RIP - Ron Perranoski

1960s' Dodgers' fireman Ron Perranoski passed away on October 2, 2020 at age 84. (The same day as Bob Gibson.)

 

Perranoski played 7 seasons (1961-67) with the Dodgers, and was the team's top reliever in all but his rookie year. 

 

He then played 4 seasons for the Twins, leading the AL in saves twice. 

 

Ron moved on to the Tigers in late-1971, and a year later was back with the Dodgers for the final 2 months of 1972.  He wrapped up his playing career in 1973 with the Angels. 

 

Perranoski worked for the Dodgers as a minor-league pitching coach (1973-80), and major-league pitching coach (1981-94). He had worked for the Giants since 1995. 

 

New York Times obituary  

 

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette obituary

  

RIP - Lou Johnson

Lou Johnson, an outfielder for the Dodgers and others in the 1960s, passed away on October 1, 2020 at age 86.

Johnson began his major-league career in 1960, playing a handful of games for the Cubs. After playing in one game in 1961 for the Angels, he was with the Milwaukee Braves for the 1962 season. 

 

Following 2 full seasons in the minors, "Sweet Lou" played 3 solid seasons with the Dodgers from 1965-67, having been called up in mid-May '67 to replace Tommy Davis, who broke an ankle. 

 

Johnson played for the Cubs, Indians, and Angels in his final 2 seasons (1968-69).  

CBS-LA obituary  

ESPN obituary 

 

RIP - Jim Owens

 

Catching up, after giving Gibson, Ford, and Morgan their due... 

 

 

Jim Owens, who pitched for the Phillies, Reds, and Astros from 1955-67, passed away on September 9, 2020 at age 86.

Owens pitched for the Phillies from 1955-1962, and was one of the infamous "Dalton Gang" members (with Turk Farrell and others). 

He was traded to the Reds after the 1962 season for 2nd baseman Cookie Rojas. Working in the Phillies' starting rotation from 1959-1962, he was primarily a reliever after leaving Philadelphia. 

Owens wrapped up his career with a stint in the Astros' bullpen from 1964-1967, reunited with his old pal Farrell. 

He retired in early-July 1967, and became the Astros' pitching coach through the 1972 season.

RIP - Joe Morgan

 

Today I read a couple of half-assed obituary posts by the same baseball card blogger. 

 

On Eddie Van Halen: 

"Getting the sad news out of the way first. RIP Eddie Van Halen." 

And then he went on to other baseball card topics as usual. 

"Out of the way"? That's your tribute? No personal recollections of being a fan, or maybe of having seen his shows? Why even bother? 

 

It gets even worse for his Joe Morgan obit: 

"Lost another one today. RIP" 

That's it? Not even a mention of his name? No cursory baseball card from the many that can be found on the internet? Were you a fan of him as a player, or of the Reds? Or did you just know of him as a talking head announcer? 

He didn't even have another topic to dive into. Just 5 lazy words. Show some respect dude, or don't bother. 

(It's not like you are breaking the news for us.) 

 

(Ahh, I shouldn't criticize other bloggers. Underperforming baseball players, yes. Topps, yes. Bloggers, no.) 

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Joe Morgan passed away on October 11, 2020 at age 77.

As everyone knows, he played the majority of his career with the Astros and Reds. What I had forgotten was that he returned to the Astros for one year (1980), when his team met the Phillies in the NLCS. 

 

He later played for the Giants, Phillies, and Athletics. While with the Phillies in 1983, he was reunited with Pete Rose and Tony Perez. 

 

I also didn't realize that in recent years he was working for the Reds. 

 

Cincinnati Enquirer obituary  

 

New York Times obituary 

RIP - Whitey Ford

 

Yankees' great Whitey Ford passed away on October 8, 2020 at age 91.

 

 

 

Ford played for the Yankees from 1950 to 1967. This is his final baseball card. 

 

He retired on Memorial Day in 1967. Here is a newspaper photo I saved from the day he announced his retirement:

Ford still holds the record for most wins by a Yankees' pitcher (236). He also holds the major-league record for most World Series wins (10) and strikeouts (94).  

New York Post obituary  

ESPN obituary

RIP - Bob Gibson

 

Former Cardinals' ace Bob Gibson passed away on October 2, 2020 at age 84.

(Gibson's card from 1968 - The Year of the Pitcher) 

 

Gibby played for the Cardinals for 17 years - from 1959 to 1975. He won the MVP in 1968 and the Cy Young Award in 1968 and 1970. 

Rather than list all his accomplishments again, here is a link to a previous blog post where I listed those. He was also a pretty good hitter for a pitcher, hitting 24 career home runs. 

In 1967, en route to the Cardinals' 2nd NL pennant in 4 seasons, Gibson's leg was broken by a line drive off the bat of Roberto Clemente. He stayed in the game for a few more batters until reluctantly coming out! He missed 7 weeks from mid-July to early-September, but the Cards clinched the pennant anyway in the first half of September. 

St. Louis Post-Dispatch obituary  

ESPN obituary

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