Deaths
- January 9 – Bill Terry, 90, Hall of Fame first baseman for the New York Giants who batted .341 lifetime and was the last National Leaguer to hit .400 (.401 in 1930); also managed Giants to 1933 World Series title
- January 21 – Carl Furillo, 66, All-Star right fielder for the Dodgers who batted .300 five times and won 1953 batting title
- January 22 – Willie Wells, 83, All-Star shortstop of the Negro Leagues who combined batting power with excellent defense
- January 23 – George Case, 73, All-Star outfielder for the Washington Senators who led the AL in stolen bases six times
- February 17 – Lefty Gómez, 80, Hall of Fame pitcher for the New York Yankees who had four 20-win seasons and a .649 career winning percentage; led AL in strikeouts three times and in wins and ERA twice each, and was 6–0 in World Series
- April 8 – Bus Saidt, 68, sportswriter who covered the Phillies, Mets and Yankees for the Trenton Times since 1967; previously a minor league broadcaster
- April 16 – Jocko Conlan, 89, Hall of Fame umpire who worked in the National League from 1941 to 1964, including five World Series and six All-Star Games
- May 17 – Specs Toporcer, 90, infielder for the Cardinals for eight seasons, and the first non-pitcher to wear eyeglasses; later a minor league manager
- June 8 – Bibb Falk, 90, left fielder who batted .314 with White Sox and Indians; coached Texas to two College World Series titles
- June 8 – Emil Verban, 73, All-Star second baseman for four NL teams who hit .412 in the 1944 World Series
- June 15 – Judy Johnson, 89, Hall of Fame third baseman of the Negro Leagues who became the major leagues' first black coach, and later a scout
- July 18 – Donnie Moore, 35, All-Star relief pitcher who never overcame the disappointment from giving up a pivotal home run in the 1986 ALCS
- August 17 – Fred Frankhouse, 85, All-Star pitcher for the Cardinals, Braves and Dodgers who ended Carl Hubbell's 24-game winning streak in 1937
- August 30 – Joe Collins, 66, first baseman for the New York Yankees who hit four World Series homers
- September 1 – A. Bartlett Giamatti, 51, commissioner of baseball since April, previously NL president since 1986, known for numerous writings on the sport as well as his banishment of Pete Rose
Read more about this topic: 1989 Major League Baseball Season
Famous quotes containing the word deaths:
“You lived too long, we have supped full with heroes,
they waste their deaths on us.”
—C.D. Andrews (1913–1992)
“Death is too much for men to bear, whereas women, who are practiced in bearing the deaths of men before their own and who are also practiced in bearing life, take death almost in stride. They go to meet death—that is, they attempt suicide—twice as often as men, though men are more “successful” because they use surer weapons, like guns.”
—Roger Rosenblatt (b. 1940)
“This is the 184th Demonstration.
...
What we do is not beautiful
hurts no one makes no one desperate
we do not break the panes of safety glass
stretching between people on the street
and the deaths they hire.”
—Marge Piercy (b. 1936)