List of baseball players who died during their careers

This is a list of baseball players who died during their careers. While some of these deaths occurred during a game, the majority were the result of accidents off the field, illnesses, acts of violence, or suicide.

Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash following the 1972 season.

Repeated studies have shown that contemporary Major League Baseball players have a greater life expectancy than males in the general U.S. population — about five years more, on average, which is attributed to their superior fitness and healthy lifestyles. The longer the active career, the longer the player lives, on average. This correlation is attributed to the maintenance of fitness and increased wealth.^[1]

Deaths of active players

This is a list of notable deaths in baseball and untimely deaths of active professional baseball players.

†	Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame

Major League Baseball

The following Major League Baseball players died during their careers.

Player	Age	Position	Team	Cause of death	Year	Ref(s)
Nick Adenhart	22	Pitcher	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	killed by drunk driver	2009	[2]
Harry Agganis	26	First baseman	Boston Red Sox	pulmonary embolism	1955	[2]
Francisco Barrios	28	Pitcher	Milwaukee Brewers[lower-alpha 1]	heart attack	1982	[3]
Steve Bechler	23	Pitcher	Baltimore Orioles	complications from use of ephedra	2003	[4]
Cy Bentley	22	Pitcher	Middletown Mansfields	tuberculosis	1873	[5]
Marty Bergen	28	Catcher	Boston Beaneaters	suicide	1900
Bill Blair	26	Pitcher	Chicago Cubs	influenza	1890	[6]
Tony Boeckel	31	Third baseman	Boston Braves	automobile crash	1924
Tiny Bonham	36	Pitcher	Pittsburgh Pirates	appendicitis	1949
Lyman Bostock	27	Outfielder	California Angels	homicide, gunshot	1978	[7]
Hal Carlson	38	Pitcher	Chicago Cubs	stomach hemorrhage	1930
Joe Cassidy	23	Shortstop	Washington Senators	purpura hemorrhagia	1906
Ray Chapman	29	Shortstop	Cleveland Indians	struck on head by a pitch during a game	1920	[2]
Roberto Clemente†	38	Outfielder	Pittsburgh Pirates	plane crash	1972	[2]
King Cole	29	Pitcher	New York Yankees	lung cancer	1916	[8]
Hub Collins	28	Second baseman	Brooklyn Dodgers	typhoid fever	1892
Tim Crews	31	Pitcher	Cleveland Indians[lower-alpha 2]	boat accident (with Steve Olin)	1993	[2]
Amos Cross	28	Catcher	Louisville Colonels	tuberculosis	1888	[9]
Mike Darr	25	Outfielder	San Diego Padres	automobile crash	2002	[2]
Jake Daubert	40	First baseman	Cincinnati Reds	appendicitis	1924
Ed Delahanty†	35	Outfielder	Washington Senators	drowned, swept over Niagara Falls	1903	[2]
Pickles Dillhoefer	28	Catcher	St. Louis Cardinals	typhoid fever	1922
Cozy Dolan	34	Outfielder	Boston Braves	typhoid fever	1907
Jim Doyle	30	Third baseman	Chicago Cubs	appendicitis	1912
Paul Edmondson	27	Pitcher	Chicago White Sox	automobile crash	1970
Charlie Ferguson	25	Pitcher	Philadelphia Quakers	typhoid fever	1888
José Fernández	24	Pitcher	Miami Marlins	boating while intoxicated resulting in crash	2016	[10][11]
Neal Finn	29	Second baseman	Philadelphia Phillies	duodenal ulcer	1933
Jim Fogarty	27	Outfielder	Philadelphia Athletics	tuberculosis	1891
Danny Frisella	30	Pitcher	Milwaukee Brewers	dune buggy crash	1977	[2]
Miguel Fuentes	23	Pitcher	Seattle Pilots	homicide, gunshot	1970
Tom Gastall	24	Catcher	Baltimore Orioles	drowning after escaping plane crash wreckage without any injuries	1956	[12]
Marv Goodwin	34	Pitcher	Cincinnati Reds	plane crash	1925
Marc Hall	27	Pitcher	Detroit Tigers	diabetes	1915	[13]
Greg Halman	24	Outfielder	Seattle Mariners	homicide, stabbing	2011	[2][14]
Josh Hancock	29	Pitcher	St. Louis Cardinals	driving while intoxicated resulting in crash	2007	[15]
