Roger Craig, who had a long and generally successful career in Major League Baseball as a player, manager and pitching coach, has passed away at 93.
Craig was on the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955-1961. He was a part of the team that won the World Series in 1955, the only championship in Brooklyn and 1959, the first after the move to California in 1958. Craig later pitched for the New York Mets in 1962 and 1963, the first two years in team history. After that, he pitched one season each for the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies, winning a championship with the Cardinals in 1964.
After his playing days, Craig became a coach and later a manager. He was a pitching coach for the Detroit Tigers in 1984, helping them to a championship. Craig also coached for the San Diego Padres and Houston Astros.
He managed the Padres in 1978 and 1979, then later the San Francisco Giants from 1985-1992. The Giants won a National League West title in 1987, Craig’s second full season, only two years after the team lost 100 games, a still-standing franchise record. In 1989, he led San Francisco to the National League pennant, the team’s first in 27 years.
Giants CEO Larry Baer announced Craig’s passing on Sunday night.
Former #SFGiants manager Roger Craig has died at 93 years old, the club announced with a statement from CEO Larry Baer. pic.twitter.com/vPkgEQ3tny
— Evan Webeck (@EvanWebeck) June 5, 2023
When news of his passing broke, Craig was fondly remembered.
We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former #SFGiants Manager Roger Craig.
The “Humm Baby” skippered the Giants for eight seasons. His 586 wins are sixth-most in Giants history and third-most in the San Francisco era. pic.twitter.com/Rjnp7t9QeI
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 5, 2023
"I've learned a lot of things from a lot of people. But one thing I learned the most was that negative stuff doesn't help anyone. You stress the positive." — Roger Craig #SFGiants
— Daniel Brown (@BrownieAthletic) June 5, 2023
Saddened by the death of pitcher and imitable Giants manager Roger Craig. RIP Humm Baby
— Art Spander (@artspander) June 5, 2023
Roger Craig was a wonderful and kind man and one of the best managers in Giants history, instrumental in taking the organization to a new level in the 1980s.
RIP Humm Baby.
Our obituary:
https://t.co/cfnHw093HC via @sfchronicle— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) June 5, 2023
Roger Craig was more than just the Humm Baby. He won three World Series rings as a pitcher and another as pitching coach of the '84 Tigers. He went 10-24 on the 120-loss 1962 #mets. My favorite Roger quote: "You have to be pretty good to lose 24 games." He's right. Think about it
— Henry Schulman BLUE CHECK MARK (@hankschulman) June 5, 2023
The Hall of Fame remembers three-time World Series champion pitcher and longtime coach and manager Roger Craig, who passed away on Sunday.
(Doug McWilliams/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) pic.twitter.com/nzG5qsLUCW
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) June 5, 2023
Roger Craig was a tremendous man, a pitching guru and a living link to a Golden Era. Rest easy, and condolences to his family. Humbabe (sigh) https://t.co/pRF2alceji
— Scott Miller (@ScottMillerBbl) June 5, 2023
Roger Craig is best remembered as the guru of the split-fingered fastball, which Sports Illustrated dubbed "The Pitch of the '80s" in 1986 https://t.co/gvWUPKNCah
— Jay Jaffe (@jay_jaffe) June 5, 2023
