Alphonso Erwin Downing was born on June 28th, 1941, in Trenton, New Jersey. He spent his youth there and participated in the Police Athletic League. He attended Trenton Central High School. After graduation, he attended Muhlenberg College in Allentown Pennsylvania and then Rider College in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. He signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1961.
He was sent to Birmingham in the Class-A Eastern League. The 20-year-old lefty impressed with a 9-1 record, a 1.84 ERA in 12 games. He was promoted at the end of the season to the Yankees pitching in 5 games for the bombers. He was 0-1 with an ERA of 8.00. He was sent to AAA Richmond of the International League to start the 1962 season. He pitched in 32 games for Richmond, 31 of them starts. He had a 9-13 record with a 4.10 ERA. He struck out 180 batters. Another call up ensued, but he only pitched 1 inning. He did not give up a run. 
Downing started the 1963 season back with Richmond, but after 10 games, 9 of them starts, he was recalled to the Yankees. Al made 24 appearances for the Yankees, a 104-win team. 22 of them were starts. He had a 13-5 record with a 2.56 ERA. Other than a short stint in 1968, he would not pitch in the minors again. The Yankees went to the World Series in 63 but were swept by the Dodgers in 4 games. Downing was the losing pitcher against Johnny Podres in game 2. Amazingly, Downing did not get any ROY votes.
Al was a full-fledged member of the Yankee rotation in 64. He won 13 again, losing 8 this time. His ERA was 3.47. He led the league in walks with 120, but he also led the league in strikeouts with 217. He pitched 244 innings in his 37 games. 35 of those were as the starting pitcher. The Yankees faced the Cardinals in the World Series. They lost, 4 games to 3. Downing lost game four to former Dodger, Roger Craig. He pitched relief in two other games. He gave up 8 runs, 7 of them earned in 7.2 innings.
The Yankees slipped all the way to sixth place in 1965. Downing had a 12-14 record, a 3.40 ERA. He pitched 212 innings striking out 179 hitters. 1966 was even worse as the Yankees fell to last place, 10th, in the AL. Downing was 10-11 with a 3.56 ERA. He pitched in 30 games, all of them starts and threw 200 innings. In 1967 the Yankees finished 9th in the AL. Downing improved a lot with a 14-10 record and a 2.63 ERA in 31 games. He made 28 starts and struck out 171 batters in 201.2 innings. He also made the All-Star team for the first and only time in his career. 
On August 11th of 1967, in a game against the Indians, Downing struck out all three batters on 9 total pitches in the second inning. It was the first immaculate inning in the AL since 1964. It was to be his last good season for few years. Injuries limited Al to just 15 games in 1968. In 1969, Ralph Houk, the Yankees skipper, began using him out of the bullpen more. He was 7-5, 3.38 in 30 games in 1969. 15 of those were starts. He pitched just 130.2 innings.
Prior to the 1970 season, Downing, along with catcher Frank Fernandez, was traded to the Oakland A’s for Danny Cater and Ossie Chavarria. He made 10 appearances for the A’s going 3-3. Oakland traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers along with Tito Francona for Steve Hovley. Despite having a decent ERA of 3.34, Downing went 2-10 for the 97 loss A’s. That winter he was traded to the Dodgers for Andy Kosco.
In 1971, Downing won 20 games for the first and only time in his career as he went 20-9 for the Dodgers. His ERA was 2.68, he pitched a career high 262.1 innings. He led the league in shutouts with 5. He was the NL comeback player of the year and finished 3rd in the Cy Young voting behind Ferguson Jenkins and Tom Seaver. The Dodgers finished second, a game behind the Giants.
Downing made 30 starts for LA in 72. He made 28 for the team in 1973, his record both years was 9-9. He had a 2.98 ERA in 72 and 3.31 in 73. He pitched 202.2 innings in 72 and 193 in 73. He would not pitch more than 98 for the next four years of his career, all of them with the Dodgers. He went 5-6 for the pennant winning team in 1974. He made 21 appearances, 16 of them starts. He made two appearances in the post season. He pitched 4 innings of relief in the playoffs against the Pirates, He allowed just 1 hit and 1 walk.
(Original Caption) Atlanta Braves slugger Hank Aaron hits out home run number 715 off of Dodger pitcher Al Downing.
