Is the 1990s Cub Pitcher Death Phenomenon Unusual?

With the recent release of the February 2018 SABR Biographical Research Committee newsletter, it was revealed that a few deaths from years past slipped through the cracks. One of them was former lefty reliever Doug Slaten, who last played in 2012, but whose 2016 death somehow evaded the notice of the baseball world. Another was former journeyman righty reliever Randy Veres, who also died in 2016. The thing about Veres, though, is that he is yet another deceased pitcher from the 1990s-era Cubs, as he showed up on their staff in 1994.

The tally of Cub pitcher deaths from 1991 to 2000 (yes, I shifted the window slightly to include one player) now stands as follows:

Rod Beck (June 23, 2007)
Geremi Gonzalez (May 25, 2008)
Kevin Foster (October 11, 2008)
Dave Smith (December 17, 2008)
Jessie Hollins (July 9, 2009)
Frank Castillo (July 28, 2013)
Ruben Quevedo (June 7, 2016)
Randy Veres (November 7, 2016)
Anthony Young (June 27, 2017)

That's nine players, all hurlers. No Cub non-pitcher deaths have been reported from that same era, and no deaths at all have been reported from the 1986-90 Cubs.

Out of curiosity, I've decided to compare the number of Cub deaths from 1991-2000 to other teams from the same era. Let's see how many individual players have been reported dead from each franchise:

	Deaths	Pitchers
Angels	4	2
Astros	10	6
Athletics	4	2
Blue Jays	5	4
Braves	4	2
Brewers	3	0
Cardinals	2	1
Cubs	9	9
Devil Rays	2	1
Diamondbacks	0	0
Dodgers	3	1
Expos	5	2
Giants	5	3
Indians	4	3
Mariners	3	2
Marlins	4	2
Mets	5	2
Orioles	9	6
Padres	5	0
Phillies	7	4
Pirates	2	2
Rangers	5	3
Red Sox	5	2
Reds	2	2
Rockies	4	3
Royals	5	4
Tigers	9	5
Twins	3	0
White Sox	3	0
Yankees	3	3

The data show the Astros with the most total player deaths, but the Cubs have the lead in pitcher deaths, with three more than the Orioles and Astros, who tie for second. While it's probably nothing more than a statistical anomaly, it does seem odd that I picked up on the trend in 2013 and it's only continued since then. You'd think at some point it would even out a bit. We'll have to keep our eyes on this phenomenon.