RIP - John Herrnstein

John Herrnstein, who played briefly for the Phillies in the mid-1960s, passed away on October 3, 2017 at age 79.

Herrnstein was the Phillies' starting first baseman for much of their ill-fated 1964 season, then was relegated to the bench for the final 2 months when veteran Frank Thomas was acquired from the Mets.

Herrnstein played sparingly in 1965, because the Phillies traded for another veteran first-sacker (Dick Stuart) in the off-season.

In early 1966, John was included in the trade that sent Ferguson Jenkins to the Cubs.   Herrnstein retired after the 1966 season.

Herrnstein has one of the longest Wikipedia pages I have seen for someone with such a short, unremarkable baseball career.

Chillicothe Gazette obituary

another Chillicothe Gazette obituary

Herrnstein (and many others) screwed out of a MLB pension, thanks to the players' union greed