Half the Guys Are Gone

For today's post, I''m just going to share some data I've compiled and you can make of it what you will.

At what point are half the players on a team deceased? If the total number of players (let's call it variable n) is odd, it'd be when the number of deceased players is equal to (n + 1 / 2). If you have an even number of players, it's when the number of deceased players is (n / 2). I looked at the years that were multiples of ten between 1910 and 1960 to see which players marked the halfway point of the players being deceased for each of them, and also how long it took to occur. For a couple from 1960, they didn't even reach that level till earlier this year. I also looked at how it compared to the average age of the team to see how strong the correlation was.

1910	Name	Death Date	Years	Avg Age
Pittsburg	Howie Camnitz	3/2/1960	50	28.3
Philadelphia (AL)	Jack Coombs	4/15/1957	47	27.6
Cincinnati	Frank Roth	3/27/1955	45	26.2
Cleveland	Heinie Berger	2/10/1954	44	28.2
Boston (AL)	Bunny Madden	1/20/1954	44	25.5
Chicago (AL)	Fred Payne	1/16/1954	44	27.1
Brooklyn	Rube Dessau	5/6/1952	42	25.9
New York (NL)	Doc Crandall	8/17/1951	41	25.7
Washington	Doc Ralston	8/29/1950	40	27.9
Boston (NL)	Jim Riley	3/25/1949	39	26.5
Detroit	Marv Peasley	12/27/1948	38	27.8
New York (AL)	Walter Blair	8/20/1948	38	27.4
St. Louis (NL)	Rebel Oakes	3/1/1948	38	26.4
Chicago (NL)	Mordecai Brown	2/14/1948	38	29.0
St. Louis (AL)	Hub Northen	10/1/1947	37	28.2
Philadelphia (NL)	Kitty Bransfield	5/1/1947	37	29.0
MLB AVG			41.4	27.3

r = -0.18

1920	Name	Death Date	Years	Avg Age
Pittsburgh	Billy Southworth	11/15/1969	49	27.6
Philadelphia (AL)	Chick Galloway	11/7/1969	49	24.7
New York (AL)	Rip Collins	5/27/1968	48	27.8
Cleveland	Ray Caldwell	8/17/1967	47	29.3
Brooklyn	Doug Baird	6/13/1967	47	30.1
Chicago (NL)	Hippo Vaughn	5/29/1966	46	29.3
Philadelphia (NL)	Gene Paulette	2/8/1966	46	28.9
Washington	Bill Hollahan	11/27/1965	45	27.2
Cincinnati	Jimmy Ring	7/6/1965	45	29.1
Boston (AL)	Wally Schang	3/6/1965	45	28.1
Detroit	Oscar Stanage	11/11/1964	44	28.9
St. Louis (AL)	Roy Sanders	7/8/1963	43	28.5
Chicago (AL)	Dickey Kerr	5/4/1963	43	29.4
Boston (NL)	Ray Powell	10/16/1962	42	27.9
St. Louis (NL)	Burt Shotton	7/29/1962	42	26.4
New York (NL)	Frank Snyder	1/5/1962	42	26.9
MLB AVG			45.2	28.1

r = -0.06

1930	Name	Death Date	Years	Avg Age
New York (NL)	Hughie Critz	1/10/1980	50	27.2
Cleveland	Milt Shoffner	1/19/1978	48	27.3
Boston (NL)	Lance Richbourg	9/10/1975	45	29.6
Cincinnati	Marty Callaghan	6/23/1975	45	29.6
New York (AL)	Ownie Carroll	6/8/1975	45	27.0
Detroit	Jimmy Shevlin	10/30/1974	44	26.7
Pittsburgh	Steve Swetonic	4/22/1974	44	26.7
Chicago (AL)	Bennie Tate	10/27/1973	43	27.4
St. Louis (NL)	Frankie Frisch	3/12/1973	43	29.6
Chicago (NL)	Danny Taylor	10/11/1972	42	29.4
Boston (AL)	Charlie Berry	9/6/1972	42	28.6
St. Louis (AL)	General Crowder	4/3/1972	42	28.7
Brooklyn	Ray Phelps	7/7/1971	41	28.9
Philadelphia (NL)	Tripp Sigman	3/8/1971	41	27.1
Washington	Bobby Burke	2/8/1971	41	29.1
Philadelphia (AL)	Pinky Higgins	3/21/1969	39	28.7
MLB AVG			43.4	28.2

