MLB: Hank Aaron, Tommy Lasorda and others we lost in 2021

In the last hours of a difficult year, it is time to remember to the baseball figures who said goodbye in 2021. The names are arranged alphabetically, according to the surname. Baseball MLB he was affected by his absences.

Hank Aaron (1934): One of the best and most important players in the history of baseball. It is impossible to summarize his entire career and life in one paragraph. He signed with the Indianapolis Clowns in the Negro Leagues when he was 18 years old, before debuting with the Milwaukee Braves a couple of months after celebrating his 20th birthday. Then, he became one of the top five players in the sport during, well, 22 more years. For a long time he was the all-time leader in home runs, with 755.

But Aaron was much more than a gunner, finishing with a .305 batting average and remaining the career leader in RBIs and total bases reached (plus, he stole 240 bases). In addition, he was a leader in the fight for civil rights off the field. One of the last things he did in his life was to encourage everyone to get the COVID-19 vaccine. There will be no other Hank Aaron. No one has ever come close to it.

Joe Altobelli (1932): A record in the minor leagues, playing almost 1,900 games over 18 seasons. However, he made a name for himself as a manager, remembered primarily for leading the Baltimore Orioles to win the 1983 World Series. There is a statue of him in Rochester, Minnesota, where he was a player, coach, manager and storyteller with the Red Wings. .

Tommy Lasorda (1927): One of the most colorful characters in baseball during his 40 years with the Dodgers organization. He went from throwing three wild pitches to leading the team for 21 years, winning two World Series in the process. His last game was interrupted because he went into cardiac arrest; drove himself to the hospital (the Dodgers won). He returned to win the gold medal as a team driver for the United States in 2000.

Mike Bell (1974): Bell was part of a baseball family: Gus was his grandfather, Buddy his father, and David his brother. He was selected by the Rangers in the 1993 amateur draft and worked in the D-backs ‘offices before serving as the Twins’ bench coach in 2020 and falling ill in July of that year. He was diagnosed with cancerous tumors in his kidney in January and in March he passed away at the age of 46.

Bobby Brown (1924): Known as the “blonde freak” during his time as a player with the Yankees, Brown was a complete person. He earned a medical degree during his years with the Bombers (in which he won four World Series) and practiced as a cardiologist after his retirement from baseball. It also saw combat in two wars. Then he was in the Rangers’ offices and was president of the American League for a decade.

Will Leitch / MLB.com

Gabriel Delgado

I started as a rookie on Al Bat in early 2018 and I’m going into my third season covering Major League Baseball as a web reporter. I’m a fan of the San Francisco Giants, a number one defender of Barry Bonds, and a critic of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto and Ronald Acuña are the future of baseball, Mike Trout is overrated, and the Astros deserved to be taken away from the World Series for cheating. Besides baseball, I also enjoy soccer, football, basketball, and just about any other game that includes a ball or a ball. I am also an amateur musician, penniless gamer and very nerdy. Graduated in journalism from the University of Guadalajara, I graduated in 2017. Born in the shrimp capital of the world, Escuinapa, Sinaloa. I lived in Australia for a while; i survived giant spiders, tasmanian devils and fought a kangaroo and didn’t die trying.

see more