April deaths
1) Katy Feeney – Feeney was the senior executive in charge of scheduling when she passed at 68 years old. She was a trailblazer for women in the game, the daughter of former National League President Charles S. Feeney. Katy Feeney worked in baseball for nearly 40 years, and she was noted for her willingness to encourage and assist women in getting into the game. At the winter meetings, Major League Baseball honored Feeney by hosting their first Katharine Feeney Leadership Symposium, inviting a contingent of women who are involved in the game and cover the game in media
3) Roy Sievers – Beginning his career as the 1949 Rookie of the Year for the St. Louis Browns, Sievers was one of the most feared sluggers of the 1950s, but he played on poor teams, meaning he was kept from the spotlight his impressive power truly deserved. Sievers did make 5 All-Star teams in his career, so he was recognized in his time, but he failed to get more than 1% of the ballot in Hall of Fame voting.
Sievers’ pair of seasons in 1957-1958 was as impressive as any in that era, as he hit .298/.373/.561 with 81 total home runs and more walks than strikeouts. Over his major league career, Sievers hit 318 home runs, with a .267/.354/.475 line.
6) Bob Cerv – In the 1950s, the Kansas City Athletics were often seen as the “farm team” for the New York Yankees, and Cerv was a good example, as he struggled to crack the starting lineup for six seasons with the Yankees before going to the Athletics, where from 1957 until he was traded back to the Yankees in 1960, he hit 75 home runs and put up a 129 OPS+.
Cerv would still not crack the Yankees starting lineup in 1960 or 1961, but he was a valuable reserve, such that the Yankees traded three players to the Angels for Cerv after he was drafted by the Angels in the expansion draft. Cerv was a .276/.340/.481 hitter for his career with 105 home runs in 829 games. Cerv was 91.
13) Vic Barnhart – The epitome of a wartime ballplayer, Barnhart was the son of a major league player, served his time in the service early in the war, and then when he returned, he found himself among the best options for the Pirates in 1945. His 71 games in the major leagues that season were nearly all of his 74 total in his career, spending 6 more seasons in the minor leagues before his career was finished. He was 94.
18) Vic Albury – Albury was a crafty lefty who spun four seasons with the Minnesota Twins in the mid-1970s as a swing man. He threw 372 2/3 innings over those four seasons with a 4.11 ERA, registering more walks than strikeouts. He was 69 when he passed away.
28) Luis Olmo – The second Puerto Rican to play in the major leagues, Olmo became the first Puerto Rican in MLB history to play in the World Series when he played in the 1949 seres. Olmo was on his way to being a tremendous player for the Dodgers, putting up a .313/.356/.462 season with 27 doubles, 13 triples, 10 home runs, and 15 stolen bases while playing center field.
He was banned as part of a group of Latin players who were banned at that time, missing 5 years in the prime of his career (his age 26-28 seasons completely gone). He returned to be a bench player for the Dodgers in 1949-1951, but was out of the game after ’51.