Kevin Hickey, 1990 Upper Deck #299

I've done more obituary posts than I care to count and it's always a struggle to find something meaningful to say. Kevin Hickey, who made the jump from the softball fields of Chicago to the mound at Comiskey Park, and was a key bullpen contributor for the 1989 Orioles after a five-year absence from the big leagues, is dead at age 56. He had spent the last decade back in his hometown, working as a batting practice pitcher for the White Sox. Kevin was an insulin-dependent diabetic, and on the eve of Chicago's season opener in Arlington, TX, he was found unresponsive in his hotel room. He reportedly slipped into a coma, and just passed away this morning.

Kevin's playing days were already over by the time I started paying attention to the Orioles, but in my near-annual viewing of the team's 1989 "Why Not?" highlights video, he came across as a free spirit who was responsible for helping to keep things loose in the midst of a surprise pennant race. He definitely chipped in on the field as well, turning in scoreless appearances 16 times in his first 18 tries that season and finishing the year with 7 holds, a pair of saves, a couple wins, and a 2.92 ERA. In parts of 6 seasons with the White Sox and O's, Hickey was 9-14 with 17 saves and a 3.91 ERA.

I don't enjoy eulogizing former Orioles, especially when they're relatively young like Kevin Hickey. But I do think it's important to take a moment to remember them.

Kevin Hickey, 1990 Fleer #178

Well, it only took me three weeks to post my first Kevin. There aren't that many to choose from; off the top of my head, there's Hickey, McGehee, Brown, and Millar. Of the four, Hickey's resume reads the most like a movie script.

Kevin Hickey was a twenty-one year old softball pitcher when he was encouraged by friends to attend an open tryout at Comiskey Park in his hometown of Chicago. The White Sox liked what they saw, and signed him to a contract in August 1977. Four years later, he was called up to the big leagues and pitched in 124 games over the next three seasons, notching 14 saves. He bounced around the minor leagues for six years before making the Orioles' Opening Day roster in 1989 and having the best year of his career (2.92 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) at age 33 for a team full of castoffs and unproven rookies that spent most of the season in first place, just one year after losing 107 games and spending the entire season in dead last.

By 1993, Kevin was out of baseball...or was he? With a brand-new stadium at Camden Yards, Baltimore was chosen as the site to film a sequel to the 1989 baseball comedy Major League. Sure, the stadium was given a cosmetic makeover to look more like Cleveland's Municipal Stadium, but there was at least one former Oriole involved in the proceedings. Kevin played Indians pitcher Schoup (no first name given), allowing him to suit up in a major league stadium one more time.

Not bad for a softball pitcher from the Windy City.