2002 in baseball

Deaths

January-March

• January 31 - Harry Chiti, 69, who spent parts of 10 seasons at the Major League level as a catcher for the Chicago Cubs.
• February 11 - Frankie Crosetti, 91, an All-Star and the longest serving member of the New York Yankees, who played and coached for the franchise over a span of 37 seasons.
• March 11 - Al Cowens, 50, an All-Star and Gold Glove Award right fielder who played with the Kansas City Royals, California Angels, Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners in a 13-year career.
• March 12 - Steve Gromek, 82, an All-Star pitcher winner of 123 games in a 17-year career, and a member of the 1948 World Champion Cleveland Indians.
• March 24 - Minnie Rojas, 63, a relief pitcher for the California Angels, who in 1967 finished with 27 saves to lead the American League, and also set a team record that was broken by Donnie Moore in 1985 with 31 saves.

April-June

• April 3 - Karl Swason, 100, a White Sox second baseman, who at the time of his death was the oldest living former Major League Baseball player.
• April 26 - John Davis, 87, briefly a major league player with the New York Giants, had 70 career at bats.
• May 28 - Wes Westrum, 79, a two-time All-Star catcher who played with the New York Giants and managed the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants.
• June 18 - Jack Buck, 77, one of most distinctive voices in sports.
• June 22:
• Darryl Kile, 33, a three-time All-Star pitcher who threw a no-hitter as a member of the Houston Astros, died in his sleep as his St. Louis Cardinals team prepared to continue a series at Wrigley Field.
• Ron Kline, 70, a relief pitcher who spent 17 seasons over 19 years in Major League Baseball, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates, compiling a 114-144 record and 108 saves.
• June 27 - Ralph Erickson, a Pirates pitcher, who with the death of Karl Swanson on April 3, 2002 became baseball's oldest living player, died two days after his 100th birthday.
• June 30 - Pete Gray, 77, an outfielder who played in major league for the St. Louis Browns with just one arm.

July-September

• July 5 - Ted Williams, 83, a Hall of Fame member who played his entire career with the Boston Red Sox, and who accomplishments included two Triple Crowns, two MVP awards and six batting crowns, including a .406 season in 1941 (the last major league player to hit .400 in a single season).
• August 5 - Darrell Porter, 50, a four-time All-Star catcher and the MVP of the 1982 World Series.
• August 12 - Enos Slaughter, 86, a Hall of Fame member and a 10-consecutive All-Star, who played for a number of winning teams including the Cardinals and Yankees.
• August 16 - John Roseboro, 69, who followed Roy Campanella as the Dodgers' full-time catcher, and who is well remembered for his scuffle with Juan Marichal.
• August 23 - Hoyt Wilhelm, 79, the first relief pitcher inducted to the Hall of Fame, and a five-time All-Star who pitched for 21 seasons for nine teams, but spent most of his career with the New York Giants, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox.
• September 25 - Ray Hayworth, 98, a catcher who spent 15 seasons in major legues; was a member of the Detroit teams that won the World Series in 1934 and 1935; set a record of 439 consecutive chances without an error that was later broken by Yogi Berra, and who at the time of his death, was the oldest living major league player.

October-December

• October 20 - Mel Harder, 93, a four-time All-Star pitcher and a 223 games winner during a 20-year career with the Cleveland Indians.
• November 10 - Ken Raffensberger, 85, an All-Star pitcher who in a 15-year pitching career won 119 games with a 3.60 ERA for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds.
• December 1 - Dave McNally, 60, a left-handed pitcher who was a crucial component to the Orioles' dynastic run from 1966 to 1971, and who had also refused to sign a contract for 1975 and help the Players Association in making a better case for free agency.
• December 15 - Dick Stuart, 70, a first baseman with the Pirates, Red Sox, Phillies, Mets, Dodgers and Angels, who hit .264 in his career with 228 home runs and 743 RBI, and became the first major league player to hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs in both leagues.