Former Red Sox Slugger Who Nearly Broke World Series Curse Dies At 54

Former Boston Red Sox player Butch Huskey, whose seven-year Major League Baseball career included a memorable connection to one of baseball’s most important numbers, has died at 54.

Huskey spent the majority of his career with the New York Mets after the organization selected him in the seventh round of the 1989 MLB Draft. He made his major league debut in 1993 and eventually became a productive power option for the Mets, hitting a career-high 24 home runs in 1997.

His playing career also brought him to Boston, where he joined a Red Sox team that came tantalizingly close to ending a historic championship drought. But he is perhaps best remembered for being the penultimate Met to wear No. 42, followed only by Mo Vaughn, before the number was retired throughout Major League Baseball to honor Jackie Robinson.

Former Boston Red Sox Player Dies Suddenly At 54

The Mets announced Huskey’s death Friday on X: “We are saddened to learn about the passing of former Met Butch Huskey.”

A cause of death was not disclosed in the announcement. Huskey was 54.

His connection to Boston came after the 1998 season, when the Mets traded him to the Seattle Mariners. Seattle subsequently dealt him to the Red Sox, giving Huskey an opportunity to join a Boston club that advanced to the American League Championship Series in 1999 before losing to the eventual World Series champion New York Yankees.

Huskey appeared in only six games for Boston, but his Red Sox tenure represented another stop in a career that included time with the Mets, Mariners, Minnesota Twins and Colorado Rockies. He finished his MLB career with 86 home runs, 336 RBI and a .267 batting average.

His most significant legacy, however, may have involved a number he wore rather than the statistics he produced.

Former Boston Red Sox Slugger Butch Huskey's Historic Connection To No. 42

Huskey was wearing No. 42 for the Mets when Major League Baseball announced in 1997 that Jackie Robinson’s number would be retired throughout the sport. That made Huskey the penultimate Mets player to wear the number before it became unavailable league-wide.

The significance was not lost on Huskey, who had developed an appreciation for Robinson long before reaching the majors.

“If I ever made it in baseball, 42 would be my number,” Huskey said, per MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. “Reading books about him got the ball rolling. (I wrote a report) was about Robinson being the first Black player to play in Major League Baseball. To me, that was an accomplishment in itself for him to go through what he went through — to be able to make it and play in the major leagues at a high level.”

That connection gave Huskey a unique place in Mets history beyond his on-field production. He was part of a generation of players who witnessed MLB formally preserve Robinson’s legacy through the retirement of No. 42.

For Red Sox fans, Huskey will be remembered as a member of the 1999 team that nearly broke the sport’s most infamous title drought. For Mets fans, he was a longtime contributor and a player tied forever to one of baseball’s most important numbers.

Huskey’s career ended after the 2000 season, but his connection to No. 42 ensured that his place in baseball history would extend well beyond his final game.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com