Deaths
January
- January 1 – Paul Lindblad, 64, relief pitcher for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and two other American League clubs (1965 to 1978) who retired with 655 pitching appearances for the seventh most among left-handers; two-time World Series champion.
- January 5 – Rod Dedeaux, 91, baseball coach at the University of Southern California from 1942 to 1986 who won a record 11 College World Series titles, twice as many as any other coach, and 1,332 games, a record until 1994; played major role in baseball's acceptance in the Olympics, and coached the U.S. team in 1964 and 1984.
- January 8 – Merv Connors, 91, corner infielder for the Chicago White Sox in 1937 and 1938; hit 3 home runs in one game September 19, 1938; hit more than 400 home runs while playing in more than 2,100 minor league games from 1934 to 1953.
- January 14 – Wycliffe "Bubba" Morton, 74, right fielder, mainly with the Tigers, Angels and Japanese Toei Flyers, who in 1972 became the first black head coach in any sport at the University of Washington.
- January 16 – Willie Smith, 66, converted left-handed pitcher who played primarily as a left fielder for the California Angels, Chicago Cubs and three other MLB clubs (1963 to 1971), then Japan's Nankai Hawks (1972–1973).
- January 16 – Bob Repass, 88, reserve infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals (1939) and Washington Senators (1942).
- January 17 – Seth Morehead, 71, relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and Milwaukee Braves between 1957 and 1961.
- January 24 – Carlos (Café) Martínez, 41, infielder for three AL teams who batted .300 for the 1989 White Sox.
- January 28 – Frank Campos, 81, Cuban-born outfielder for the Washington Senators from 1951 to 1953.
February
- February 1 – "Whistling" Jake Wade, 93, pitcher for six AL teams who had been the oldest living Chicago White Sox player; brother of Ben Wade.
- February 4 – Joe McGuff, 79, sportswriter and editor for The Kansas City Star from 1948 to 1992 who covered the Athletics and later the Royals, playing an instrumental role in the latter franchise being awarded in 1969 and retained in the 1990s.
- February 9 – Motoshi Fujita, 74, Hall of Fame NPB pitcher played for the Yomiuri Giants from 1957 to 1964, managed the Giants and Taiyo Whales from 1963 to 1976.
- February 11 – Robert W. Peterson, 80, author of the 1970 book Only the Ball Was White, which focused attention on the Negro leagues; member of the 2006 Hall of Fame committee responsible for electing Negro leaguers.
- February 17 – Gertrude Ganote, 86, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player.
- February 19 – Bill Abernathie, 77, who appeared in a single MLB game, on September 19, 1952, as a relief pitcher and member of the Cleveland Indians.
- February 20 – Curt Gowdy, 86, broadcaster whose voice was the soundtrack of 13 World Series, 16 All-Star games, the Boston Red Sox from 1951 to 1965, then ten years as lead announcer on NBC Game of the Week; enshrined as a Ford C. Frick Award winner in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- February 21 – Scott Breeden, 68, pitching coach of the 1986–1989 Cincinnati Reds; former minor-league hurler and longtime minor-league pitching instructor.
- February 21 – Mark Freeman, 75, pitcher for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics and Chicago Cubs in 1959 and 1960.
- February 26 – Ace Adams, 95, All-Star pitcher (1943) who spent six seasons with the New York Giants (1941–1946); led the National League in saves in 1944 and 1945 and in games pitched for three straight years (1942–1944, inclusive).
March
- March 2 – Ernesto Aparicio, 95, Venezuelan professional manager, player and team's owner, who also trained dozens of teenage boys on an individual basis, including his nephew and Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio and player/manager Ozzie Guillén.
- March 6 – Kirby Puckett, 45, Hall of Fame center fielder for the Twins who batted .318 lifetime and won six Gold Gloves; 1989 batting champion; led AL in hits four times, total bases twice and RBI once; MVP of 1991 ALCS, his 11th-inning walk-off home run won Game 6 of the 1991 World Series.
- March 12 – William Metzig, 87, second baseman who appeared in five late-season games for the wartime 1944 Chicago White Sox.
- March 18 – Betty Jane Cornett, 73, infielder/pitcher who played from 1950 through 1952 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
- March 28 – Paul "Lefty" Minner, 82, pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1946, 1948, 1949) and Chicago Cubs (1950–1956); won 69 major league games; first player to pitch under artificial light in the World Series (1949)
- March 29 – Thornton Kipper, 77, a standout pitcher in college and an All-American in 1950, who also pitched for the Phillies from 1953 to 1955.