r = -0.35

1940	Name	Death Date	Years	Avg Age
Boston (NL)	Hank Majeski	8/9/1991	51	26.3
Philadelphia (AL)	Wally Moses	10/10/1990	50	26.9
New York (NL)	Mickey Witek	8/24/1990	50	28.7
Philadelphia (NL)	Neb Stewart	6/8/1990	50	27.4
St. Louis (NL)	Creepy Crespi	3/1/1990	50	27.1
New York (AL)	Lefty Gomez	2/17/1989	49	28.1
Chicago (NL)	Zeke Bonura	3/9/1987	47	28.9
Cincinnati	Vince DiMaggio	10/3/1986	46	28.8
Detroit	Hank Greenberg	9/4/1986	46	29.4
St. Louis (AL)	George Susce	2/25/1986	46	28.2
Washington	Sam West	11/23/1985	45	26.8
Boston (AL)	Joe Glenn	5/6/1985	45	28.1
Cleveland	Hank Helf	10/27/1984	44	26.7
Brooklyn	Gus Mancuso	10/26/1984	44	28.4
Chicago (AL)	Joe Kuhel	2/26/1984	44	29.4
Pittsburgh	Ed Leip	11/24/1983	43	27.6
MLB AVG			46.9	27.9

r = -0.31

1950	Name	Death Date	Years	Avg Age
Washington	Sandy Consuegra	11/16/2005	55	28.6
St. Louis (AL)	Ribs Raney	7/7/2003	53	25.5
New York (AL)	Joe Ostrowski	1/3/2003	53	29.2
Chicago (NL)	Harry Chiti	1/31/2002	52	27.5
Boston (AL)	Bob Gillespie	11/4/2001	51	29.8
New York (NL)	Bill Rigney	2/20/2001	51	27.0
St. Louis (NL)	Tom Poholsky	1/6/2001	51	29.1
Boston (NL)	Willard Marshall	11/5/2000	50	29.2
Chicago (AL)	John Perkovich	9/16/2000	50	28.4
Philadelphia (NL)	Ken Heintzelman	8/14/2000	50	26.5
Brooklyn	Pee Wee Reese	8/14/1999	49	27.5
Cleveland	Early Wynn	4/4/1999	49	29.2
Philadelphia (AL)	Ben Guintini	12/2/1998	48	31.2
Detroit	Hal Newhouser	11/10/1998	48	28.2
Pittsburgh	Stan Rojek	7/9/1997	47	28.6
Cincinnati	Bobby Adams	2/13/1997	47	27.5
MLB AVG			50.3	28.3

r = -0.19

1960	Name	Death Date	Years	Avg Age
Cleveland	Tito Francona	2/13/2018	58	28.2
Los Angeles	Wally Moon	2/9/2018	58	27.7
Detroit	Chico Fernandez	6/11/2016	56	28.6
San Francisco	Jim Davenport	2/18/2016	56	26.8
Kansas City	Ken Johnson	11/21/2015	55	28.3
St. Louis	Ray Sadecki	11/17/2014	54	28.6
Philadelphia	Al Dark	11/13/2014	54	26.1
Chicago (AL)	Gene Freese	6/19/2013	53	30.8
Milwaukee	Stan Lopata	6/15/2013	53	30.0
Boston	Tom Borland	3/2/2013	53	29.0
Chicago (NL)	Ed Bouchee	1/23/2013	53	28.1
Washington	Don Mincher	3/4/2012	52	27.4
New York	Andy Carey	12/15/2011	51	28.1
Pittsburgh	Gino Cimoli	2/12/2011	51	28.6
Baltimore	Al Pilarcik	9/20/2010	50	27.8
Cincinnati	Whitey Lockman	3/17/2009	49	27.3
MLB AVG			53.5	28.2

r = -0.05


The r variable, for anyone unaware, shows the strength of correlation. A negative number, as we see in each of these cases, shows that the higher the number of years until a team reaches the halfway point, the younger the average age of the team is. That's consistent with what we'd expect, but as we can see, the correlation isn't particularly strong in any of these cases. There's no higher than a 35% correlation in any instance, and in some cases it's close to zero.

I'm also not sure why from 1920 to 1930 the average number of years till a team reached the halfway point actually dropped. You'd think we'd see a steady rise, considering the increases in life expectancy over time.

I suppose I'll have to compile the data for more years than just these, to see if we can spot any trends, because six different years isn't exactly the largest sample size. We'll see what comes of that. To be continued? Maybe?