Clyde Hatter	29	Pitcher	Detroit Tigers	heart attack	1937
Willard Hershberger	30	Catcher	Cincinnati Reds	suicide	1940	[16]
Herman Hill	25	Outfielder	St. Louis Cardinals[lower-alpha 3]	drowned while swimming	1970
Charlie Hodes	27	Catcher/Outfielder	Brooklyn Atlantics	tuberculosis	1875	[17]
Ken Hubbs	22	Second baseman	Chicago Cubs	plane crash	1964	[2]
Addie Joss†	31	Pitcher	Cleveland Indians	meningitis	1911	[2]
Joe Kennedy	28	Pitcher	Toronto Blue Jays[lower-alpha 4]	hypertensive heart disease	2007	[2]
Darryl Kile	33	Pitcher	St. Louis Cardinals	heart attack	2002	[2]
Len Koenecke	31	Outfielder	Brooklyn Dodgers	cerebral hemorrhage sustained during a fight on an airplane	1935
Jim Korwan	25	Pitcher	Chicago Colts	tuberculosis	1899
Joe Leonard	26	Third baseman	Washington Senators	appendicitis	1920
Walter Lerian	26	Catcher	Philadelphia Phillies	automobile crash	1929
Cory Lidle	34	Pitcher	New York Yankees	plane crash	2006	[2]
Pat Luby	30	Pitcher	Louisville Colonels	tuberculosis	1899
Steve Macko	27	Infielder	Chicago Cubs[lower-alpha 5]	testicular cancer	1981	[18]
Austin McHenry	27	Outfielder	St. Louis Cardinals	brain tumor	1922
Doc McJames	27	Pitcher	Brooklyn Superbas[lower-alpha 6]	tuberculosis, complicated by injuries sustained in a carriage accident	1901	[19]
Alex McKinnon	30	First baseman	Pittsburgh Alleghenys	typhoid fever	1887
Edgar McNabb	28	Pitcher	Baltimore Orioles	suicide	1894
Win Mercer	28	Pitcher	Detroit Tigers	suicide	1903
Mike Miley	23	Shortstop	California Angels	automobile crash	1977	[2]
Tom Miller	26	Catcher	St. Louis Brown Stockings	indeterminate illness	1876	[20]
Al Montgomery	21	Catcher	New York Giants[lower-alpha 7]	automobile crash	1942
Bob Moose	29	Pitcher	Pittsburgh Pirates	automobile crash	1976	[2]
Ed Morris	32	Pitcher	Boston Red Sox	homicide, stabbing	1932	[2]
Thurman Munson	32	Catcher	New York Yankees	plane crash	1979	[2]
Cinders O'Brien	24	Pitcher	St. Louis Browns[lower-alpha 8]	pneumonia	1892
Tom O'Brien	27	Outfielder	Pittsburgh Pirates	pneumonia	1901
Steve Olin	27	Pitcher	Cleveland Indians	boat accident (with Tim Crews)	1993	[2]
Doc Powers	38	Catcher	Philadelphia Athletics	peritonitis arising from surgery complications following an in-game injury	1909
Jimmy Sebring	27	Outfielder	Washington Senators	Bright's disease	1909
Ralph Sharman	23	Outfielder	Philadelphia A's[lower-alpha 9]	drowned while in military training	1918	[21][22]
Mike Sharperson	34	Infielder	San Diego Padres[lower-alpha 10]	automobile crash	1996	[23]
Tyler Skaggs	27	Pitcher	Los Angeles Angels	accidental drug overdose	2019	[24]
Len Sowders	27	Outfielder	Baltimore Orioles	typhoid malaria	1888
Chick Stahl	34	Outfielder	Boston Red Sox	suicide by ingestion of carbolic acid	1907	[25]
Dernell Stenson	25	Outfielder	Cincinnati Reds	homicide, gunshot	2003	[2]
Alan Storke	25	Infielder	Cincinnati Reds	general streptococcus due to empyema	1910	[26]
Sy Sutcliffe	30	Catcher	Baltimore Orioles	Bright's disease	1893	[27]
Oscar Taveras	22	Outfielder	St. Louis Cardinals	driving while intoxicated resulting in crash	2014	[28]
Jack Taylor	26	Pitcher	Cincinnati Reds	nephritis	1900
Al Thake	22	Outfielder	Brooklyn Atlantics	drowned while fishing	1872
Danny Thompson	29	Shortstop	Texas Rangers	leukemia	1976	[29]
Jim Umbricht	33	Pitcher	Houston Colt .45s	malignant melanoma	1964
Yordano Ventura	25	Pitcher	Kansas City Royals	automobile crash	2017	[30]
Dick Wantz	25	Pitcher	California Angels	inoperable brain tumor	1965
Elmer White	22	Outfielder	Cleveland Forest Citys	tuberculosis	1872	[31]
Don Wilson	29	Pitcher	Houston Astros	carbon monoxide poisoning	1975	[2][32]
Cliff Young	29	Pitcher	Cleveland Indians	automobile crash	1993	[33]
Ross Youngs†	30	Outfielder	New York Giants	Bright's disease	1927	[34]

