. He struggled at the plate again in 2005 and was traded to the Devil Rays in a 2005-06 offseason deal that sent right-hander Dewon Brazelton back to the Friars.

Burroughs appeared in only eight games for the Rays plus another 37 with their Triple-A affiliate in Durham. He was out of baseball entirely for several years after that and had since candidly spoken about a subsequent spiral of drug addiction and alcoholism. In a heart-wrenching interview with ESPN’s Jim Caple in 2011, Burroughs described the harrowing experience of spending years living in cheap Las Vegas motels, eating out of trash cans and abusing virtually any substance he could find. “I would just try to fill myself with as much substances as I could, legally or illegally,” he acknowledged.

Despite that low point — which Burroughs likened to the Nicolas Cage film Leaving Las Vegas — Burroughs’ baseball career had a second act. He cleaned his life up, got a second chance from late D-backs GM Kevin Towers (who’d drafted Burroughs with the Padres), and played in 78 games with the 2011 Diamondbacks. Burroughs inked a minor league deal with the Twins that offseason and wound up appearing in ten games with Minnesota as well. Those would prove to be the final games of his MLB career, but he spent the 2014-17 seasons playing between several teams in the independent Atlantic League, as well as in Venezuelan Winter ball and in the Mexican League.

Burroughs’ big league career lasted all of 528 games and saw him bat .278/.335/.355. Despite that modest performance, he’ll be remembered as a remarkable talent — one who was thrust into a national spotlight at an early age and racked up more accolades than most players accrue in a lifetime before he even set foot on a major league field. His tragic passing will bring about immeasurable “what ifs,” but Burroughs also stands as a beacon of perseverance. Overcoming his yearslong battle with addiction to return to the major leagues and spend more than a half decade in pro ball is inspirational in and of itself — the type of story that transcends baseball and has the power to impact a far broader audience.

We at MLBTR offer our condolence to the Burroughs family and to his friends, former teammates and coaches, and countless fans around the world.

Larry Brown Passes Away

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Twelve-year Major League veteran Larry Brown passed away earlier this week at age 84.  Brown is survived by his wife Leni, their three daughters, and nine grandchildren.

Brown hit .233/.300/.313 over 3872 plate appearances and 1129 games with the Indians, A’s, Orioles, and Rangers from 1963-74.  The first nine of those seasons were spent in Cleveland, where Brown became an infield regular and the team’s starting shortstop in 1967-68 and for much of the 1969 campaign.  The large majority of Brown’s career (712 games) came at shortstop, though he had a good chunk of playing time at second base and third base.  After being acquired by the Athletics in April 1971, Brown played in 70 games for Oakland’s AL West-winning team that season, and he then made 47 appearances for the 1972 A’s team that captured the World Series (though Brown didn’t see any playoff action).

Beyond his production on the diamond, Brown was also known for one of the more frightening on-field injuries of his era.  On May 4, 1966, Brown and teammate Leon Wagner collided in pursuit of a fly ball, with Brown suffering a fractured skull, cheekbone, and nose.  Incredibly, Brown was back in action by June 16, and continued to play more or less an everyday role for the remainder of the season.

The obituary provided by Brown’s family provides many details of Brown’s life inside and outside baseball, including his 62-year marriage to Leni, the love of his life.  We at MLB Trade Rumors send our condolences to Brown’s family, friends, and teammates.

Dave McCarty Passes Away

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Former major league first baseman/outfielder Dave McCarty has passed away after a cardiac event, the Red Sox announced. He was 54.

A Stanford product, McCarty was the third overall pick in the 1991 draft by the Twins. Baseball America ranked the 6’5″ right-handed hitter as a top 25 prospect in the sport over the next two seasons. McCarty reached the majors in May ’93. He played parts of three seasons in Minnesota, hitting .226/.275/.310 before being traded to the Reds. Cincinnati flipped McCarty to the Giants around six weeks later. He played parts of two seasons with San Francisco before again finding himself on the move, this time to Seattle.

McCarty had his most productive year in 2000 with the Royals. He appeared in a career-high 103 games and turned in a .278/.329/.478 batting line with 12 homers. He bounced to the Devil Rays and A’s before landing with the Red Sox on a waiver claim in 2003. McCarty played in 89 games as a role player for the World Series winning team the following season. He hit four homers, including a walk-off shot to center field against the Mariners in May. He finished his playing career after the ’05 season and worked as an analyst on NESN for the next few years.

Over parts of 11 years in the majors, McCarty played in 630 games. He hit .242/.305/.371 with 36 home runs, 68 doubles and 175 RBI. He suited up for seven teams, saw some action in the postseason in 2003, and collected a World Series ring the following year. MLBTR joins others around the game in sending our condolences to the McCarty family, his friends and former teammates.

Odell Jones Passes Away

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Former big league right-hander Odell Jones has passed away, per John Perrotto of Pittsburgh Baseball Now. No cause of death was given for Jones, who was 71.

Born in California in 1953, Jones was signed by the Pirates as an undrafted free agent in 1971. He made his debut with that club in 1975 but tossed just three innings. He got a more proper run of play in the show in 1977, tossing 108 innings for the Bucs in a swing role. He posted an earned run average of 5.08 over 15 starts and 19 relief appearances.

Jones would go on to bounce around the league, serving in various roles. He was traded to the Mariners in 1978 and then back to the Pirates in 1980. He went to the Rangers in the 1982 Rule 5 draft and recorded 10 saves for them in 1983. He later signed with the Orioles and Blue Jays, though he didn’t make it to the majors with the latter club.