April
- April 1 – John Bissant, 92, outfielder in Negro league baseball from 1934 to 1947.
- April 3 – Royce Lint, 85, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1954; won 154 games in 15 seasons in the minor leagues
- April 9 – Billy Hitchcock, 89, infielder who appeared in 703 for five AL teams between 1942 and 1953; managed Baltimore Orioles (1962–1963) and Atlanta Braves (1966–1967); later, a minor league executive.
- April 9 – Jimmy Outlaw, 93, outfielder and third baseman, primarily for the Detroit Tigers, who was the left fielder on the 1945 World Series champions.
- April 13 – Bill Baker, 95, backup catcher for three National League clubs who appeared in 263 games over seven seasons between 1940 and 1949; member of 1940 World Series champion Cincinnati Reds; later an MLB coach (1950) and NL umpire (1957).
- April 16 – Lorraine Borg, 82, catcher for the Minneapolis Millerettes of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
- April 19 – Oscar Acosta, 49, Latin American coordinator for the Yankees and manager of their Gulf Coast League franchise; former pitching coach for the Cubs and Rangers.
- April 24 – Sebastian "Sibby" Sisti, 85, infielder who spent 13 seasons with the Boston and Milwaukee Braves (1939–1942 and 1946–1954), and also appeared in the film The Natural .
- April 26 – Billy Queen, 77, outfielder for the 1954 Milwaukee Braves.
- April 26 – Russ Swan, 42, relief pitcher from 1989 to 1994, primarily for the Seattle Mariners.
- April 28 – Steve Howe, 48, All-Star relief pitcher, mainly with the Dodgers and Yankees, who was the 1980 NL Rookie of the Year but was suspended from baseball seven times and eventually barred from the sport due to drug abuse.
- April 30 – Dave Bartosch, 89, outfielder for the Cardinals in 1945; long-time scout for the Cardinals and Padres.
May
- May 4 – Jim Delsing, 80, outfielder for five AL teams best remembered as the pinch runner for Eddie Gaedel.
- May 7 – Jeff "Jesse" James, 64, pitcher for the Phillies in 1968 and 1969.
- May 9 – Betty Wagoner, 75, All-Star outfielder and a member of two championship teams of the AAGPBL.
- May 14 – Jim Lemon, 78, outfielder for four MLB teams, principally the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins, between 1950 and 1963; led American League in triples in 1956, had two seasons of 30 HR and 100 RBI, and selected a 1960 AL All-Star; manager of 1968 "expansion" Senators, and also a longtime coach and instructor for the Twins.
June
- June 4 – Bill Fleming, 92, pitcher in 123 games for the Boston Red Sox (1940–1941) and Chicago Cubs (1942–1944 and 1946); led 1940 Pacific Coast League in strikeouts with Hollywood.
- June 4 – Ron Jones, 41, outfielder for the Phillies from 1988 to 1991.
- June 5 – Eric Gregg, 55, NL umpire from 1975 to 1999 who worked in the 1989 World Series and four NLCS, noted for weight problems and a wide strike zone.
- June 10 – Moe Drabowsky, 70, Polish-American relief pitcher for several teams from 1955 to 1972 who won Game 1 of the 1966 World Series with the Orioles.
- June 10 – Charles Johnson, 96, pitcher and outfielder for the Negro league Chicago American Giants; worked to push Major League Baseball to offer former Negro league players pensions.
- June 20 – Billy "Bull" Johnson, 87, All-Star third baseman for the Yankees (1943, 1946–1951) and Cardinals (1951–1953); played on four World Series Championship teams with the Yankees (1943, 1947, 1949, 1950); finished fourth in league MVP balloting his rookie year (1943).
- June 22 – Paul Campbell, 88, first baseman 204 career games for the Boston Red Sox (1941–1942, 1946) and Detroit Tigers (1948–1950); and later a scout and traveling secretary of the Cincinnati Reds.
- June 23 – Leo Wells, 88, third baseman and shortstop for the White Sox in 1942 and 1946.
- June 24 – Albert Zachary, 92, pitched in four games for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1944.
- June 26 – Jack Urban, 77, pitcher for the Athletics (1957–1958) and Cardinals (1959); traded to Kansas City by the Yankees in 1957 in the deal that brought Art Ditmar and Clete Boyer to New York
- June 27 – Margaret Russo, 74, All-Star shortstop in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
- June 29 – Curly Clement, 86, longtime Cape Cod Baseball League umpire who officiated two games as a replacement arbiter in the American League for one game in 1978 and another in 1979.
