Longtime ESPN and Major League Baseball writer Jim Caple died on Sunday, his wife announced. He was 61.
Caple’s wife, Vicki, announced that he had been battling both ALS and dementia.
"My person, best friend and husband died on Sunday afternoon," Vicki wrote on his Facebook account, <a class="rapid-with-clickid" data-i13n="elm:affiliate_link;sellerN:ESPN;elmt:;cpos:1;pos:1" data-original-link="https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/38550277/jim-caple-former-espn-national-mlb-writer-dies-61" href="https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?merchantId=8b9dfafd-e7b1-4ac1-bb73-50d55c74d82d&siteId=us-sports&pageId=1p-autolink&featureId=text-link&merchantName=ESPN&custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVyaXpvbiIsImxhbmRpbmdVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5lc3BuLmNvbS9lc3BuL3N0b3J5L18vaWQvMzg1NTAyNzcvamltLWNhcGxlLWZvcm1lci1lc3BuLW5hdGlvbmFsLW1sYi13cml0ZXItZGllcy02MSIsImNvbnRlbnRVdWlkIjoiOTRkNWFmOTgtMTEwZS00MWM2LWFhMDctMjA1ZmRhMzQ1ODg3In0&signature=AQAAAQpzHah9w-ocLEuSfDEcEwRvnGP7OUHCRBqgYYs1NSww&gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.espn.com%2Fespn%2Fstory%2F_%2Fid%2F38550277%2Fjim-caple-former-espn-national-mlb-writer-dies-61"><ins>via ESPN</ins></a>. "We all love Jim Caple so much, and he loved you. Many great times, laughs and adventures with all of us with Jim. