The only man to be chosen three times in the first round of an MLB Draft doesn't have any stats on his Baseball Reference page. Learn about Mike Bates, who died this week at 67:

Stu Tate pitched in 2 games for the 1989 San Francisco Giants. All the outs he ever recorded in the majors came in 1 game, and all the hits he ever allowed came in the other. Rotator cuff surgery the following year derailed his career. Tate died from a heart attack on January 13 at age 63.

Clinton "Tiny" Forge, a Negro Leagues catcher who played for the Detroit Stars in the 1950s, died on January 25 at the age of 90. He was one of 4 Birmingham ballplayers who threw out a ceremonial first pitch when the Giants and Cardinals played at Rickwood Field in 2024. www.al.com/sports/2026/...

There’s out of touch, there’s wildly delusional, and then there’s whatever the fuck this is from Rep. Nancy Mace.

So much of Wilbur Wood's career is one statistical anomaly after another: 88 appearances in 1968, 376.2 innings pitched in 1972, 90 wins in a 4-year span. It's a long career to cover, but the story of how Wood went from a failed prospect to one of the best pitchers in the game is a good one.

Only two players from the champion 1957 Milwaukee Braves are alive - OF John Demerit (a Wisconsin native) & pitcher Taylor Phillips. Only Demerit, with one pinch running appearance, played in World Series. Ray Crone was traded to NY Giants that June.

Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest American songwriter that no one remembers, Blaze Foley. Give him two minutes and he might change your life.

Pictured: one birdbrain. And one emperor penguin.

Ray Crone began his major-league career with the Milwaukee Braves on April 13, 1954 -- the same game as Henry Aaron's AL/NL debut. Crone, the last survivor from that historic game, died on January 15 at age 94. He pitched for the Braves & Giants for 5 years and then became a long-time scout.

After learning that we need an entirely new heating/AC unit days before a blizzard is expected to blast central PA, I’ll now be happy to take sponsored articles on RIP Baseball. The first 30 features about gambling and crypto will post tomorrow!

January 21, 1793: King Louis XIV of France fails to improve country’s financial woes, is executed by guillotine. January 21, 2026: President Donald Trump worsens country’s financial woes, travels to Switzerland & threatens to take over Greenland in a speech. Which he calls Iceland repeatedly.

The Dave Giusti story is about more than a great 1970s closer. It's about overcoming your self doubts and believing in your own abilities, and it's about standing up for your principles when you have nothing to win. Giusti, a 15-year MLB veteran, died at the age of 86 on Jan. 11.

Unfortunately, the New York Times now is reporting the death of Wilbur Wood at age 84 Link: behind a paywall unfortunately (www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/s...)

RIP Baseball typically dives deeper into the sports's history than... last year. But a historic team like the 2025 Colorado Rockies is the perfect subject for a Weird Stats column. Before we start focusing on 2026, let's take a last look at a terrible team & a fanbase that deserves so much more.

New at Can We Still Govern? "I am writing as an ordinary citizen of Minneapolis/St Paul...to share with the outside world what is really going on ─ the terror being inflicted upon a U.S. city and state by our federal government." Please read, share, help. 🧵 donmoynihan.substack.com/p/dispatch-f...

The driver who was responsible for the 2024 car crash that killed former major-league player & coach Mike Brumley has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, with 4 years suspended. She had a blood-alcohol level of 0.188% at the time of the crash, police said. Read more: www.wlbt.com/2026/01/14/w...

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that Dave Giusti has died at age 86. Giusti pitched for 15 seasons between 1962 and 1977. He spent 7 years with the Pirates, 6 with the Astros and 1 each with the Cardinals, A’s & Cubs. He won 100 games & saved 145, and he was an All-Star with Pittsburgh in 1973.

In terms of records that will never be broken, the name of Al Jurisich usually doesn't come up. But he did something in his 1944 major-league debut that we'll likely never see again. His career also ended due in part to the Army's methods of "healing" its soldiers. Read more in our new Grave Story.

If you want to watch a movie about a hooker who falls in love with a rich client, go see “Pretty Woman” instead of “Melania.”

Are newspapers having a contest today to see which one can publish the dumbest shit possible?

Please stop and read this statement from Renee Good's wife.

Louisiana native Jim Willis pitched pretty effectively as a mop-up reliever for the Chicago Cubs in 1953 and '54. Those teams were so bad that the only way he managed 2 career wins was to throw back-to-back complete games in 1953. Willis died on Jan. 2 at the age of 98.

Our 4-part In Memoriam series wraps up with a final set of remembrances. It includes Hall of Famers Ryne Sandberg & Bob Uecker, Jeff Torborg, Rich Rollins, Bob Veale, Scott Sauerbeck, centenarian Art Schallock, and baseball's "Last Commissioner" Fay Vincent.

An abbreviated Part 3 of RIP Baseball’s 2025 recap, including Dave Parker, Rod Nichols, Dave Morehead, Felix Mantilla, Rob Mallicoat, Jim Marshall, Nate Oliver and Jesus Montero. I hope to wrap the series up tomorrow.