July
- July 4 – Chet Hajduk, 87, pinch hitter for Chicago White Sox who grounded out in his only MLB at bat on April 16, 1941, against Cleveland's Al Milnar.
- July 4 – Marilyn Olinger, 78, slick-fielding shortstop who played from 1948 through 1953 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
- July 11 – Phyllis Baker, 69, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League pitcher.
- July 15 – Howdy Groskloss, 100, second baseman for the Pirates from 1930 through 1932, at the time of his death, the oldest living major league player.
- July 17 – Barbara Liebrich, 83, player/manager during seven seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
- July 31 – Emilio Cueche, 78, one of the most prolific pitchers in Venezuelan baseball history and member of one Hall of Fame, who also played in Minor league baseball and in the Dominican Republic and Mexico baseball circuits.
August
- August 4 – Elden Auker, 95, submarine pitcher who won 130 games, mainly with Tigers and Browns; led AL in winning percentage for 1935 Detroit champions.
- August 8 – Dino Restelli, 81, outfielder for the Pirates in 1949 and 1951.
- August 12 – Earl Wooten, 82, outfielder for the Senators in 1947 and 1948.
- August 24 – Gene Thompson, 89, pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants who later spent 40 years as a scout; was 13–5 as rookie for 1939 NL champion Reds.
- August 30 – Charlie Wagner, 93, pitcher who won 32 games for the Boston Red Sox from 1938 to 1946; later an executive, scout, MLB pitching coach and minor league instructor; spent 73 years in Red Sox organization.
September
- September 1 – Ted Davidson, 66, pitcher for the Reds (1965–1968) and Braves (1968).
- September 2 – Victor Bernal, 52, pitcher for the Padres in 1977.
- September 7 – Gordie Mueller, 83, pitcher for the 1950 Boston Red Sox.
- September 17 – Jack Banta, 81, pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 to 1950 who won the 1949 pennant-clincher.
- September 18 – Syd Thrift, 77, general manager of the Pirates (1985–1988), Yankees (1989) and Orioles (1999–2002); also a longtime scout.
- September 27 – Geraldine Guest, 83, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player.
- September 27 – Joe Koppe, 75, shortstop for the Milwaukee Braves (1958), Philadelphia Phillies (1959–1961) and Los Angeles Angels (1961–1965).
- September 27 – Craig Kusick, 57, first baseman for the Twins from 1973 to 1979; high school coach for 22 years.
October
- October 1 – Anna Kunkel, 74, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player.
- October 2 – Clyde Vollmer, 85, outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds, Washington Senators and Boston Red Sox between 1942 and 1951.
- October 2 – Al Heist, 79, outfielder for the Chicago Cubs (1960–1961) and the Houston Colt 45s (1962); later a coach for Houston and San Diego.
- October 5 – Dick Wagner, 78, executive during Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" dynasty of the early 1970s; general manager of Reds (1978–1983) and Houston Astros (1985–1987), where he helped build Houston's 1986 NL West champions.
- October 6 – Buck O'Neil, 94, first baseman and manager who won two Negro leagues batting titles and led the Kansas City Monarchs to two championships; became first black coach in the major leagues, and a goodwill ambassador for the sport in his later years.
- October 8 – Ivan Murrell, 63, Panamanian outfielder for the Houston Colt .45s/Astros, San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves between 1963 and 1974.
- October 11 – Cory Lidle, 34, pitcher for the Yankees and six other major league teams since 1997, won 13 games for 2001 A's and 2005 Phillies.
- October 11 – Eddie Pellagrini, 88, infielder for five teams from 1946 to 1954; coached Boston College to three College World Series; homered in his first MLB at bat.
- October 12 – Johnny Callison, 67, All-Star outfielder (1962, 1964, 1965) for the Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees who won the 1964 All-Star Game for the National League with a three-run, walk-off home run; led NL in triples twice and assists four times.
- October 16 – Donna Cook, 78, pitcher and outfielder who played from 1946 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
- October 16 – Tony Curry, 67, Bahamian outfielder for the Phillies and Indians who followed Andre Rodgers as the second native of his country to play in the major leagues.
- October 17 – Bob Adams, 95, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in the 1925 season.
- October 25 – Edward F. Kenney, 85, who served as a Boston Red Sox farm system executive for over 40 years.
- October 26 – Fred Marsh, 82, infielder for four teams from 1951 to 1956.
- October 27 – Joe Niekro, 61, All-Star pitcher who won 221 games and was the Astros' all-time leader with 144 victories; brother of Phil Niekro and father of Lance Niekro.
