I heard about Northrup and Pagan on the Mets radio broadcast last night.
It’s one thing when a player of Bob Feller’s age passes; he was “before my time.” But when the guys I grew up with start to go, the mortality factor really sets in.
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Northrup, who died at the age of 71, was a solid, dependable outfielder for 12 seasons, spent mostly with the Detroit Tigers in the 1960s-70s. He hit a triple and two home runs and drove in eight to help the Tigers beat the Cardinals in the 1968 World Series, the last one before divisional play.
Pagan, a utility man, spent 15 seasons int he majors, mostly with the Giants and Pirates, playing both infield and outfield positions. He was 76.
Splitorff, who was just 64 when he died on May 25, spent his entire 15 seasons with the KC Royals. He won 166 games — a franchise record — with his best season coming in 1973 when he went 20-11. He also won 19 in 1978.
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Pagan and Northrup were two intriguing people. Pagan was a very smart and well-spoken man who deserved a shot at a big league managing job but never received the chance. Northrup was a great talker, very outgoing and passionate. He became a broadcaster with the Tigers, but was eventually let go because new ownership felt he was too opinionated, a strange reaction given that you should want your color announcer to have strong opinions.
Unless Northrup’s strong opjnions were anti-Tigers.
Pagan was more than a utility man. He was the starting SS on the Giants WS team that lost to the Yankees.
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