Sammy Stewart has passed away

[spiritof66]

14 hours ago, Beef Supreme said:

They called him the "Throwin' Swannanoan."

For those who don't go back that far, "Throwin Swannanoan" was a play on the nickname of Jack Thompson, star QB at Washington State, who gained fame  as the "Throwin' Samoan." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Thompson_(American_football)

Here's a nice 1982 column by Tom Boswell about Sammy.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1982/05/16/sammy-stewart/7e14754d-c83e-4f34-b2d1-b9e56a9b0f8f/?utm_term=.aa1fffd25cac

It includes Sammy reporting this exchange:

"The other day, Earl says to Jim Palmer, 'The ball's really juiced up this season.' So, Cakes (Palmer) says, 'Is that why our popups are going higher this year?' "

[NashLumber]

MASN’s Wall to Wall Baseball led off the show with over ten minutes with some rememberances of him. Thoughtful discussion of how some players have a hard time filling the void when the baseball is over for them.

It was also good to hear how good he was at times on the field, pitched in two World Series, never gave up a run (includin over 7 innings spread over 4 games in ‘79 and ‘83 WS)  in postseason play. And Tony mentioned that debut with 7 K’s in a row vs. Chicago. Would loved to have seen what he’d have done in ‘86 WS had McNamara used him vs. The Mets. He said the skipper had a grudge regarding him missing a bus. Dave Johnson was talking how he had the other folks in fantasy camp enthralled with his singing and guitar playing, just totally entertained by him. 

So sorry that the middle and latter part of his life had so much self-inflicted trouble, pain and eventual imprisonment. He also lost two children to complications due to Cystic Fibrosis. But it looks like he did have close to five years of recovery and happiness and meaningful contributions to his community and baseball at the end of his life. 

 

[Tx Oriole]

15 hours ago, NashLumber said:

Saw it on Roch’s Twitter feed a few mintues back. Very sorry to hear. Haven’t seen anything else on it yet. Sorry to hear this. When I last read anything on him, maybe last year, it appeared he had worked out a lot of his problems after being released from prison. Rest in peace.

 

 

Thats really sad. 

[NashLumber]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bs-sp-orioles-stewart-obit-0304-story.html

 

”When he reached rock bottom after dozens of criminal charges, he made no excuse for his behavior. He declined a plea bargain and told the judge that he needed to be locked up, ultimately spending six years and eight months behind bars. He came out determined to turn his life around, only to lose his 34-year-old daughter Alicia – also to cystic fibrosis — in 2016.

“I think when she died, that really set him off again,” teammate and current Orioles coach Scott McGregor said. “I don’t know if he ever got back in a groove after that.” 

News of his death traveled quickly through the Orioles’ alumni community. Teammates exchanged sad phone calls after a team official confirmed Stewart’s passing with his estranged wife, Cherie. Each of those contacted by The Baltimore Sun acknowledged Stewart’s personal shortcomings, but not one felt any need to be judgmental. 

“He had personal demons because of what went on with his children and the demons of drug addiction,” Hall of Famer and former teammate Jim Palmer said. “All the stuff going on in his life, I can’t imagine how tormented he must have been.””