For many baseball fans, Jones is best known for one magical night where almost everything lined up for him. He was with the Brewers in 1988 as a 35-year-old journeyman. Teddy Higuera was supposed to start against Cleveland on May 28 but was dealing with some back spasms, per JD Radcliffe of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which led to Jones taking the ball instead.

Though he wasn’t even the scheduled starter, Jones had the best performance of his life that night. He was perfect through seven, until he issued a one-out walk to Mel Hall. He kept his no-hitter going into the ninth, until it was broken up by a one-out single off the bat of Ron Washington, now the manager of the Angels. Dan Plesac came into to get the final two outs as the Brewers beat Cleveland 2-0 (boxscore here at Baseball Reference).

That was the final big league season for Jones, who finished his career with a 4.42 ERA in 549 1/3 innings over nine different major league seasons. MLBTR joins the baseball world in sending our condolences to the Jones family as well as his fans and friends throughout the game.

Whitey Herzog Passes Away

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Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog has passed away at 92. The Cardinals announced the news on Tuesday morning. Herzog’s family provided a brief statement, as relayed by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (on X): “Whitey spent his last few days surrounded by his family.  We have so appreciated all of the prayers and support from friends who knew he was very ill.  Although it is hard for us to say goodbye, his peaceful passing was a blessing for him.”

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred released the following statement:

“Whitey Herzog was one of the most accomplished managers of his generation and a consistent winner with both ‘I-70’ franchises.  He made a significant impact on the St. Louis Cardinals as both a manager and a general manager, with the Kansas City Royals as a manager, and with the New York Mets in player development.  Whitey’s Cardinals’ teams reached the World Series three times in the 1980s, winning the Championship in 1982, by leaning on an identity of speed and defense that resonated with baseball fans across the world.

On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Whitey’s family, his friends across the game, and the fans of the Cardinals and the Royals.”

Herzog is best known for his legendary managerial run, but his time in professional baseball started as a player. He signed with the Yankees out of high school and spent a few seasons in the New York farm system. The Yankees traded him to the Washington Senators on the eve of the 1956 campaign. Herzog made his MLB debut in Washington, appearing in more than 100 games as a regular outfielder and hitting .245/.302/.337 as a rookie.

After Herzog made brief appearances with the Senators in each of the next two campaigns, Washington sold his contractual rights to the then-Kansas City A’s. He spent parts of three seasons with the A’s, hitting at a slightly above-average clip (.268/.383/.384) in 209 games. Herzog continued to produce solid results as a part-time player for two years after being traded to the Orioles before finishing his playing days with a brief stint in Detroit. Over parts of eight seasons, he hit .257/.354/.365 with 25 home runs and 172 runs batted in.

While that would’ve been a solid enough career in its own right, Herzog’s status as one of the sport’s all-time figures developed in his post-playing days. After a brief stint as an A’s scout, he moved into coaching and player development with the Mets. After the 1972 campaign, he landed his first managerial gig with the Rangers. That didn’t go well, as Texas stumbled to a 47-91 record and Herzog was fired before the end of the season when the Rangers seized the opportunity to hire Billy Martin.

Herzog spent the next year on the Angels’ coaching staff, a stint that included a four-game run as interim manager. It wasn’t until 1975 when he got his first extended managerial opportunity. The Royals tabbed Herzog that July to take over from Jack McKeon. He led the team to a 41-25 record down the stretch, although that wasn’t enough to overcome a middling 50-46 start to snag a playoff berth.

While the ’75 team fell a few games shy of the postseason, the Royals found plenty of success over the next few years. Herzog guided the team to three straight AL West titles from 1976-78, the first playoff trips in franchise history. While they were knocked off by the Yankees in the ALCS in all three seasons, that stretch of excellent regular season showings was a prelude to October success the following decade.

Unfortunately for Royals fans, that came with their in-state rivals. After the Royals missed the playoffs in ’79, Herzog was hired by the Cardinals as both manager and GM. He set about rebuilding the team around speed, defense and contact hitting at the expense of power. While the so-called “Whiteyball” was initially met with some derision, Herzog guided the Cardinals back to the top of the sport.

St. Louis missed the postseason during his first two seasons at the helm before a 92-win showing to snag the NL East title in 1982. After sweeping the Braves in the NLCS, they took on the Brewers in the Fall Classic. The Cards came back from a 3-2 series deficit, erasing a 3-1 lead in Game 7. St. Louis missed the postseason over the next two years but rattled off 101 wins to secure another NL East title in 1985.

Herzog was named the Senior Circuit’s Manager of the Year. A six-game triumph over the Dodgers in the NLCS set the stage for a matchup with his old team. The Cards dropped a classic seven-game set to the upstart Royals, the first title in franchise history. There was no shortage of controversy. With the Cardinals up 3-2 in the series and taking a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth in Game 6, a missed call at first base by Don Denkinger spurred a rally in which Kansas City came back for a 2-1 win. The Royals won the seventh game convincingly.

St. Louis made it back to the World Series once more during Herzog’s tenure. They knocked off the Giants in the 1987 NLCS to set up a showdown with the Twins. That also went seven games, with Minnesota coming back from a 3-2 series deficit to win it. Herzog managed the Cards for another three seasons but didn’t make it back to October. His managerial days ended midway through the 1990 campaign, although he later had a brief stint leading baseball operations for the Angels.

Including his interim work with the Halos, Herzog managed parts of 18 seasons in the majors. He won nearly 1300 regular season games, three pennants and one World Series. The veterans committee inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 2009. He was enshrined in St. Louis’ organizational Hall of Fame a few years later. MLBTR joins countless others around the game in sending condolences to Herzog’s family, friends, loved ones and the many players whose careers he impacted over the decades.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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