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.

R.I.P. Anthony Young

It's happened again. The curse of the 1990s Cub pitching staff claimed another, as Anthony Young passed away Tuesday from a brain tumor. I only have vague memories of Young, as I'd just started following baseball when he was with the Cubs, but I do remember his name and reading about his famous losing streak after the fact.

He's been preceded in death by six other Cubbie hurlers from the decade: Rod Beck, Geremi Gonzalez, Kevin Foster, Dave Smith, Jessie Hollins, Frank Castillo, and if you want to count the year 2000, Ruben Quevedo as well.

Rest in peace, Mr. Young. Your perseverance will never be forgotten.

The Tragic 1991 Orioles

With the news we received yesterday about the death of former Major League reliever Todd Frohwirth, most of us probably paused to lament the loss of such a young man. What most people probably didn’t stop to notice was that Frohwirth’s death was the continuation of an unfortunate trend. That trend? Members of the 1991 Baltimore Orioles dying.

In total, 42 players cracked the box score for the Orioles that final season at Memorial Stadium. Only 26 years later, seven of them have already passed on. One out of every six. That rate is staggering by modern-day standards. You’d have to go back to the Deadball Era, when lifespans were shorter, to see anything comparable.

It didn’t start out this way. At the end of 2010, all 42 of them were still with us. Nothing out of the ordinary. A team with all its players living nineteen years later is hardly unusual. The coaching staff, however, had already been hit hard by then. Johnny Oates, who began the season as bench coach and replaced Frank Robinson as manager, had been lost to cancer six years earlier. Three other coaches, Elrod Hendricks, Curt Motton, and Cal Ripken, Sr., had gone to the great beyond by that point too.

Not long into 2011 though, the players started joining them. The first to go was Francisco de la Rosa on January 6. His death didn’t get much attention here in the United States, as he was a relief pitcher whose entire career consisted of two late-season games for a non-contending team and a total of four innings.

The next one came later that year, and hit home with a lot more fans. Beloved pitcher, executive, and broadcaster Mike Flanagan committed suicide on August 24. The former Cy Young Award winner and franchise icon’s unexpected death was the sad end of an era, just before the long-struggling franchise turned the corner and began to contend again.

After that, another former lefty reliever, Kevin Hickey, died after a diabetes-related coma on May 16, 2012. Better known for his time with the White Sox, he spent three years with the Orioles, of which 1991 was the last.

This bunch managed to escape 2013 without losing anyone, but in 2014, it happened again. Once again it was a pitcher, this time right-hander Jeff Robinson. The journeyman hurler died on October 26 from “undisclosed health issues.”

Early in 2015, the ’91 O’s lost their first position player, and their second guy named Jeff, when utilityman Jeff McKnight lost his battle with leukemia on March 1.

As it had been in 2011, August 24 proved to be a fateful day in 2016, as infielder Juan Bell died from kidney disease in his native Dominican Republic.

And now in 2017, we have another to add to the list: Todd Frohwirth on March 26.

Does this amount to anything more than a statistical anomaly? My guess would be no. However, if I were in some way associated with the 1991 Orioles, I’d start living my life to the fullest. You never know who the grim reaper will claim next.

1950 vs. 1990: 24 Years Later

In my last post, I shared a list of deceased players from the 1990 season. Once again, here it is:

Giants (4): Dan Quisenberry, Russ Swan, Jose Uribe, Gary Carter
Astros (3): Andujar Cedeno, Ken Caminiti, Dave Smith
Blue Jays (3): John Cerutti, Mike Flanagan, Frank Wills
Dodgers (3): Tim Crews, Mike Sharperson, Brian Traxler
Phillies (2): Ron Jones, Darrel Akerfelds
Reds (2): Tim Layana, Rick Mahler
White Sox (2): Ivan Calderon, Carlos Martinez
Yankees (2): Oscar Azocar, Pascual Perez
Angels (1): Cliff Young
Brewers (1): Gus Polidor
Cardinals (1): Howard Hilton
Indians (1): Steve Olin
Mariners (1): Russ Swan
Orioles (1): Kevin Hickey
Padres (1): Eric Show
Red Sox (1): John Marzano
Twins (1): Kirby Puckett
Athletics (0)
Braves (0)
Cubs (0)
Expos (0)
Mets (0)
Pirates (0)
Rangers (0)
Royals (0)
Tigers (0)

