The Big Ballpark In The Sky: Remembering Those Who Have Passed On

Although the Diamond Mind Baseball League has only been in existence since 1991, we have had our share of tragedy due to the untimely deaths of several players. While few of these players will be enshrined in the DMBL Hall of Fame, all deserve some recognition for their contributions to the league.

Below we note those who were players, coaches or managers in the Diamond Mind Baseball League before passing on. Note that only people with a connection to the Diamond Mind Baseball League are included. TheDeadballEra.com has a comprehensive list of those affiliated with other leagues who have died.


PLAYER DIED DMBL TEAMS
 DMBL STATS
Ryan Freel
 12/23/12
(Suicide)
 Columbia ('05), Las Vegas ('06),
Honolulu ('07), Hoboken ('08), D.C. ('09)
 .254, .635 OPS, 61 2B in 1,760 AB
Gary Carter
 2/16/12
(Cancer)
 Manager for Honolulu, Columbia, and D.C.
 No DMBL stats
Terry Mathews
 2/2/12
(Heart attack)
 Sacramento ('96)
 7-4, 1 SV, 3.66 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 135.1 IP
Jose Lima
 5/23/10
(Heart attack)
 Jerusalem ('99-'00), Newark ('04)
 29-20, 4.79 ERA, 1.34 WHIP
90 BB, 286 K, 429.2 IP
Hideki Irabu
 7/27/11
(Suicide)
 Philly ('99), Austin ('00)
 7-13, 5.00 ERA, 1.54 WHIP
27 G, 20 GS, 156.2 IP
Jeriome Robertson
 5/29/10
(Motorcycle accident)
 Hillsborough ('04)
 0-2, 5 GS, 19.0 IP
30 H, 27 ER, 15 BB, 8 K
Nick Adenhart
 4/9/09
(Car accident)
 Hoboken prospect
 No DMBL stats
Dave Smith
 12/17/08
(Heart attack)
 Newark ('91)
 3-1, 3 SV, 4.26 ERA, 1.49 WHIP
Kevin Foster
 10/11/08
(Cancer)
 Newark ('96)
 0-0, 3 GS, 8.2 IP
20 H, 17 ER, 6 BB, 10 K
Jeremi Gonzalez
 5/25/08
(Lightning)
 Honolulu ('98); Hoboken ('04); Philly ('04)
 13-21, 0 SV, 5.16 ERA, 1.53 WHIP
177 BB, 202 K in 334.2 IP
Joe Kennedy
 11/23/07
(Heart disease)
 Arkansas ('02); Philadelphia ('04);
Hoboken ('05); South Boston ('07)
 14-23, 2 SV, 5.16 ERA, 1.54 WHIP
47 starts, 61 relief appearances
Rod Beck 6/23/07
(Unknown)
 Arkansas ('93-'94); Louisiana ('97-'98);
Philadelphia ('99); Newark ('01); Carolina ('04)
 37-39, 91 SV, 3.74 ERA, 1.30 WHIP
510 Ks in 580.2 IP
Eck Award winner ('94)
Two-time All-Star ('94, '01)
Tied for league lead in saves ('04)
Josh Hancock 4/29/07
(Car accident)
 D.C. ('07) 6-3, 2 SV, 5.11 ERA, 1.47 WHIP
Cory Lidle 10/11/06
(Plane crash)
 Carolina ('01-'03); Columbia ('98); Westwood ('05) 28-26, 4.20 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 480.0 IP
2003: 15-9, 3.56 ERA, 1.27 WHIP
Kirby Puckett 3/6/06
(Stroke)
 Arkansas ('92-'93); Columbia ('91-'92);
Toledo ('96); Waikiki ('94)
 .305 BA, .802 OPS, 185 2B, 412 RBI
Three-time All-Star ('91, '92, '93)
Ken Caminiti 10/10/04
(Heart attack)
 Arizona ('00); Arkansas ('92-'93, '99, '00);
Carolina ('00); Columbia ('93-'98); Vancouver ('98)
 .285 BA, .846 OPS, 116 HR, 400 RBI
Two-time All-Star ('96, '97)
Mike Darr 2/15/02
(Car accident)
 Honolulu ('02)
 .269 BA, .704 OPS, 10 RBI in 52 AB
Darryl Kile 6/22/02
(Heart attack)
 Arkansas ('93-'94, '98); Columbia ('97-98); Hawaii ('99);
Newark ('01-03); Philadelphia ('03); Tijuana ('03)		 47-55, 5.44 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 883.2 IP
2002: 13-8, 4.80 ERA, 1.48 WHIP
Dan Quisenberry 9/30/98
(Brain tumor)
 Arkansas pitching coach No DMBL stats
Mike Sharperson 5/26/96
(Car accident)
 Austin ('93); Vancouver ('91)
.284 BA, .730 OPS, 15 2B, 33 RBI, 278 AB
1993: .297, .383 OBP, 11 2B, 24 RBI
Steve Olin 3/22/93
(Boat accident)
 Tampa Bay ('92-'93)
 3-7, 11 SV, 3.92 ERA, 1.86 WHIP, 121.2 IP
Tim Crews 3/22/93
(Boat accident)
 Austin ('91)
 0-0, 0 SV, 3 G, 9.2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 9 K

Did You Know?

The first player to continue playing in the DMBL after his death was Steve Olin. In fact, Olin pitched far more after he died (49 games, 96.0 innings in 1993) than when alive (15 games, 25.2 innings in 1992). Mike Darr actually never played in the DMBL until after his death, but then broke through with Honolulu in '02 as a defensive replacement and pinch-runner (he appeared in 116 games, but only had 52 at-bats.) Darryl Kile died mid-way through the '02 season, but kept pitching through the end of that season and the next one (see below). Josh Hancock died early in the MLB '07 season but continued to pitch for D.C. through the end of the year. It remains to be seen if Joe Kennedy will pitch in '08.

With three deaths, 2007 was the deadliest year for the DMBL -- one former player (Rod Beck) and two active players (Josh Hancock and Joe Kennedy).

The Golden Falcons play their home games in Quisenberry Memorial Park.

Tim Crews and Steve Olin were killed in the same boating accident. Bob Ojeda, a member of the '92 Golden Falcons, also was injured in the same accident. He survived, but never pitched in the DMBL again.

Darryl Kile was buried in his Sugar Bear uniform at The Cereal Bowl in Newark, but his body was exhumed by the Tijuana Banditos, who pitched his corpse in an emergency start. He was released after he was bombed for a loss (6 ER in 5.1 IP), and the Sugar Bears reclaimed his body and propped him up on the mound for one last start as a Sugar Bear -- which he won, giving up just 2 runs and 6 hits. He was then buried a second time. But the body was then stolen again, reappearing a few days later with the Philadelphia Endzone Animals. He went 4-8 with a 5.65 ERA in 13 starts and disintegrated into dust in his final start.