Former major-league players still active in professional baseball at the time of their death

Player	Age	Position	Last MLB Team	Last Pro Team	Cause of death	Year	Ref(s)
John Ake	25	Third baseman	Baltimore Orioles	Duluth Freezers	drowning	1887
Cy Blanton	37	Pitcher	Philadelphia Phillies	Hollywood Stars	cirrhosis	1945	[35]
Walt Bond	29	Outfielder	Minnesota Twins	Jacksonville Suns[lower-alpha 11]	leukemia	1967
José Castillo	37	Infielder	Houston Astros	Cardenales de Lara	car crash, murdered (with Luis Valbuena)	2018	[36]
Andújar Cedeño	31	Shortstop	Houston Astros	Azucareros del Este	car crash	2000
Tiny Chaplin	33	Pitcher	Boston Bees	San Diego Padres	automobile accident	1939	[37]
Néstor Chávez	21	Pitcher	San Francisco Giants	Phoenix Giants	plane crash	1969
Woody Crowson	28	Pitcher	Philadelphia Athletics	Greensboro Patriots	bus accident	1947	[38]
Jay Dahl	19	Pitcher	Houston Colt .45s	Salisbury Astros	automobile crash	1965
Miguel del Toro	29	Pitcher	San Francisco Giants	Seibu Lions	car crash	2001
Joe DeSa	27	First baseman	Chicago White Sox	Ponce Lions	car crash	1986
Bo Díaz	37	Catcher	Cincinnati Reds	Caracas Lions	crushed by a falling satellite dish	1990	[39]
John Dodge	27	Third baseman	Cincinnati Reds	Mobile Sea Gulls	hit in the head by a pitch	1916	[40]
Mario Encarnación	30	Outfielder	Chicago Cubs	Macoto Cobras	congenital disorder	2005
Howie Fox	34	Pitcher	Baltimore Orioles	San Antonio Missions	homicide, stabbing	1955	[41]
Rosman García	32	Pitcher	Texas Rangers	Tigres de Aragua	car crash	2011
Geremi González	33	Pitcher	Milwaukee Brewers	Yomiuri Giants	lightning strike	2008	[42]
Miguel Alfredo González	34	Pitcher	Philadelphia Phillies	Free agent	car crash	2017	[43]
Herb Gorman	28	Left fielder	St. Louis Cardinals	San Diego Padres	cardiac arrest	1953	[44]
Tommy Hanson	29	Pitcher	Los Angeles Angels	Sacramento River Cats	organ failure related to cocaine toxicity	2015	[45]
Chris Hartje	31	Catcher	Brooklyn Dodgers	Spokane Indians	bus crash	1946	[46]
Dixie Howell	40	Pitcher	Chicago White Sox	Indianapolis Indians	heart attack	1960
Pat Hynes	23	Outfielder	St. Louis Browns	Milwaukee Brewers	homicide	1907	[47]
Henry Krug	31	Outfielder	Philadelphia Phillies	Indianapolis Indians[lower-alpha 12]	pneumonia	1908	[48]
John LeRoy	26	Pitcher	Atlanta Braves	Sioux City Explorers	heart attack and brain aneurysm	2001
José Lima	37	Pitcher	New York Mets	Aguilas Cibaenas	heart attack	2010
Andy Marte	33	Infielder	Arizona Diamondbacks	KT Wiz	car crash	2017	[49]
Dan McGann	39	First baseman	New York Giants	Milwaukee Brewers	suicide, gunshot	1910	[50]
Reyes Moronta	31	Pitcher	Los Angeles Angels	Bravos de León	car crash	2024	[51]
José Oliva	26	Third baseman	St. Louis Cardinals	Brother Elephants	car crash	1997
Jiggs Parrott	26	Third baseman	Chicago Colts	Dubuque Westerns	tuberculosis	1898
Charlie Peete	27	Outfielder	St. Louis Cardinals	Omaha Cardinals	plane crash	1956
Nick Reeder	27	Third baseman	Louisville Colonels	Peoria Distillers	"brain fever"	1894	[52]
Jim Ritz	22	Third baseman	Pittsburgh Pirates	Washington Little Senators	typhoid fever	1896
Kenny Robinson	29	Pitcher	Toronto Blue Jays	AZL Diamondbacks	automobile crash	1999
Chico Ruiz	33	Infielder	California Angels	Salt Lake City Angels	automobile crash	1972	[2]
Jim Rogers	27	First baseman	Louisville Colonels	Norwich Witches	unknown	1900
William Suero	29	Second baseman	Milwaukee Brewers	Free agent	car crash	1995	[53]
Luis Valbuena	33	Infielder	Los Angeles Angels	Cardenales de Lara	car crash, murdered (with José Castillo)	2018	[36][54]
Daniel Webb	28	Relief pitcher	Chicago White Sox	Free agent	all-terrain vehicle crash	2017
Denny Williams	32	Center fielder	Boston Red Sox	Portland Beavers	automobile crash	1929	[55]

