Former Pittsburgh Pirate player and coach Tommy Sandt has passed away at the age of 69. Sandt spent most of his baseball career as a minor league player and coach. He joined former Pirate manager Jim Leyland’s staff in 1987 and remained here until joining Leyland in both Miami and Colorado.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are not the only Major League Baseball team to allow veteran players to walk away this month. A total 59 players have been cut loose by their teams, apparently as fallout from the pandemic. All became free agents when their teams did not offer them contracts for the 2021 season by Wednesday’s deadline. Some of the bigger names included Kyle Schwarber of the Chicago Cubs, Adam Duvall of the Atlanta Braves and Archie Bradley of the Cincinnati Reds.