Mike Radcliff Obituary, Longtime Scouting Director Has Peacefully Passed Away

Mike Radcliff Obituary, Death – Mike Radcliff, who worked for the Minnesota Twins for 35 years and served as their scouting director for 14 of those years, passed away on Friday at the age of 66 after a struggle with pancreatic cancer that lasted nearly four years. According to the Twins, Radcliff passed away in the Kansas City suburb where he and his wife, Sherry, maintained their residence. In 1987, he was hired by the club, and in 1993, he was promoted to the position of scouting director.

When he was promoted to the position of vice president of player personnel in 2007, he already held the record for the longest tenure of any scouting director in Major League Baseball. Over the course of his career, Radcliff was honored with a number of scouting awards by his contemporaries. Within the Twins organization, he was lauded for the assurance with which he selected Joe Mauer as the first overall pick in the 2001 draft, choosing him over Mark Prior and Mark Teixeira.

He had a solid concept of what it was that he was trying to find. Terry Ryan, a former general manager for the Minnesota Twins, remarked that the player “had a good idea of how to go about his business, with a total respect for the game and his coaches.” There was not a single player, group of players, or task that he was unable to handle successfully.