Former pitcher Ray Herbert died Dec. 20, 2022. He battled Alzheimer’s disease. He came up with his home town Tigers, and after his career became the batting practice pitcher for the team:

Herbert was a part of a generation of Detroiters who flocked to the diamonds of the city’s historic Northwestern Field, a sandlot that turned out players such as Willie Horton, Bill Freehan and Frank Tanana. It was famed Tigers scout “Wish” Egan who spotted Herbert and his older brother, Donald, on the field so loaded with talent that sponsors, reporters and scouts alike were in attendance.

ESPN.com

My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Herbert was a late bloomer. While he came up at the age of 20, he did not hit his stride until 1958 at seasonal age 28. That year he posted a 2.6 rWAR, and would go on to post a 5.8 rWAR in 1960 and a 4.6 rWAR in 1962, the year he was the winning pitcher in the All-Star game. Looking at his stat line, ’62 looks like his best season, as he went 20-9 with a 3.27 ERA versus 14-15 with a 3.28 ERA in 1960. He did pitch more innings in 1960, however.

Overall, he was a man of his times; low strikeouts, low walks, low home runs allowed.