Minor League Baseball

Minor league players are listed with their major league affiliate team, else denoted with a dagger (†) if their team was unaffiliated.

Player	Age	Position	Last team	Organization	Cause of death	Year	Ref(s)
Malcom Anderson	23	Third baseman	San Francisco Haverlys	—	cardiac arrest	1888	[56]
Alexeis Azuaje	21	Second baseman	Clearwater Threshers	Philadelphia Phillies	car accident	2023	[57]
Jesse Batterton	19	Second baseman	Springfield Cardinals	St. Louis Cardinals	struck on the head by a pitch	1933	[58]
Stan Bell	23	Pitcher	Shreveport Braves	Atlanta Braves	car accident	1970	[59]
Thomas Burke	26	Left fielder	Lynn Shoemakers	—	struck on the head by a pitch	1906	[60]
Jairo Capellan	19	Pitcher	DSL Reds	Cincinnati Reds	automobile crash	2018	[61]
Bobby Joe Case	24	Infielder	Mobile Bears	New York Mets	automobile crash	1962	[62]
Evan Chambers	24	Outfielder	GCL Pirates	Pittsburgh Pirates	heart defect	2013	[63]
Louis Chedo	23	Pitcher	Decatur Commodores	—	struck on the head by a pitch	1925	[64]
Thomas Coates	—	Outfielder	Oshkosh Indians	—	unintentional discharge of firearm	1909	[65]
William Coffey	22	Pitcher	Pampa Oilers	—	automobile crash	1951	[66]
Brian Cole	22	Outfielder	Scottsdale Scorpions	New York Mets	automobile crash	2001	[67]
Dick Conway	19	Catcher	Twin Falls Cowboys	New York Yankees	struck in the heart by a thrown ball	1951	[68]
Ryan Costello	23	Infielder	Pensacola Blue Wahoos	Minnesota Twins	sudden cardiac arrhythmia	2019	[69][70]
Aaron Cox	24	Pitcher	Inland Empire 66ers	Los Angeles Angels	self-inflicted gunshot wound	2018	[71][72]
James Davis	20	Outfielder	Ballinger Cats	—	struck on the head by a pitch	1947	[73]
Linus Ebnet	23	Shortstop	Winnipeg Maroons	—	struck on the head by a pitch	1938	[73]
Alfredo Edmead	17	Outfielder	Salem Pirates	Pittsburgh Pirates	brain trauma from in-game outfield collision	1974	[74]
Lute Freeland	28	Pitcher	New Orleans Pelicans	—	blood poisoning	1902	[75][76]
Ronny Garcia	24	Pitcher	York Revolution	—	car crash	2024	[77]
Miguel Gonzalez	21	Pitcher	DSL Orioles	Baltimore Orioles	car crash	2017	[78]
Louis Henke	—	First baseman	Atlanta Atlantas	—	internal bleeding from a collision on the base path	1885	[79]
Red Herbert	18	First baseman	Dayton Veterans	—	internal bleeding from a collision on the base path	1904	[80]
Happy Hogan	37	Catcher / Manager	Vernon Tigers	—	pneumonia	1915	[81]
Ossie Johnson	—	Outfielder	Oakland Oaks	—	blood poisoning	1924	[82]
Ottis Johnson	24	Outfielder	Dothan Browns	—	struck on the head by a pitch	1951	[83]
Yorman Landa	22	Pitcher	Fort Myers Miracle	Minnesota Twins	car crash	2016	[84]
Anthony Latham	21	Outfielder	Winston-Salem Red Sox	Boston Red Sox	boat accident	1983	[85]
Pete Mann	27	Third baseman	Macon Peaches	—	struck in the chest by a pitch	1927	[86][87]
Andres Melendez	20	Catcher	Lynchburg Hillcats	Cleveland Guardians	Multiple Organ Failure	2021	[88][89]
Doug Million	21	Pitcher	New Haven Ravens	Colorado Rockies	asthma attack	1997	[90]
Sean Murphy	27	Pitcher	Sacramento River Cats	Oakland Athletics	Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy	2016	[91]
