There are certain names in baseball that become bigger than the players themselves. Tommy John was one of them. His name became part of the baseball vocabulary, attached forever to a surgical procedure that has allowed thousands of pitchers including both starters in today's Mets game, to return to the mound after what once would have been a career-ending injury. But before there was “Tommy John surgery,” there was simply Tommy John the pitcher— a durable, stubborn, occasiona

There are baseball players you cover. There are players you interview. And then there are players you get to know. Butch Huskey was one of those players for me. That is why writing about his passing is considerably harder than writing a typical Kiner’s Korner in memoriam. piece. Butch wasn't simply a former Met whose career I followed from a distance. I got to know him through Mets Fantasy Camp, had him as a guest on my radio show, and later sat down with him for a Meet the M

Baseball lost one of its finest relief pitchers this weekend. Former Toronto Blue Jays standout Duane Ward, a key member of Toronto's back-to-back World Series championship teams in 1992 and 1993, passed away Sunday at the age of 62. The Blue Jays announced Ward died of natural causes in Toronto. Ward had returned to Toronto for the weekend celebration honoring the championship clubs but was unable to attend Saturday's unveiling of a statue commemorating those historic teams.

The New York Mets have announced the passing of Run Hunt, “Some folks give their bodies to science. I gave mine to baseball.” Those words belonged to Ron Hunt, and if there was ever a quote that perfectly captured a baseball player, it was that one. Ron Hunt was not the biggest star of his era. He was not a home run hitter. He was not a player who filled highlight reels with towering drives or dramatic celebrations. He was something different. He was a baseball player. The ki

There are baseball lifers. And then there was Phil Regan. For more than six decades, Regan dedicated his life to the game he loved. He pitched in the major leagues against Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. He won a World Series with the Dodgers, managed in the majors, coached in the Olympics, spent decades developing pitchers throughout professional baseball, and at 82 years old returned to the New York Mets as their pitching coach, proving that passion

Al Holland, one of the most intense and dependable relief pitchers of the 1980s, has passed away at the age of 73. While his most iconic moments came in Philadelphia, Holland’s career left its imprint across the National League—including some memorable battles with the Mets during his years with the Giants, Phillies, Pirates. He also pitched for the Angels, and Yankees. For a pitcher who essentially lived on adrenaline and late-inning pressure, Holland’s story was never going

Wes Gardner, the right-handed pitcher whose career seemed to swing between promise, reinvention, and frustration in equal measure, has passed away. Wesley Brian Gardner was one of those pitchers who filled every pitching role on a major-league roster—starter, reliever, closer, and emergency answer depending on the day, the need, and the state of his arm. Drafted by the New York Mets in the 22nd round of the 1982 MLB Draft out of the University of Central Arkansas, he entered

Baseball lost one of its great right-handed power hitters on Tuesday when former Atlanta Braves star Bob Horner passed away at the age of 68. And if you’re old enough to remember Horner in his prime, you probably still instinctively flinch whenever someone mentions a hanging slider. Horner was one of those players who looked like he could hit a baseball through a brick wall, then ask the brick wall if it needed directions home afterward. He wasn’t flashy. He wasn’t theatrical

Some players come and go through Mets history, their names tucked into the corners of scorecards and yearbooks, remembered mostly by the diehards who can still recite the 1973 roster from memory. Buzz Capra was one of those players. And yet, for those of us lucky enough to know him beyond the back of a baseball card, he was much more than a footnote. He was a warm laugh at Mets Fantasy Camp, a storyteller who could take you from Shea Stadium to a bullpen mound in Pittsburgh i

There are baseball lifers, and then there was Bobby Cox. The second group is much smaller. Cox, who passed away this week at the age of 84, never carried himself like a legend, even though the numbers practically screamed at you from the back of a baseball card. More than 2,500 managerial wins. Fourteen straight division titles with the Braves. A Hall of Fame plaque. Enough ejections to make Earl Weaver nod in approval from baseball heaven. Yet somehow, Bobby Cox always came

If baseball ever needed a poster child for the phrase “don’t judge a player by where he starts, or even where he’s standing today,” Phil Garner would have been the guy on the cover—probably wearing dirt, pine tar, and a look that suggested he’d just argued with gravity and won. Garner, who passed away on April 11, 2026, at the age of 76, was one of those players who seemed to collect positions the way some people collect frequent flyer miles. Second base, third base, shortsto

Some players wait for the game to come to them. Davey Lopes preferred to grab it by the collar, swipe second, and take third just to make a point. Lopes, who passed away at the age of 80, carved out a remarkable 16-year major league career, most notably with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he became the engine at the top of the lineup during one of the franchise’s golden eras. A late arrival to the big leagues, debuting at 27, he played the game with a sense of urgency that su

There are ballplayers you remember because they were stars, and then there are ballplayers you remember because they were part of the game’s fabric, the guys who somehow show up in all the right baseball stories, even if they weren’t always the headline. Doug Camilli was one of those guys. Doug, who passed away on March 17, 2026 at the age of 89, lived a baseball life that felt both inherited and earned. The son of Dolph Camilli, he grew up around the game at a time when club

At Kiner’s Korner we usually remember the men in uniform who swung the bats, toed the rubber, or chased fly balls into the gap. Today we remember the man in uniform who made sure they did it honestly, loudly, and within 17 uncompromising inches. Bruce Froemming passed away on February 25, 2026 at the age of 86. For 37 straight seasons, from 1971 through 2007, he stood where few dare to stand and fewer survive for long, squarely between a pitcher’s ego and a hitter’s paycheck.

Bill Mazeroski, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Hall of Fame second baseman and one of baseball’s most enduring figures, passed away Friday at age 89—just eight days after the passing of his 1960 World Series teammate Roy Face. While most fans will forever associate Mazeroski with his miraculous walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series against the Yankees, his career was defined by far more than that singular, electrifying swing. A ten-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Gl

Even before analytics baseball has always been a numbers game. Not the kind that requires spreadsheets and algorithms, but the kind where a handful of digits become shorthand for a life’s work. Say 60 or 714 and the mind drifts automatically to immortality. Mention 56, .406, or 511 and you don’t even need to attach the names. Numbers in this sport have a way of sticking to players like pine tar. Some careers are defined by one unforgettable line on a stat sheet. For Elroy “Ro

Terrance Gore was never the guy whose baseball card you bought for the home runs or batting titles. He was the guy managers quietly looked for when October tightened and ninety feet suddenly felt like a mile. And now, far too soon, he’s gone. News broke this weekend that Gore passed away Friday evening at the age of 34. Tributes quickly followed from across baseball — from organizations he suited up for and teammates who knew him — but the words that mattered most came from t

There are Hall of Famers, and then there are baseball lifers—guys who looked like they could’ve been sitting two stools down from you at the bar, but instead went out every fifth day and took the ball like it owed them money. Mickey Lolich was that guy. Lolich, who passed away on February 4, 2026 at the age of 85, described himself as “the beer-drinker’s idol,” and nobody ever accused him of false advertising. With his sturdy frame, soft belly (which he insisted was “all musc

Wilbur Wood never looked like a pitcher destined to be remembered. That may be the most fitting place to begin. He did not arrive early, he did not overwhelm hitters with power, and he did not follow a straight path to greatness. Yet when Wood passed away at 84, baseball said goodbye to one of its most unlikely and extraordinary careers, built on reinvention, endurance, and a pitch that defied convention. Before Mets fans marveled at R A Dickey bending time and logic with a

Dave Giusti, a name Mets fans may not immediately place on the all time villains list but one that somehow always feels familiar, passed away on January 11, 2026, at the age of 86 If you grew up watching the Mets in the late 1960s and 1970s, Giusti was not a headline name like Gibson or Carlton. He may have not scared you like they did. What he did do, reliably, persistently, and often, was show up. And very often, that meant showing up against the Mets. Giusti appeared in 6