2004 in baseball

Deaths

January

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•   2 - Paul Hopkins, 99, oldest living former major leaguer, and the pitcher who gave up record-tying 59th home run to Babe Ruth (1927)
•   2 - Lynn Cartwright, 76, actress, performed as the older version of Geena Davis' character in the 1992 baseball film A League of Their Own
•   3 - Leon Wagner, 69, All-Star slugger for SF Giants and expansion Angels, who hit 211 home runs during a 12-year major league career
•   5 - Tug McGraw, 59, Mets and Phillies reliever
• 17 - Mike Goliat, 82, member of the Phillies' Whiz Kids
• 15 - Gus Suhr, 98, Pittsburgh first baseman who set the National League record of 822 consecutive games played ?a mark that stood until Stan Musial broke it in 1957
• 17 - Harry Brecheen, 89, finished 3-0 with a 0.45 ERA in the 1946 World Series

February

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• 10 - Hub Kittle, 86, the pitching coach for the 1982 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals
• 16 - Charlie Fox, 82, a manager for the Giants, Expos and Cubs, who won the NL Manager of the Year Award in 1971
• 22 - Andy Seminick, 83, catcher, the last living everyday player for the Phillies' Whiz Kids

March

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•   2 - Marge Schott, 75, former Cincinnati Reds owner
•   6 - John Henry Williams, 35, son of Hall of Famer Ted Williams
• 18 - Gene Bearden, 83, a knuckleballer who completed a remarkable rookie season by closing out the Cleveland Indians' last World Series championship, in 1948
• 27 - Bob Cremins, 98, former Red Sox pitcher
• 29 - Al Cuccinello, 89, hit a home run in his first game with the NY Giants

April

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•   4 - George Bamberger, 80, former major league pitcher, coach and manager
•   6 - Lou Berberet, 74, catcher who played with the Senators, Yankees, Red Sox and Tigers
•   6 - Ken Johnson, 81, former Cardinals, Phillies and Tigers pitcher

May

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•   2 - Moe Burtschy, 82, pitcher who played for the Philadelphia & Kansas City Athletics
•   3 - Darrell Johnson, former major league catcher and manager
• 17 - Buster Narum, 63, pitcher who played with the Orioles and Senators

June

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•   4 - Wilmer Fields, 81, former Negro League Baseball All-Star
•   5 - Mack Jones, 65, hit the first grand slam in Expos history
• 16 - George Hausmann, 88, former second baseman for the NY Giants

July

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•   9 - Tony Lupien, 87, Red Sox first baseman and coach for Dartmouth College
• 26 - Rubén Gómez, 77, first pitcher born in Puerto Rico to win a game in a World Series and winner of the first regular-season game on the West Coast

August

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•   3 - Bob Murphy, 79, major league and Mets announcer
• 11 - Joe Falls, 76, a sports writer for the Free Press and Detroit News and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
• 23 - Hank Borowy, 88, the last pitcher to get four decisions in a World Series, when he went 2-2 with the Cubs against the Tigers in 1945
• 27 - Willie Crawford, 57, outfielder who debuted at age of 17 with the Los Angeles Dodgers

September

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•   7 - Bob Boyd, 84?, first black player to sign with the White Sox, and first Oriole to hit over .300 in the 20th century
•   7 - Hal Rennif, 66, former Yankees reliever

October

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•   3 - John Cerutti, 44, former pitcher and broadcastannouncer for the Blue Jays
• 10 - Ken Caminiti, 41, third baseman who won the National League MVP in 1996
• 17 - Ray Boone, 81, a two-time All-Star and patriarch of three-generation major league family, which included son Bob and grandsons Bret and Aaron
• 20 - Chuck Hiller, 70, first National League player to ever hit a grand slam in the World Series
• 26 - Bobby Avila, 79, a Mexican second baseman and three-time All-Star who won the American League batting title with Cleveland in 1954 ?the first Hispanic player to do it

November

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• 14 - Jesse Gonder, 68, former Yankees, Reds, Mets, Braves and Pirates catcher
• 24 - Tom Haller, 67, All-Star catcher who played with the Giants, Dodgers and Tigers, and later Giants' general manager
• 28 - Connie Johnson, 80, pitched in Negro and Major leagues
• 29 - Harry Danning, 93, All-Star catcher who played with the NY Giants

December

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• 10 - Ed Sudol, 84, MLB umpire both for Hank Aaron's 715th home run (1974) and Jim Bunning's perfect game (1964)
• 13 - Andre Rodgers, 70, first Bahamian major leaguer
• 14 - Danny Doyle, 87, Boston Red Sox catcher and the scout that signed Roger Clemens
• 14 - Rod Kanehl, 70, who hit the first grand slam in Mets history
• 15 - Larry Ponza, 86, baseball pitching machine innovator
• 16 - Bobby Mattick, 89, former major league player and manager
• 16 - Ted Abernathy, 71, closer who posted 148 saves in the majors
• 22 - Doug Ault, 54, hit the first home run in Blue Jays history
• 23 - Wilmer Harris, 80, star pitcher in Negro Leagues
• 24 - Johnny Oates, 58, former Rangers and Orioles manager
• 26 - Eddie Layton, 77, Organist for the New York Yankees for 38 seasons
• 29 - Ken Burkhart, 89, former pitcher and umpire in MLB
• 29 - Gus Niarhos, 84, who catched for the Yankees, White Sox, Red Sox and St. Louis Browns