Roger Craig, who pitched or managed in five World Series and changed the face of pitching in the 1980s as the guru of the split-fingered fastball, died Sunday. He was 93.
The San Francisco Giants, a team Craig managed for eight seasons, leading them to the National League pennant in 1989, announced his death on its website on Sunday. His family said Craig had a short illness, a Giants spokesman said.
For some, Craig was a figure in baseball trivia: He was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers in their final game before moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, and five years later, in 1962, he threw the first pitch in the Mets’ history.