On April 8th, Downing gave up Hank Aaron’s 715th homer in Atlanta in a 7-4 loss to the Braves. He will forever be remembered in baseball history for that. Bill Buckner was playing left field in that game and vainly climbed the fence trying to catch the blast. Tom House in the Braves bullpen, retrieved the ball. 
He lost game 3 of the World Series to Catfish Hunter and the A’s. It would be his last post-season game. Al was used mostly in relief the next three years with the Dodgers, going 2-1, 1-2 and 0-1 over his last 51 games. 10 of those were starts and he did not appear in any of the Dodgers playoff or World Series games in 1977 as he was released during the season. Al joined the Dodgers broadcasting team in 1980. He remained with the team as a color analyst until 1987.
He worked for CBS radio in the 1990’s and the Atlanta Braves radio in 2000. He worked for the Dodgers radio broadcasts in 2005. He was also a member of the Dodgers Speaker Bureau. Al is now 83 years old and retired. His career record is 123-107 with a 3.22 ERA. He struck out 1639 batters in 2,268.1 innings. He was considered a very mild mannered and gentlemanly player, hence the nickname, Gentleman Al. Not much of his personal life is known as Downing has always kept that kind of thing private.
MiLB GAME SUMMARIES
Salt Lake City Bees (LAA) 9 – OKC Comets 4
In the 2nd, Ryan Ward led off with a single. Hunter Feduccia reach via a BB and James Outman hit an infield single to load the bases. Austin Gauthier drew a one out BB to force in a run.
OKC took a 2-0 lead after Esteury Ruiz led off with a triple (1) and scored on an Alex Freeland sacrifice fly.
Nick Frasso was breezing through 3 allowing a single and 2 BB, and got two DP to help him out. In the 4th, Frasso issued 2 BB, and with 2 outs, he gave up a 3-run HR.
OKC tied it in the 5th. Justin Dean led off with a triple and scored on Alex Freeland’s second sacrifice fly.
SLC took the lead in the bottom of the 5th after two doubles off Ryan Sublette.
OKC tied it up again in the 6th after a Feduccia triple (2) and James Outman’s third hit of the game.
Unfortunately SLC scored 5 in the bottom of the 6th off Sublette and Sam Carlson. 3 BB, 2 singles, a fielding error, and a sacrifice fly broke the game open.
Outman got his 4th single in the 8th, but was left stranded.
Outman went 4-for-4, extending his hitting streak to nine games. During the streak, Outman is 15-for-36 (.417), and it is his longest hitting streak since 2021 with High-A Great Lakes…Over the nine games, Outman is hitting .417/.432/.750/1.182 in 37 PA.
A big bottom of the sixth inning led the Salt Lake Bees to a 9-4 win over Comets Friday night, snapping OKC's six-game win streak.
— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) April 26, 2025
James Outman went 4-for-4 and has collected seven hits over the last two games.
Recap: https://t.co/d5rCFmwHuJ
- James Outman – 4-4, 1 RBI
- Triples – Esteury Ruiz (1), Justin Dean (2), Hunter Feduccia (2)
NW Arkansas Naturals 8 – Tulsa Drillers 4
I have been an unapologetic Jerming Rosario fan since he signed a MiLB contract as an IFA the same year as Diego Cartaya and Alex De Jesus. This was the first IFA signing period (July 2018) after being restricted to a $300K limit to any IFA for two previous years. I had high hopes for this class, it just has not come around.
So I always look forward to when Rosario pitches, but this was not one of his better games. As we used to say in our household, this was not a game he was going to call his mother.
In 4.1 IP, Rosario allowed 6 runs (5 earned), on 6 hits, 5 BB, and 7 K. The defense allowed three errors while he was pitching.
NWA put a run on the board in the 1st on a walk, single, double steal and catcher throwing error.
Tulsa put up a deuce in the 2nd on a Damon Keith triple (1), an Aaron Bracho sacrifice fly, and an Ezequiel Pagan HR (2).
The Drillers got another run in the 3rd on a José Ramos opposite field HR (7). This was his 3rd consecutive game hitting a HR and his 6th out of last 7 games.
Jose Ramos hit another home run tonight to add to his Texas League-leading 7 home runs so far on the season. And, it was another home run to the opposite field. The oppo approach has been wildly successful so far for Ramos.
— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) April 26, 2025
Dude has LOUD tools! #dodgers pic.twitter.com/9meLvA185A
NWA used 4 singles, 2 walks, and 2 SB to score three runs off Rosario in the 3rd, and took a 4-3 lead and they stayed in front the rest of the game. In the 5th, NWA scored another pair off Rosario before he was lifted and relieved by Antonio Knowles.
Jose Rodriguez gave up solo runs in the 6th and 7th innings.
NWA 23 year old RHSP Henry Williams pitched 7.0 innings before giving way to 23 year old LHRP, Oscar Rayo. The first batter he faced drew a BB, and scored on a pair of singles by Ramos and John Rhodes.
- José Ramos – 2-5, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (7)
- Ezequiel Pagan – 3-4, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (2)
- Triple – Damon Keith (1)
Great Lakes Loons and Lake County Captains (Cleveland) had their game postponed due to weather. They will play a DH on Saturday.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 8 – Inland Empire 66ers (LAA)
Christian Zazueta matched a career-high with eight strikeouts as the Quakes matched their longest winning streak of the year, thanks to Friday’s 8-2 win over the Inland Empire 66ers.
With their third three-game winning streak of the year, the Quakes are now five games over .500 for the first time this year, as they now have a five-game lead in the South.
Zazueta (2-1) was brilliant, retiring the first nine hitters he faced, finishing the game with just one unearned run allowed, while fanning eight over five innings of work.
The Quakes got a big night from Mike Sirota, who had three hits and two RBIs, including his second homer of the year. With a BB, he reached base 4 times.
SS Kellon Lindsey also reached base 4 times on a 2-4 night with 2 BB. Lindsey hit his 3rd double and recorded one RBI. Lindsey stole his 7th base.
Nico Perez chipped in with a hit, a career-high three RBIs and three stolen bases.
RC had 7 SB in all. Besides the stolen bases from Perez and Lindsey, RC got two SB from Jose Meza, and one from Elijah Hainline.
Sean Linan and Christian Zazueta look to be forming a nice duo in the California League. The most heralded of the RC pitchers, 19 year old Samuel Sanchez, pitches on Saturday. Sanchez has not yet had the success that Linan or Zazueta have had, but he is a year younger. With Aidan Foeller and Jakob Wright, RC seems to be stacking up some interesting pitching prospect projects.
Box Score
https://www.milb.com/gameday/quakes-vs-66ers/2025/04/25/788701/final/box
Dodgers, Nick Senzel Agree To Minor League Deal
Senzel never panned out as the Reds had expected when they drafted him so highly. He turned in a .239/.302/.369 line through parts of five seasons — much of that spent as Cincinnati’s primary third baseman.
I was a stubborn Nick Senzel fan when he was with the Reds. 2nd overall pick in 2016, a draft year the Dodgers excelled in. It is an understatement to say that Senzel did not come close to meeting expectations. But I do not understand the signing of Senzel. Just how many utility players do the Dodgers need?
Where will he play? CF? Esteury Ruiz, Justin Dean, James Outman, and Hyeseong Kim all play CF. Outside of Ruiz, all are plus defensive CF. And now Eddie Rosario has apparently passed through waivers and been outrighted to OKC.
3B? What will they do with Hoese? Does that mean that Alex Freeland sticks only at SS?
2B? What will that do to playing time for Austin Gauthier?
Does Michael Chavis have an opt out date in his MiLB contract?
I am not worried about playing time for Freeland and Kim, but what about Senzel screams he is a better depth player than Hoese, Gauthier, Rosario, Chavis, or Ward. Senzel is NOT a better option for the LAD bench over Chris Taylor or Kiké Hernández.
Who is going down to AA or getting released? What impact will this have on upward mobility for some of the youngsters?
I guess we will know soon enough.
Just read that Eddie Rosario chose to become a FA rather accept his outright assignment to OKC. It is clear that the Dodgers believe they needed another aging player. Why not promote José Ramos over signing Senzel? I do not know if Ramos will continue to click, but he has certainly earned the right to find out. If Ramos is promoted, then that opens a spot for either Hope or De Paula for promotion, and consequently, Sirota to A+.