Ernest Nichols	22	Pitcher	Spokane Indians	—	cardiac arrest	1903	[92]
Chace Numata	27	Catcher	Erie SeaWolves	Detroit Tigers	injuries sustained in skateboarding accident	2019	[93]
Bob Osgood	19	Catcher	Marion Cubs	Chicago Cubs	cardiac arrest	1948	[94]
Corey Phelan	20	Relief pitcher	FCL Phillies	Philadelphia Phillies	T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T-ALL)	2022	[95][96]
Charles Pinkney	20	Second baseman	Dayton Veterans	—	struck on the head by a pitch	1909	[97]
Billy Rakes	24	Third baseman	Reidsville Luckies	—	automobile crash	1953	[98]
Ernest Regenold	25	Pitcher	Springfield Senators	—	cardiac arrest and heat stroke	1926	[99]
Russell Reynolds	24	Catcher	Huntington Red Birds	—	struck on the head by a pitch	1935	[100]
Lionel Rodgers	21	Utility	Fresno Giants	San Francisco Giants	automobile crash	1961	[101]
Ronaldo Romero	19	Pitcher	Gastonia Rangers	Texas Rangers	cardiomyopathy, Supac use was a contributing factor	1990	[102]
Victor Sanchez	20	Pitcher	Leones del Caracas	Seattle Mariners	struck by a boat while swimming	2015	[2]
Fausto Segura	23	Pitcher	Auburn Doubledays	Washington Nationals	motorcycle crash	2020	[103]
Bill Seinsoth	22	First baseman	Bakersfield Dodgers	Los Angeles Dodgers	automobile crash	1969	[104]
Leo Smith	19	Third baseman	Kokomo Wild Cats	—	internal bleeding from a collision on the base path	1909	[105]
Mac Smith	23	Infielder	Hagerstown Packets	Washington Senators	cardiac arrest	1954	[106]
Andy Strong	24	Center fielder	Crowley Millers	—	lightning strike during game	1951	[107]
George Tkach	21	Second baseman	Superior Blues	—	struck on the head by a pitch	1936	[108]
Casey Thomas	24	Infielder	Arizona League Athletics	Oakland Athletics	painkiller overdose	2017	[109]
Herbert Whitney	27	Catcher	Burlington Pathfinders	—	struck on the head by a pitch	1906	[110]
Lefty Wycoff	—	Pitcher	Canton Terriers	—	struck by automobile	1929	[111]

Nippon Professional Baseball

Player	Age	Position	Team	Cause of death	Year	Ref(s)
Lou Jackson	33	Outfielder	Sankei Atoms	pancreatic necrosis	1969	[112]
Hiroyuki Oze	24	Outfielder	Orix Buffaloes	suicide	2010	[113]
Yūsuke Kinoshita	27	Pitcher	Chunichi Dragons	myocarditis	2021	[114]

KBO League

Player	Age	Position	Team	Cause of death	Year	Ref(s)
Kim Young-Sin (baseball) [ko]	24	Catcher	OB Bears	Drowning suspected to be suicide	1986	[115]
Kim Dae-Hyeon (pitcher, born 1962) [ko]	26	Pitcher	Haitai Tigers	car accident	1988	[116]
Kim Sang-Jin (pitcher, born 1977) [ko]	22	Pitcher	Haitai Tigers	stomach cancer	1999	[117]
Lee Kyoo-hwan (baseball) [ko]	22	Outfielder	Doosan Bears	fell down the stairs	2012	[118]
Lee Doo-hwan [ko]	24	First baseman	KIA Tigers	Osteosarcoma	2012	[119]
Lee Jang-hui (baseball) [ko]	24	Infielder	LG Twins	found dead after falling near a parking lot	2013	[120]
Braulio Lara	30	Pitcher	SK Wyverns	car accident	2019	[121]
Andy Marte	33	Infielder	KT Wiz	car accident	2017	[122]
Kim Sung-Hun (pitcher, born 1998) [ko]	21	pitcher	Hanwha Eagles	death in a fall from a building	2019	[123]

