Among the players from my childhood who I remember, there is Vida Blue.
Looking up his stats, he had one of his best years (other than his 1971 Cy Young/MVP year) with the Giants in 1978. It was one of this 6 All-Star appearance years, and led the Giants pitching staff in wins with 18.
Later his career brought him to TV and radio, doing pre or post games shows with the Giants, and he was usually paired with Bill Laskey, who was a teammate and close friend of his. You could see their friendship during TV appearances and hear it on the air when they did radio together.
I’ve never met the man, but from what I saw and heard of him, and from everyone who did know him, he seemed like a genuine nice guy, always friendly and smiling.
As Marty Lurie said to open his pregame show this morning, “We’ve lost a good one.”
Rest in Peace, Vida Blue.