We lost too many baseball greats this year. On this - the last day of 2025 - I wrote about the former Toronto Blue Jays who passed away over the last 12 months. is.gd/Fas83l

We continue our look back at 2025 by remembering award winners Tommy Helms, Randy Jones, Walt Jocketty and Davey Johnson, as well as Chet Lemon, Eddie Fisher, Bobby Jenks, Scott Klingenbeck, Betsy "Sockum" Jochum and others.

Part One of RIP Baseball's annual year-end recap includes Sandy Alomar, Lee Elia, Mike Campbell, George Altman, Jim Clancy, Joe Coleman, and both ex-ballplayers who died in the tragic nightclub collapse in the Dominican Republic this past April.

I stood next to Tom Glavine as we waited for our kids to get dismissed from grade school. Have each other the dad head nod. Then he and his son drove off in his gorgeous convertible and my daughter and I drove off in my used Kia minivan.

It's not easy to have a career .199 batting average along with a 115 career OPS+, but Frank Fernandez pulled it off. Weird Stats author Al Doyle makes his case that Fernandez, a catcher/outfielder for the Yankees, Senators, A's & Cubs in the 1960s & '70s, is the best sub-.200 of all time.

As a native of Seattle, Mike Campbell's boyhood dream came true when he became a 1st Round draft pick of the Mariners in 1985. He pitched for 4 MLB teams from 1987-1996, with his best work coming with the Cubs in 1996. Campbell died at the age of 61 on December 15.

Pulled this from a mystery Christmas box from one of my local card shops. Guess I was on the nice list or something.

Merry Christmas from Jingle Bear, the Reluctant Elf.

Season's Greetings from RIP Baseball, and a brief update on why things have been a little quiet around here.

RIP Andy Kosco. Never a star outfielder, but always found his way onto good teams.

In 1975-76, Randy Jones' array of sliders, sinkers and 70mph fastballs induced nothing but weak ground balls, and he became a 2X 20-game winner, an ERA champ & Cy Young Award winner. Arm injuries didn't allow him to return to that level, but he remains one of the best pitchers in Padres history.

Mike Campbell may be best known as one of the players sent to the Montreal Expos for future HOFer Randy Johnson, but he also spent parts of 6 seasons in the majors. I remember his 1988 Donruss Rated Rookie & Topps Future Stars cards well. He was a local baseball legend in Seattle. RIP Mike.

Matt Shaw: replacement-level ball player, Rob Schneider-level dipshit.

Your 1970 Tiger of the Year was none other than Tom Timmermann. Though he didn't reach the majors until he was 29, he had 1 season as a record-setting Detroit closer. And years later, he learned he was the father of Angels pitcher Phil Leftwich. Timmermann died on Nov. 14 at age 85.

Never really tried online auctions for baseball cards before, but I got a majority of the 1980 Topps set and a good chunk of 1978 for cheap, plus a bunch of these 1950s beauties. That about doubles the number of ‘50s cards that I own. Nice to get HOFers like Monte Irvin & George Kell for $3-$4 each.

God bless Raul Malo, one of the finest singers God ever put on this earth.

Bill Pleis had a 6-year career as a Twins reliever and had a 2.98 ERA during the pennant-winning 1965 season. After his playing career, he was a scout for 35 years with the Astros and Dodgers. And his entire major-league career began with a case of mistaken identity. Pleis, 88, died on October 17.

I was forced into Spotify because all the mp3s were eating up my phone storage, but a month’s worth of listening confirmed I’m a weirdo. And my listening age is 45, which I’ll take as a compliment.

Andruw Jones’ Texas Rangers luggage tag. He had an estate sale at his house in suburban Atlanta. I used to own one of his inflatable Halloween decorations but it ripped a hole and got moldy. Let me tell you, Druw Jones’ childhood bedroom was friggin’ amazing.

A 10-10 record looks remarkably average, but Paul Skenes won an NL Cy Young Award with it. He also led the NL in ERA, and he's not the first pitcher to post a league-leading ERA with a 10-10 record. This Weird Stats column looks at other pitchers who prove wins & losses aren't everything.

Why are Democrats searching for a new slogan when “Lock the Bastards Up” is right there?

An email I got from the @inquirer.com earlier this week, presented without further comment.

In his quest to be a major-league pitcher, Rob Mallicoat had his left shoulder reconstructed -- twice. Ultimately, injuries forced him from the game, but he did pitch in more than 50 games for the Astros between 1987-92. Mallicoat died on October 19 at age 60, after a long battle with colon cancer.

Mom’s rehab from her stroke was interrupted this week by a hospital stay that almost went very badly. I think we’re on the other side of it, fortunately. Our Thanksgiving meal will be whatever Chinese takeout place in Arlington Heights is open, but I don’t care. Never been more thankful in my life.

Man, what a loss. George Altman played for Buck O'Neil and Casey Stengel, and shared an outfield with Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Orlando Cepeda, Frank Robinson — in one game! #RIP

Sad news from MLB this morning. Randy Jones, 1975 Cy Young Award winner for the San Diego Padres, has died at the age of 75. www.mlb.com/news/randy-j...