In the span of just 18 games, Jesús Montero made such a splash in the major leagues that he was included in a blockbuster offseason trade that was supposed to bring the New York Yankees a new ace pitcher. Montero, a one-time highly regarded catching prospect, died on October 19 in Valencia, Venezuela, after being involved in a motorcycle accident on October 4.

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By Al Doyle Except for double play situations, the concept of pitching to contact – as in efficiently inducing outs through grounders, popups and harmless fly balls – is nearly extinct in modern baseball. This style of pitching is often associated with soft tossers, but even guys with above-average velocity would go for quick outs in the past. Hall of Famer Jim Palmer is a prime example.

RIP to Larry Burright, an infielder who played in the majors for 3 years in the 1960s as part of a 9-year professional career. He died on October 15 at the age of 88. Burright played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1962) and New York Mets (1963-64). Larry Allen Burright was born in Roseville, IL, on July 10, 1937. His father Eldon was a mechanic, and he and Arabelle Burright had 3 sons.

To more recent generations, Sandy Alomar Sr. is best known as the father of two All-Star ballplayers. If you know of Sandy Alomar before the "Sr." was added to his name, you likely remember him as an All-Star major-leaguer in his own right. The elder Alomar played for 15 years in the majors and coached for many more. He died on October 13 at the age of 81, just 6 days shy of his birthday.

Among those ballplayers whose major-league experience consists of just a handful of games (i.e. a "cup of coffee"), Bob Oldis stands above them all. Oldis, a catcher and occasional third baseman, played in parts of 7 seasons in the majors in the 1950s and 1960s, without ever appearing in more than 50 games in a single season. Even in instances where he stayed with a ballclub for an entire year, he never had so much as 100 at-bats in any given year.

RIP to Ed Acosta, a Panamanian pitcher who spent parts of 3 seasons in the majors in the 1970s. He died in his native country on September 18 at the age of 81. Acosta played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1970) and San Diego Padres (1971-72). Eduardo Elixbet Acosta was born in Boquete, Panama, on March 9, 1944. He did not grow up with baseball in his blood like so many future major-leaguers.

RIP to Ted Ford, an outfielder who played for 4 seasons in the majors in the 1970s. He also had an extensive career in Mexico before retiring from the game. Ford died on September 15 at the age of 78. He played for the Cleveland Indians (1970-71, 1973) and Texas Rangers (1972). Theodore Henry Ford was born in Vineland, NJ, on February 7, 1947.

Murió exgrandeligas Jesús Montero tras varios días de agonía en la CHET

If you lived in the era of junk wax baseball cards and "This Week in Baseball" shows on Saturday morning, opening a pack of 1988 Topps and seeing a Mike Greenwell card, with his All-Star Rookie trophy in the corner, was a great pull. At the time, Greenwell was putting together an MVP-like season after being one of the AL's top rookies the previous year.

Catcher Tom Patton's big-league career consisted of one game for the Baltimore Orioles in 1957. But he spent 9 seasons in professional baseball, starting at the age of 17, playing everywhere from Dothan, AL, to Vancouver, Canada. Patton died on September 8 at Zerbe Sisters Nursing and Rehab in Narvon, PA, three days after celebrating his 90th birthday. Tommy Allen Patton was born in Honey Brook, PA, on September 5, 1935.