Mike Sandlock, oldest former major league player, dies at 100

Mike Sandlock, who became the oldest living former major-league player in 2014, died late Monday night in his home in Cos Cob, Conn., almost six months after his 100th birthday.

"With a Sad Heart I wish to inform all - that Dad passed away this evening at 11:18 pm Monday April 4, 2016," Sandlock's son, Mike E. Sandlock, announced his father's passing in an e-mail. "He is suffering no longer. He is now in the starting line-up at the Field of Dreams!"

The elder Sandlock, played five seasons in majors from 1942-53 with the Boston Braves (1942, ‘44), Brooklyn Dodgers (1945-46) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1953).

He also played 14 seasons in the minors, where he counted Duke Snider, Don Newcombe and future Hollywood actor Chuck Connors among his teammates with the Montreal Royals, the Class-AAA affiliate of the Dodgers.

Sandlock, who was born on Oct. 17, 1915 Old Greenwhich, Conn., made his major-league debut with the Braves on Sept. 19, 1942, and played two games that season.

Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.

Sandlock was traded to the Dodgers in 1944 and had his best season in the majors in 1945 with Brooklyn, batting .282 with two home runs and 17 RBI in 80 games.

Sandlock took over the mantle of oldest living former major-league player when Conrado Marrero, the diminutive Cuban right-hander who pitched for the Washington Senators in the 1950s, died in Havana on April 23, 2014, two days shy of his 103rd birthday.

That distinction now belongs to Eddie Carnett, who played for the Boston Braves, Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians during three major-league season from 1941 to 1945. His 100th birthday will be Oct. 21.