
May deaths
1) Sam Mele – Mele enjoyed a decade-long career as a quality hitter in the major leagues, breaking in with a .302 batting average in 1947 with the Red Sox. He hit .267/.328/.408 over his career, but played mostly first base, which asked more than the 80 home runs he offered in over 1,000 MLB games.
Mele had a very impressive run at the helm of the Minnesota Twins after playing, taking over the manager job at just 39 years old. He would end up winning over 500 games, including winning the 1965 American League title, leading the Twins to the World Series in just their 5th year in Minnesota. He was 95.
14) Steve Palermo – One of the most popular umpires in the game while he was in the game, Palermo is a rarity among umpires who has his number unofficially retired among his fellow umpires, as it has not been worn again since Palermo retired following paralysis following being shot when Palermo intervened in an attempted robbery outside of a Dallas restaurant.
He was an umpire from 1977 to 1991 in the major leagues, umpiring the 1983 World Series and 1986 All-Star Game among his career highlights. Palermo served in the role of reviewing and supervising umpires after his retirement from active umpiring. He was 67.
15) Bob Kuzava – Kuzava spent his career as a swingman around various teams, pitching for 8 teams in 10 seasons. The most distinctive thing about Kuzava’s career, where he posted a 4.05 ERA over 862 innings was that he was truly a midseason hired gun, being moved midseason in half of his ten seasons in the major leagues. He was 93 years old.
19) Steve Waterbury – Waterbury was signed out of high school and the 6’5″ righty pitched his way through the Cardinals minor league system in the 1970s, making his debut in 1976. He would make only 5 major league appearances, and he never go to the major leagues again, ending up out of baseball after the 1978 season. Waterbury was 65.
19) Ed Mierkowicz – Mierkowicz, ironically nicknamed “Mouse”, stood 6’4″ and over 200 pounds, making the major leagues in his second professional season. He never could translate his power from the minor leagues to the major leagues, though, and he played just 35 major league games. He hit 129 minor league home runs over 13 seasons played. He was 93.
19) Dave McDonald – One of the premier college hitters in the nation in his final season at the University of Nebraska, McDonald came to the Yankees with the expectation of developing into a powerful left-handed presence in the lineup. McDonald worked his way to the major leagues slowly, flashing power, but seemingly getting caught up in the shuffle of a deep Yankees farm system at the time. By the time he made his major league debut at 26, he’d already hit 80 minor league home runs.
He struggled to make major league contact, hitting .145 in 33 games across 2 seasons, and he was out of baseball after the 1974 season, having hit 165 minor league home runs. He passed away at 73 years old.
26) Jim Bunning – The first Hall of Fame player to pass away in 2017, Bunning had a pretty remarkable life, all things considered, and an entire article could be dedicated just to his accomplishments.
Though he was the ace of the 1964 Philadelphia Phillies team that collapsed down the stretch, losing the National League pennant, Bunning actually spent over half of his major league career with the Detroit Tigers in the 1950s to the early 1960s.
Bunning made 9 All-Star games, finished 2nd in the 1967 NL Cy Young voting, and finished with 224 career wins. He was selected to the Hall of Fame in 1996 by the Veteran’s Committee.
Bunning served as a Congressman from Kentucky, as both a Representative and a Senator, developing a reputation for being direct and blunt in his approach on Capital Hill. He was 85.