The Oakland A’s announced on Twitter the passing of long-standing Bay Area sports personality Mychael Urban. Aged 55, Urban had contributed to several publications, including the San Francisco Examiner, MLB.com, and The Athletic, and hosted a show on the KNBR radio station.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Mychael Urban,” the A’s stated. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this time.”
Urban was known for his baseball coverage, especially of the Oakland A’s. He authored the book “Aces: The Last Season on the Mound with the Oakland A’s Big Three,” which focuses on the careers of famous A’s starting pitchers Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, and Tim Hudson, who were instrumental to Oakland’s “Moneyball” teams.
Friends and colleagues took to Twitter to express their sorrow and remember Urban. Susan Slusser of the SF Chronicle wrote, “Such dreadful news. Mychael Urban covered A’s teams with some big personalities and he somehow had a personality just as big and was wildly entertaining, never a dull moment. Condolences to his family, especially his two daughters. He adored them. RIP, my friend.”
Former Oakland A’s pitcher and current announcer Dallas Braden also paid tribute to Urban, tweeting, “Just unbelievably sad. Urbs was full of life. It didn’t matter whether or not he had pressed record, you were getting the same dude regardless. I LOVED that about him. Unapologetically himself. Rest easy Urbs. You will be missed by many.”
At this time, officials have not disclosed the cause of Urban’s death.