But, but, but he was drafted #2
Dodgers can fix him.
Okay, I got nothing
I know it’s a small sample but Gauthier play a handful of times, He wasn’t impressive
He is a #26/27/28 player at his ceiling. But we do not know for sure what he can do in that role, but we do know that Senzel is not a MLB player. Unless the coaches think they have found something they can fix why block anyone, including Gauthier.
Well, game went pretty much as expected. Skenes was lethal and outpitched Yoshi who was hurt big time by that muncy error.
Dodgers offense could not get much going vs Pirates pitching with Shohei and Mookie mired in deep slumps and way below expectations so far.
Muncy and Conforto useless at the plate so far.
Good to see Pages continuing to hit. Another base running mistake but he stayed long enough in the rundown to get Shohei to 2nd . so in the end he made up for his mistake.
At the moment this team looks sluggish, old and slow.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pittsburgh with 1 earned run and the Dodgers couldn’t beat them. At home. After losing 3 of 5 on the road. The Dodgers started 8-0 and they are 2 games under .500 since. It’s only 26 games. A long way to go.
Yes Pages had 3 fall in. He’s making contact. That’s a good thing. Good contact? He’s making contact. And another gaff on the bases. He’s learning from all these mistakes. Right?
Betts and Ohtani 0 for 8. Conforto hitting .187. Muncy hitting less than that. It’s only 26 games. A long way to go.
The good news is everybody in the West lost yesterday.
Two of those 3 losses on the road because our two high priced FA reliever aquistions blew saves . Could easily been a 4-1 road trip even with all the hitting problems.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s true. And all three of Pages doinks could have found gloves for easy outs. Chain. Weakest link. All must perform as advertised. Whatever may be the strength of the rest, when it doesn’t happen as a team, it doesn’t happen.
And remember the Lasorda one third quote, “It’s the other one third that makes the difference.” SD, AZ, SF, LA. It might be a question of who gets to 54 losses first.
Whoa there Nellie. Both of those blown saves came in 1 run games. You cannot be perfect every time out. Scott had 8 consecutive saves even without his best stuff. As for the games in Chicago, Davis and Dreyer lost game 2 giving up all 7 runs, and in the first game, May put them behind the 8-ball giving up the lead in the first inning and allowing 7 runs overall. The pitching let the Cubs steal 9 bases in 2 games. Hard for an offense to win when your pitching lets you down, so no, it could not have easily been a 4-1 road trip. But they should have at least won 3.
The Dodgers as a team will break out of this current malaise eventually, they’re just too good to continue being this bad. However, I don’t see anyone in the minors, including Freeland, as a viable option to replace Muncy at 3b, ..which is a problem ’cause Muncy’s present struggles are probably to whatever extent a permanent reality, imho.
There are viable options,like Freeland. If you mean there is no one expected to field and hit better than Max that to is debatable but you might be right,especially if he gets going and starts hitting dingers.
Bear, thanks for the nice article on Al. A true gentleman and a pretty darn good pitcher. I spent a few of my youthful years growing up in Lawrenceville, just outside Trenton. I remember the bridge coming into Trenton had a sign that read. “What Trenton makes, the world takes.” We renamed it. “What the world refuses, Trenton uses.” Not exactly a vacation hot spot!
Thank you, Cassidy, I appreciate it. Been to Jersey several times, usually delivering to places like Elizaberh. There was a nice Petro truck stop right off of the Jersey Turnpike I used to stay at while waiting for a load.
Freeland could play 3B and is excelling in AAA as a top prospect.
Yeah, maybe he could, but he has been playing SS, and they are not going to OJT the kid at third in the bigs. During spring training maybe, He has played 14 games at third in the minors.
Not sure of your scouting report. Have you been following Freeland? He deserves a long look.
Ramos to AAA
Sirota to A+
Hope to AA
Is what I want.
Thanks for the article Bear. His nickname was Gentle Al. Such a humble man.
Welcome John. Glad you enjoyed it.
*Good stuff Bear on Al Downing. I have won more than one beer on the trivia question “who was the only man in uniform as a player when Roger Maris hit 61st in 61 and Henry Aaron hit #715?
*Pretty good pitching matchup last night. Skenes is a must watch for me and has been since I first saw him at LSU. Joe Davis passed along a great story about his past and what a quality character guy he is.