Negro leagues

Player	Age	Position	Team	Cause of death	Year	Ref(s)
William Bedford	23	Outfielder	Cuban Giants	lightning strike	1909	[124]
George Fleischman	24	Catcher	Stapleton Baseball Club	struck on head by a pitch	1908	[125]
John Garcia	28	Catcher	Cuban Giants	cardiac arrest during game	1904	[126]
Josh Gibson†	35	Catcher	Homestead Grays	brain tumor and stroke	1947
Clifford Larkins	21	Catcher	Zulu Cannibal Giants	struck on the throat by a pitch	1937	[127]
José Leblanc	28	Pitcher	Cuban Stars	hit on the head by a bat during an in-game argument	1922
Porter Moss	34	Pitcher	Memphis Red Sox	homicide, gunshot	1944
Ben Myers	19–20	Catcher	Southern Star Baseball Club	broken neck, struck by a passed ball	1890	[128]
Pythias Russ	26	Catcher	Chicago American Giants	tuberculosis	1930
Clyde Nelson	32	Infielder	Indianapolis Clowns	cardiac arrest during game	1949	[129]
Chino Smith	28	Outfielder	Lincoln Giants	yellow fever	1932
Frank Warfield	35	Second baseman / manager	Washington Pilots	heart attack	1932
George Washington	34	Pitcher	Philadelphia Giants	cardiac arrest	1908	[129]
Charlie Williams	27	Shortstop	Chicago American Giants	ptomaine poisoning	1931

Dutch League Baseball

Player	Age	Position	Team	Cause of death	Year	Ref(s)
Hartog Hamburger	37	Infielder	OVVO	hit by line drive ball on head	1924

College baseball

Player	Age	Position	Team	Cause of death	Year	Ref(s)
Sang Ho Baek	20	Pitcher	George Mason	blood clot from complications from Tommy John surgery	2021	[130]
Curtis Brenneman	17	Second baseman	Gettysburg	struck on head by a pitch	1926	[131]
Derek Becker	21	Middle infielder	Keiser	homicide, gunshot	2020	[132]
Chris Lane	22	Catcher	East Central	homicide, gunshot	2013	[133]
Robert Brown	19	unknown	Howard County JC	electrocuted while erecting a foul pole that fell on a powerline	1953	[134]
Randy Collins	22	Pitcher / Outfielder	Vanderbilt	automobile crash	1973	[135]
Donny Everett	19	Pitcher	Vanderbilt	drowned	2016	[136]
Joseph Geddings	20	Catcher	Appalachian State	struck on head by a pitch	1964	[137]
Ira Goodlet	18	unknown	Arkansas Cumberland	struck on head by a pitch	1908	[138]
James Mair	—	Second baseman	Monmouth	cerebral hemorrhage, collided with a teammate	1896	[139]
Hervey Mangham	19	Right fielder	Louisiana State	struck on head by a pitch	1908	[140]
Cassel Mowrey	21	First baseman	West Virginia	struck on head by a pitch	1923	[141]
Gene Reynolds	18	unknown	Howard County JC	electrocuted while erecting a foul pole that fell on a powerline	1953	[134]
Tim Trunk	19	Pitcher	Bradley	automobile crash	1989	[142]
Walter Zorn	19	unknown	St. John's (Kansas)	struck on head by a pitch	1950	[143]

See also

• Jim Creighton - Brooklyn Excelsiors's second baseman and superstar pitcher of the amateur era who died aged 21 of a ruptured abdominal hernia caused by the force of his own pitch in 1862.
• Lou Gehrig - New York Yankees's first baseman who was forced into retirement after being diagnosed with ALS, he would ultimately die from the disease, two years later in 1941.
• Sportspeople who died during their careers
• List of Major League Baseball players who died in wars

