![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/packages/flash/multimedia/ICONS/transparent.png)
Piersall, in the center holding a bat, was thrown out of a game for arguing too vigorously on a called strike in Cleveland in 1960.
Julian C. Wilson/Associated Press; thumbnail, P.J. Carroll/Associated Press, 1952
Jimmy Piersall
Died on June 4, 2017 at age 87
Piersall was the often outrageous outfielder and broadcaster whose emotional breakdown while a rookie with the Boston Red Sox was portrayed in the 1957 movie “Fear Strikes Out,” a rare glimpse, for its time, at an athlete’s mental illness.
Notable Deaths 2017
Remembering Mary Tyler Moore, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lewis, David Rockefeller, Trisha Brown, Glen Campbell, Dick Gregory, Edith Windsor, Sam Shepard, Tom Petty and many others who died this year.