*Yamamoto wasn’t his best but it’s hard to win when your team scores zero. A disturbing stat is the 4 walks.
*Walks will kill ya………..in fact not getting the leading lady out to start an inning is a problem. 56% of lead off guys who get on base, score.
Last night we only got the leadoff hitter out 3 times. A leadoff walk (to Cruz) scored in the 1st, helped by a poor tag by Mookie (more on that in a minute). Yamamoto got away with another leadoff walk in the 2nd and 3rd innings. Muncy’s throwing error after a nice stop, allowed Henry Davis to reach in the 5th and he scored an unearned run. Vesia gave up a leadoff single in the 6th. Noah Davis allowed a leadoff walk to start the 8th. So, more focus in retiring the leadoff man, especially avoiding the walks, is an area that needs improvement.
*So, Mookie is showing his athleticism and work ethic in his unusual transition to SS. Not many would even consider it, let alone pull it off. He does well and is improving on routine plays. The part he misses are little things that career SS do naturally. One is positioning at times at the right spots on cut off throws from the outfield. Last night it was a poor tag on a stealing Cruz, who ended up scoring.
Will Smith’s throw was perfect. But too often I see infielders in front of the bag, catch the ball out front and have to sweep tag instead of letting the throw travel. Had Mookie let the throw travel and pop-tagged Cruz, he was out. Let it travel.
*Another folly was the Pirates’ 6 throw rundown to get Pages while Ohtani scampered into 2nd. Did they skip rundown day at Spring Training? Players can’t stand at the bases and play catch. Both the chaser and receiver need to run at the runner and close the gap so 1 throw does the trick. Done right, and Ohtani stays at 1st.
*So, while I’m nit-picking, Muncy is playing with zero confidence. Even to the point of not calling off Smith on the foul pop up. Much easier play for Muncy but he let Will make the catch. His defensive struggles and .171 average are hard to watch.
*Teo missed a golden opportunity to tie the game in the 4th after Freddie reached third with no outs. I know coaches who would go nuts or fine your ass if the hitter didn’t hit a sac fly in that situation. The mission is to get a pitch to lift before you get to 2 strikes. Instead, Teo took a liftable pitch and then hit a weak grounder to 3rd on a pitch down and in. Spit on that pitch and hunt something up. Another missed opportunity.
*These little things matter.
*Neil Cruz looks like a giant Praying Mantis patrolling centerfield.
*These are times when I am much more concerned about how we are playing as a team then wins and losses. If you play better, the wins will come.
We could use a good outing by Roki tonight.
Phil, great trivia question, I would had to buy you a beer. Another fundamental thing is to run the base runner back to the base in which he came.
i was at a series in Detroit. Every game I was sitting by a scout for Tampa Bay. He must of told me five times that the Dodgers screwed up trading Cruz to Pittsburgh
John, Cruz signed with the Dodgers for $950,000 in 2015 and was traded to the Pirates two years later for Tony Watson.
What an athlete Cruz is; 6’7″, 240 and runs like a deer. I can see why he Tampa Bay scout was drooling over Cruz.
https://dodgersway.com/2022/03/06/dodgers-trade-oneil-cruz-pittsburgh-pirates-2017/
Just like the Alvarez trade to the Astros, made the same year, he had no position, and was very raw. LA needed bullpen help, they got it in both trades.
You win some, you lose some.
Neither had a position at the time. Not sure Cruz is a plus defender in center, but his bat would play somewhere. Alvarez on the other hand was an unknown quality. He had not played a game in the Dodger system when he was traded. He still is nothing more than a DH 90% of the time. Would not get much playing time in LA. That trade did not bother me at all.
He came up as a shortstop and played there when he came to the big time. I would think he’d be a great athlete
His defense as a SS leaves a lot to be desired, but his bat would be nice in CF right now plus that speed.
Actually Al gave up Hank’s 715th, not 714th. I fact checked myself.
Jack Billingham gave up #714.
👍
I edited your comment as you can see.
Thank you Bear.
Anytime
I didn’t see Smith’s throw the same way you did Phil. I thought it was the perfect height but was on the 3rd base side of second. Mookie was positioned correctly but had he let the ball travel he would not have caught it where your eyes saw it versus where my eyes saw it.
