5 hours ago
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The world of baseball is mourning the death of former Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers catcher Rich Rowland at the age of 62.
His son Robby announced the sad news in an emotional Instagram post, that described his father as his 'hero, best friend and role model'.
No cause of death has yet been revealed for the California-born baseball star that made his MLB debut for Detroit in September 1990.
In the post on social media, Robby wrote: 'Pops, my hero man. My best friend & my role model.. Thank you. Words simply cannot express.. and if they could I wouldn’t know which ones to use..
'I just feel so dang blessed to have had the best frickin dad a kid could ask for! I love you, pops.'
The post quickly racked up tens of thousands of likes and tributes poured in for the ex-baseball star, with one fan writing: 'I remember watching your Pops play football, basketball and baseball for CHS [Cloverdale High School] and then following his career with the Tigers and Red Sox.'
Another added: 'Your father will always be a legend in the eyes of all who knew him, and if it’s one thing I know, it’s that legends never die.'
Robby himself has a quarter of a million followers on Instagram and has built up a fanbase of viewers for his gaming videos, after ending a professional baseball career of his own that saw him pitch eight seasons in the minors and five in the Frontier League.
Rich, meanwhile, spent four years in Detroit before being traded to the Boston Red Sox for catcher John Flaherty just prior to the start of the 1994 season.
He played in 46 games for the team that season, with 118 at-bats, 27 hits and nine home runs in an impressive stint.
Rowland struggled more the following year, accumulating just 29 at-bats across 14 games, playing his final game in June 1995 before being sent down to the Pawtucket Red Sox minor league team.
After his retirement, Rowland worked in the timber industry and spent his time woodworking with redwood, according to a biography on the Society of American Baseball Research website.
