Fastball reliever Ryan Duran passed away:

Duren died Thursday, stepson Mark Jackson said Friday.

An All-Star in three seasons, Duren played for the New York Yankees and six other teams during a big league career from 1954-65. He went 27-44 with a 3.83 ERA in 311 appearances, all but 32 in relief. He helped the Yankees win AL pennants in 1958 and 1960 and was 1-1 with a 2.03 ERA in five World Series games.

My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Duren personified wild. While striking out better than nine batters per nine innings during his career, he also walked six per nine. With the high strikeout total, he allowed just a .210 BA and a .307 slugging percentage, so he got away with the walks for the most part. I can imagine it must have been frightening facing him, since the batter had no idea where the ball was going.