Yes the throw was to the third base side. If it was more in line with the base, Cruz would have been out.
Could be Bum. My old eyes aren’t 20/10 anymore. But I replayed it a number of times and I’ll stick with my version that Will’s throw was perfect. All Mookie had to do was let it travel and drop the glove in front of the bag.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it 👍
I have noticed and many in here have stated, to paraphrase, the dodgers are failing on fundamentals, base running, tagging people out, throwing to the wrong bag from the outfield (mainly Pages), making non-productive outs, too many strike outs, etc etc. They are lacking in most items that make baseball entertaining. Hey they win they lose, but it’s how poorly they are performing the fundamentals and entertaining parts of the game. It has become very easy to turn the channel to find something that is entertaining to watch.
Also, they have to do something about Max, for sure, no more waiting around, time to pull the plug.
Almost every year during AF’s reign we go through stretches like this and at the end of every September we’ve won the division ( except one year when we still won 105 games) and ready to play in October. The same will happen this year.
And they beat a 107-win team to advance. You could say had LA not suffered so many injuries that year, to the pitching staff, and losing Muncy who was raking at the time for the entire playoffs, cost them a shot at the World Series.
But they started doing the little things right and they were entertaining, I don’t see it thus far.
Did for the first 8 games. Conforto was hitting over .300. They are in a funk, that is obvious. But they can just as likely break out in one really good game. Way too early to worry about this team. Muncy may or may not get better. But they will wait to make moves.
Gomez added to roster, Davis optioned. Lineup same as last night. Muncy hitting 8th and Pages 9th.
Not related to baseball but got this off of Facebook. Think it is a totally cool drawing of Sam Elliot as General Buford in Gettysburg
Outstanding movie!!
Yes, it was. The sequel, Gods and Generals was not bad either. Although they made the main character Stonewall Jackson, played by Stephen Lang, who ironically played George Pickett in Gettysburg. Robert Duvall replaced Martin Sheen as Robert E Lee. Beringer, and Daniels played the same parts they did in Gettysburg, Longstreet and Josiah Chamberlain.
I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again – where the catcher sets up has nothing to do with whether it’s a strike or not. Same with not giving strikes because of time served. It’s a strike or it isn’t. Period.
Not in the MLB or very consistently in the MLB
Proposal, If anyone has an inside with Dodger management. Any pitcher that walks a lead off hitter in an inning gets a fine. The first time $50 and the same pitcher walks another the fine doubles. Let’s say he walks three leadoff hitters, the fine would be $350.
If a hitter doesn’t bring home a runner from third with less than two outs the same fine system is in play. First time $50 and it doubles for the same hitter each time it happens in the same game.
At the end of the season the money is donated to the RBI program, special Olympics or the hunger kitchens. Any charity organization would be good. This is baseball 101, teams have to execute many small issues so big issues don’t happen.
I know it gets old but I’m going to share something my players got tired of hearing, “It matters” what I meant, tend to the small details so they don’t become bigger problems. You hear the term “practice makes perfect”. We used perfect practice makes perfect.
A small adjustment to my last suggestion. If an. out isn’t recorded, you don’t get fined.
This fine system is organization wide. Starts with the rookie league and works up the ladder. Need to adjust the fine system, big leaguers should have to pay more than minor league players.
Never going to happen. Players usually have kangaroo courts for stuff like that, but no team is going to implement fines. That is way old school stuff.
More poor baserunning.
It happens, Pirates not immune either, Bart trying to score on that short fly to Teo was a bad decision. Kike with his 5th homer of the season. He only has 8 hits all year.
Hitting the leadoff hitter is the same as a walk
I kept telling myself that Pages just needed a longer runway but I didn’t believe it
He’s in the zone.
And his CF play has been okay so far.
That’s funny
This is hilarious. I’ve never heard or read anything like this before, anywhere.
Nice win, they needed it. Tied for second with the Padres who lost again to the Rays. Giants won their game and lead the West by 1. Former Dodger farm hand, Alan Trejo, obtained in a trade with the Rangers by the Rockies. Trejo spent last season at OKC and Colorado. He hit .265 in 59 games at OKC. Walt Jocketty, former GM of the Cardinals, passed away at the age of 74