http://www.highheatstats.com/2021/01/2020-hall-of-fame-remembrance-part-1/
2020 Hall of Fame Remembrance – Part 1.
HighHeatStats
The year just ended will long be remembered precisely because it was one we would like to forget. Baseball also took its lumps last year with a severely truncated season, experimental rules and a novel playoff format. The year 2020 was also a forgettable year for its toll on living Hall of Famers. No fewer than 7 Hall of Fame players passed away last year, several of them inner circle members of Cooperstown. After the jump, a tribute to those we lost last year.
Here is the honor roll of the 2020 departed.
Al Kaline (born 1934, died April 6th)
Tom Seaver (born 1944, died August 31st)
Lou Brock (born 1939, died September 6th)
Bob Gibson (born 1935, died October 2nd)
Whitey Ford (born 1927, died October 8th)
Joe Morgan (born 1943, died October 11th)
Phil Niekro (born 1939, died December 27th)
For the statistically minded about such things, seven Hall of Fame players dying within a single calendar year is a new record, surpassing the total of six who passed away during 1972 (the last being the tragic death of future HoFer and then active player Roberto Clemente, on the last day of that year). Though I haven’t checked this, I’m pretty confident that five HoFers passing within the space of six weeks (exactly 42 days) is also a record, and one not likely to be broken anytime soon.
I’ll briefly summarize the careers of these seven players and hopefully find some original statistical nugget to offer for each. I welcome your recollections about watching these great players or, for the younger set, any statistical insights you may have on their careers.
http://www.highheatstats.com/2021/01/2020-hall-of-fame-remembrance-part-2/
2020 Hall of Fame Remembrance – Part 2.
HighHeatStats
We continue our tribute to the Hall of Fame players who passed away in 2020. There were seven in total, a new record for any calendar year. In Part 1, we looked at the four whose careers spanned the 1950s, 60s and 70s. In this installment, we look at the remaining three whose careers extended into the 1980s. More after the jump.
