In this edition, I'm going to stick to the baseball world.
Goodbye to Joe Pepitone at the age of 82.
Once thought to be the next superstar in the New York Yankee dynasty, Joe Pepitone had a good career but was the face of the crumbling of the Yankees after their 1964 American League pennant.
Pepitone made three All-Star teams, won three Gold Gloves, and hit over twenty-six homers five times but is remembered more for his antics away from the diamond as the Yankees moved to the second division in the mid and late 60s.
Pepitone is prominently mentioned in Jim Bouton's book "Ball Four" with some of his wild affairs as well as his own memoir "Joe, You could have made us proud" with even more wild stories.
Pepitone would struggle after leaving New York through three seasons spent with the Astros, Cubs, and Braves before a cameo in Japan ended his career in 1973.
Goodbye to Tim McCarver at the age of 81,
Known by most for his long-time career as a commentator, McCarver was a solid catcher for over twenty years for mostly the Cardinals and Phillies.
McCarver made two All-Star teams and was the catcher for the 1964 and 1967 World Champion Cardinals and spent the latter half of the 1970s with his career thought to be close to finish, McCarver found new life in a second stint as a Phillie when former Cardinal teammate Steve Carlton insisted that the team not only keep McCarver as a backup but play when Carlton pitched rather than the normal starter Bob Boone.
McCarver would move into the television booth for both CBS and Fox nationally as well as calling local games for the Yankees and Mets.
Goodbye to Jesus Alou at the age of 80.
The youngest of the three Alou brothers, Jesus wasn't a power hitter in his career, which lasted from 1963-79 for four teams but was an excellent pinch hitter and the perfect fourth outfielder.
Jesus won two World Series rings with the 1973 and 74 Athletics and will always be a part of baseball history in his rookie season with the Giants as the first trio of brothers to bat in the same inning and later in the year, all three brothers playing in the same outfield.
Goodbye to Albie Pearson at the age of 88.
The 1958 American League Rookie of the Year as a Washington Senator, at 5'5 140 pounds, Pearson was the smallest player in baseball during his career.
Pearson won the ROY with Washington but his best seasons were as part of the expansion Los Angeles Angels, where he made his only All-Star team in 1963 when hitting. 303 for his only season batting over .300.
A back injury forced Pearson into retirement in 1966 and after his career, Pearson would become an ordained minister and would remain involved in ministries for the rest of his life.
Goodbye to Dave Nicholson at the age of 83.
Known for his booming home runs and his bushels of strikeouts, Nicholson was brought to the big leagues by the Orioles in 1960 but spent most of his career with the White Sox, who acquired him as part of the trade that sent Luis Aparicio to Baltimore.
Nicholson hit a career-high twenty-two homers in 1963 but struck out a league-leading 175 times as well.
In 1964, Nicholson blasted a ball that was found across the street from Comiskey Park that cleared the grandstand and was measured at 573 feet in a doubleheader against the Kansas City Athletics that would see Nicholson hit three of his thirteen homers for the season on one day.
Nicholson finished his career with Atlanta in 1967.
An excellent look at Nicholson by Mike Kaszuba on the SABR website can be found here.
Goodbye to John Adams at the age of 71.
Adams was the man that pounded the drum at Cleveland Indians games from 1973 through 2019.
It was Adams that would provide the thump that could be heard over many a broadcast from a seven-eighths empty Cleveland Municipal Stadium and continued up to the pandemic season of 2020, where Adams was invited by the team to drum but Adams didn't feel right until other fans could attend.
Health issues would keep Adams from the ballpark in the two seasons following the pandemic.
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