- October 29 – Silas Simmons, 109 (or 111), Negro leagues player of the 1920s, believed to be the longest-lived professional baseball player in history.
- October 31 – Glenn "Rocky" Nelson, 81, first baseman for five teams between 1949 and 1961 who hit a home run for the Pirates in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series; legendary minor-league slugger.
November
- November 2 – Red Hayworth, 91, catcher for the 1944–1945 St. Louis Browns who played in every game of the 1944 World Series; later a coach and scout, spending 53 years in baseball; brother Ray was also a major league catcher
- November 4 – Helen Westerman, 80, Kenosha Comets catcher, one of the original members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in its 1943 inaugural season
- November 7 – Buddy Kerr, 84, All-Star shortstop for the New York Giants and Boston Braves who played 68 consecutive errorless games over the 1946–47 seasons, then a major league record.
- November 7 – Johnny Sain, 89, All-Star pitcher who was the 1948 National League MVP runnerup for the pennant-winning Boston Braves; later a respected, outspoken pitching coach for six MLB clubs between 1959 and 1986 whose 1961–1962 Yankees' and 1968 Tigers' pitching staffs won World Series titles.
- November 9 – Garton del Savio, 92, shortstop who played four games for the 1943 Phillies.
- November 9 – Jimmie Armstead, 87, Negro leagues outfielder and pitcher from 1938 to 1949.
- November 14 – Pete Suder, 90, infielder who played 1,421 MLB games, all for the Philadelphia and Kansas City Athletics from 1941 to 1955; later worked as a scout and minor league manager.
- November 14 – Al Smith, 81, American League umpire from 1960 to 1964 who worked in 798 league games, the 1964 World Series, and All-Star games in 1961 and 1963.
- November 17 – Bo Schembechler, 77, Hall of Fame college football coach and president of the Detroit Tigers from 1990 to 1992, even though he was widely criticized for the firing of legendary Tigers radio announcer Ernie Harwell.
- November 19 – Willie Grace, 89, player on the Cleveland Buckeyes and Erie Sailors of the Negro leagues from 1942 to 1950.
- November 22 – Pat Dobson, 64, All-Star pitcher who won 20 games for the 1971 Orioles; later a scout and assistant to the general manager with the Giants.
- November 27 – Eddie Mayo, 96, second and third baseman, primarily for the Tigers, who finished second in the MVP vote to teammate Hal Newhouser on the 1945 World Series champions.
- November 28 – Sam Calderone, 80, reserve catcher for the New York Giants (1950 and 1953) and Milwaukee Braves (1954).
- November 29 – Pete Mikkelsen, 67, relief pitcher for five teams from 1964 to 1972 who had 7 wins and 12 saves as a rookie for pennant-winning Yankees.
December
- December 2 – Corinne Clark, 78, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player.
- December 3 – Billy Klaus, 77, shortstop/third baseman for six teams, notably the Boston Red Sox, between 1952 and 1963.
- December 3 – Ernie Oravetz, 74, outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1955 and 1956.
- December 8 – José Uribe, 47, Dominican shortstop for the Giants who was a member of the 1987 division champions and 1989 NL pennant winners.
- December 9 – Mildred Warwick, 84, Canadian infielder and one of the original players to join the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League for its inaugural season in 1943.
- December 12 – Irv Hall, 88, middle infielder for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1943 to 1946; worked as a manager in the St. Louis Browns minor league system
- December 16 – Cecil Travis, 93, All-Star shortstop for the Washington Senators who batted .314 lifetime; led AL in hits in 1941 before missing four seasons in World War II.
- December 17 – Larry Sherry, 71, relief pitcher for the Dodgers, Tigers, Astros and Angels from 1958 to 1968; MVP of 1959 World Series, playing a key role bringing world title to his hometown Dodgers; later a pitching coach; brother of Norm Sherry.
- December 22 – Sam Chapman, 90, All-Star center fielder for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1938 to 1951; batted .322 in 1941, led AL in putouts four times.
- December 23 – Sol Carter, 98, pitcher for the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics who had been the fourth oldest living major league player.
- December 26 – Chris Brown, 45, All-Star third baseman who batted .317 for the 1986 Giants; also played for the Padres and Tigers during a 6-year career.
- December 31 – Marv Breeding, 72, second baseman for the Orioles, Senators and Dodgers between 1960 and 1963.
- December 31 – George Sisler Jr., 89, minor league player turned executive; briefly worked in Cardinals' front office in the late 1940s but notable for his lengthy tenure in the Triple-A International League; son of the Hall of Famer and brother of two big-leaguers.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2006 in baseball .
