Roger Craig, a right-handed pitcher for the Dodgers and Mets, and a legendary manager for the San Francisco Giants, has died at age 93, according to Maria Guardado of MLB.com.
Craig was synonymous with the split-finger fastball during his successful career. He pitched in MLB for 12 seasons. He played for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies. He won the World Series two times with the Dodgers in 1955 and 1959, and later won with the Cardinals in 1964. He also won a championship as a pitching coach for the 1984 Detroit Tigers.
Roger Craig spent two seasons as the manager of the San Diego Padres in 1978 and 1979. Later, he became the Giants manager in 1985, and stayed through the 1992 season. Craig has 586 wins with the Giants, which is the sixth-most in franchise history and the sixth-most in the San Francisco era.
The Giants were not good when Craig took over, and he introduced the popular catchphrase “Humm Baby” while turning the team around. The team won the National League pennant in 1989, which was the team's first World Series appearance since 1962. They were swept by the juggernaut Oakland Athletics in a series that was delayed by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
Giants president and chief executive officer Larry Baer released a statement.
“We have lost a legendary member of our Giants family,” Baer said, via Guardado. “Roger was beloved by players, coaches, front office staff and fans. He was a father figure to many and his optimism and wisdom resulted in some of the most memorable seasons in our history. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his wife, Carolyn, his four children, Sherri Paschelke, Roger Craig Jr, Teresa Hanvey and Vikki Dancan, his seven grandchildren, his 14 great grandchildren as well as his extended family and friends.”
The baseball world lost an iconic name in Craig.
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