• Baseball portal

Notes

1. Barrios was a free agent at the time of his death, although he was reportedly about to sign a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers on the day he died. He had last been on a major league roster in 1981, with the Chicago White Sox.
2. Crews played his entire six-year career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the end of the 1992 season he became a free agent and signed with the Cleveland Indians on January 22, 1993. He died during spring training.
3. Hill's only major league playing experience was with the Minnesota Twins in 1969 and '70. About three weeks after the 1970 season ended, Hill was traded to St. Louis. However, Hill never actually played for St. Louis, as he died during that off-season.
4. Technically, Kennedy was a free agent at the time of his death, having been granted free agency by Toronto about three weeks prior.
5. Macko last played in August of 1980, when he was injured in a game. The injury was severe enough to keep him on the disabled list for the rest of 1980. In the course of doctor's examinations over the winter in early 1981, Macko was discovered to have cancer, which he fought through 1981. He traveled with the Cubs and remained on the disabled list through the entire 1981 season.
6. Technically, McJames was no longer actively involved in baseball at the time of his death. He had been released by Brooklyn in July, due the effects of tuberculosis. McJames was working as a doctor at the time of his death nine weeks later in September; the tuberculosis which ended his baseball career was a factor in his death.
7. Montgomery's only major league playing experience came with the Boston Braves in 1941. He was sold to the Giants in February of 1942, and spent spring training with the Giants. Montgomery died in a car accident on the trip north, before the start of the regular season.
8. O'Brien played for the Boston Reds in 1891 but was under contract with the St. Louis Browns at the time of his death before the start of the 1892 season.
9. Sharman was one of eight one-time Major League Baseball players known either to have been killed or died from illness while serving in the armed forces during World War I, but the only one who went directly from a major league career (concluding the 1917 season with the A's) to the military.
10. Technically, Sharperson was still a minor league player at the time of his death. The Padres had summoned Sharperson to join the major league team, to be on hand if he were needed in the event of an injury. (Sharperson died on the journey.) However, he had not been activated as a major league player at the time of his death, and quite possibly might not have been activated even had he arrived safely. Sharperson had last been on a major league roster with the Atlanta Braves in 1995.
11. Bond, who had been diagnosed with leukemia in 1962, had been playing with the Minnesota Twins until he was released on May 15, 1967. He was picked up by the Jacksonville Suns, the triple-A team of the New York Mets, but only played three games with Jacksonville before he had to enter a hospital for treatment. He died September 14.
12. Krug last played for the Indianapolis Indians in 1907 but was under contract with the minor league Johnstown Johnnies at the time of his death in January 1908.

References

1. Saint Onge, Rogers & Krueger 2008.
2. Dittmeier, Bobbie (November 21, 2011). "Tragic deaths of Major Leaguers". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
3. "Francisco Barrios, a former pitcher for the Chicago White...," United Press International (UPI), Saturday, April 10, 1982. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
4. Murphy, Jarrett (February 17, 2003). "Ephedra Tied To Pitcher's Death". CBS News. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
5. Arcidiacono, David. Major League Baseball in Gilded Age Connecticut: The Rise and Fall of the Middletown, New Haven and Hartford Clubs, McFarland, 2009, p. 195. ISBN 0786436778
6. Blair had signed a contract to spend the 1890 season with the Chicago Cubs, but he died as a result of illness before games began. He had last appeared in the majors with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1888. "Death Of A Ball Player Archived September 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine", The New York Times, published February 23, 1890, accessed August 21, 2006.
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Sources

• Abrunzo, Thomas (1991), "Commotio Cordis: The Single, Most Common Cause of Traumatic Death in Youth Baseball", American Journal of Diseases of Children, 145 (11): 1279–1282, doi:10.1001/archpedi.1991.02160110071023, PMID 1951221, S2CID 31217442
• Gorman, Robert; Weeks, David (2009), Death at the Ballpark: A Comprehensive Study of Game-related Fatalities of Players, Other Personnel and Spectators in Amateur and Professional Baseball, 1862–2007, McFarland, ISBN 9780786452545
• Lawless, Molly (2012), Hit by Pitch: Ray Chapman, Carl Mays and the Fatal Fastball, McFarland, ISBN 9780786484843
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Further reading

• Lee, Bill (2009), Baseball Necrology, McFarland, ISBN 978-0786442393
• Bedingfield, Gary (2009), Baseball's Dead of World War II, McFarland, ISBN 978-0786444540
• Baltov, Victor (2010), "Jaws (There is a Shark in the Water)", Baseball Is America, AuthorHouse, pp. 253–276, ISBN 9781452004884