CMC Set Passings - Pitcher and a Daughter

Just a quick note about the passing of a CMC set member, Francisco de la Rosa - and the passing last weekend of the daughter of an extended member of the 1990 minor league baseball family.

According to reports, the Dominican native de la Rosa passed away recently after several years of failing health.

I featured de la Rosa back in July. He was credited with nine seasons in the minors, originally signed by the Blue Jays. The right-hander made it to the majors in 1991 for all of two appearances, pitching a total of four innings.

His two appearances were nearly a month apart. Back soreness after his first outing Sept. 7 shelved him until season's end. He appeared in his second and final game Oct. 3, 1991. In his four innings, he gave up two earned runs.

Quick searches uncovered only a handful of articles noting de la Rosa's passing. The articles only offer that he had been suffering from failing health. One of the articles includes a cropped version of his CMC set card photo.

Thanks to Bo over at Baseball Cards Come to Life! for letting me know about de la Rosa's passing.

While I'm on the topic of passings, I haven't been sure whether I should post something on this or not. Because, mainly, a lot of others have spoken about it, and a lot more eloquently than I ever could.

But it's a passing in the extended CMC set family, those who played in the minors in 1990, but didn't make the CMC set.

One of those extended family members was John Green. Green pitched for six seasons in the minors, his last in 1990. That year, he made AAA for the only time, pitching two games at AAA Columbus. In 3.1 innings, he gave up no runs.

Despite pitching at Columbus that year, Green didn't make the CMC set, he didn't make the majors either.

The reason this is here is John Green's full name is John Dallas Green. His father is former major league manager Dallas Green.

His daughter was 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, the little girl killed in last week's massacre in Arizona.

John Green spoke of his daughter this week, The Arizona Republic wrote, as someone who liked to pick blackberries, hit baseballs and dance around the house.

At her services this week, the father eulogized his daughter, his voice sometimes shaking, The Republic wrote. He also sometimes spoke directly to her casket.

"I can't tell you how much we miss you," John Dallas Green said, according to The Republic. "I think you affected the whole country."

• Arizona Republic, Jan. 14, 2011: Arizonans say goodbye to slain 9-year-old