Scott Littlefield, a two-time scout of the 12 months who spent the final 16 seasons of a 34-year profession with the Rangers, died Friday whereas on an task, the workforce introduced.
He was 59.
Littlefield, who reportedly underwent coronary heart surgical procedure two years in the past, suffered an obvious coronary heart assault and was discovered lifeless in his lodge room in Houston, based on USA As we speak.
“Scott was some of the revered scouts in Main League Baseball who had an unbelievable affect on this group,” Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Younger mentioned within the workforce’s launch. “His voice was influential in all features of our baseball operation from skilled, newbie, and worldwide scouting to Main League participant analysis. He was a useful useful resource and advisor.
“Extra importantly, he was some of the real and caring people within the recreation. The Littlefields are a baseball household together with his two youngsters and two brothers all working for MLB groups. A number of of us have been simply with Scott in Houston this week, and his ardour for our workforce by no means waned.”
Littlefield’s scouting journey started with the Braves in 1991, and he went on to work for the Pirates from 1997-2004 (as a west coast crosschecker, based on Baseball Reference) and the Padres from 2005-09 (as a nationwide crosschecker) earlier than becoming a member of the Rangers as an expert scout 5 years later.
On the time of his dying, he was the Rangers’ particular assistant for participant personnel and had been on employees for six postseason appearances by Texas — together with the 2023 run to the World Sequence.
Quite a few of Littlefield’s members of the family have been additionally concerned in baseball, together with his brother, Dave, a former Pirates basic supervisor; his brother, Mark, the Yankees’ medical coordinator; his daughter, Erika, an newbie scouting assistant for the Orioles and his son, Tyler, a Padres scout, based on the workforce’s launch.
“He was a scout’s scout and liked baseball and being a scout greater than anybody I’ve ever met,” Rangers scout Mike Anderson instructed USA As we speak. “It’s the one job he ever needed, and he did it for 34 years.”
The Rangers held a second of silence for Littlefield earlier than their recreation towards the Marlins on Saturday.