I thought it would be interesting to compile the same information for another season and see if it told us anything interesting. The year I chose was 1950, since it's another year ending with zero, and it makes for simple comparison. Today is June 2, 2014, and no new deaths from 1990 have been reported since then. On June 2, 1974, how many players from the 1950 season had died? Here's how that list looks:

Braves (4): Vern Bickford, Bob Elliott, Murray Wall, Bob Chipman
Reds (4): Howie Fox, Willie Ramsdell, Ron Northey, Herm Wehmeier
Senators (4): Joe Haynes, Sherry Robertson, Mickey Harris, Roberto Ortiz
Tigers (4): Fred Hutchinson, Aaron Robinson, Bob Swift, Dizzy Trout
Athletics (3): Paul Lehner, Roberto Ortiz, Dick Fowler
Dodgers (3): Willie Ramsdell, Gil Hodges, Jackie Robinson
Indians (3): Herb Conyers, Sam Zoldak, Al Benton
Browns (2): Snuffy Stirnweiss, Cliff Fannin
Cubs (2): Monk Dubiel, Ron Northey
Giants (2): Tookie Gilbert, Hank Thompson
Pirates (2): Frank Papish, Danny O'Connell
Red Sox (2): Ellis Kinder, Vern Stephens
Cardinals (1): Al Brazle
Phillies (1): Eddie Waitkus
White Sox (1): Bill Salkeld
Yankees (1): Snuffy Stirnweiss

What a striking difference! Every single 1950 team had at least one deceased player 24 years later (or about 23 and a half, if you want to get technical), whereas a third of the 1990 teams didn't have any. The Giants were the only 1990 team with as many as four deceased players, whereas four 1990 teams had that many. 1990 had 29 total deceased players, whereas 1950 had 35, and that's with ten fewer teams using fewer players on average.

It might be more interesting to look at it in terms of percentages:






As we can see, 24 years later, 6.6% of the players from 1950 were dead, but 24 years after 1990, only 2.82% are dead. Only three 1990 teams had a higher percentage of deceased players than all of 1950 MLB did. I know that life expectancy has increased over the years, but seeing it laid out like this is quite fascinating. It'd be interesting to compare all this with an even earlier season, but I don't have that data compiled right now.

I'm reminded of the 1951 movie Angels in the Outfield. In the movie, there's a washed-up veteran pitcher named Saul Hellman who receives some heavenly help to get the Pirates into the pennant race. At one point in the movie, the angel who speaks to manager Guffy McGovern reveals that Saul is going to be called home next year, and that this season is his last hurrah. It seemed unusual to me to suppose that an active major leaguer was going to die so shortly after the end of his career, but at the time the movie was made, such a thing wasn't uncommon, and most viewers would've remembered an era when such things were even less uncommon. It seems that we've taken life more for granted the more advanced the methods of preserving it have become.

I think I'll continue to compile information like this. Perhaps I should do 1910 next, so that the backward progression is consistent.

Deceased players from 1990

All I've got for you right now is a list, but hopefully in the future we can do something more interesting with this information. As of right now, based on the records we have available, there are 29 deceased players from the 1990 season, and here's how they break down by team:

Giants (4): Dan Quisenberry, Russ Swan, Jose Uribe, Gary Carter
Astros (3): Andujar Cedeno, Ken Caminiti, Dave Smith
Blue Jays (3): John Cerutti, Mike Flanagan, Frank Wills
Dodgers (3): Tim Crews, Mike Sharperson, Brian Traxler
Phillies (2): Ron Jones, Darrel Akerfelds
Reds (2): Tim Layana, Rick Mahler
White Sox (2): Ivan Calderon, Carlos Martinez
Yankees (2): Oscar Azocar, Pascual Perez
Angels (1): Cliff Young
Brewers (1): Gus Polidor
Cardinals (1): Howard Hilton
Indians (1): Steve Olin
Mariners (1): Russ Swan
Orioles (1): Kevin Hickey
Padres (1): Eric Show
Red Sox (1): John Marzano
Twins (1): Kirby Puckett
Athletics (0)
Braves (0)
Cubs (0)
Expos (0)
Mets (0)
Pirates (0)
Rangers (0)
Royals (0)
Tigers (0) 

It's a bit incredible that one team from 24 years ago already has four dead members, while nine have none. In the future, I'd like to compare this data with data from other years to see what it tells us about the changes in life expectancy. For now, it's just an interesting curiosity for you.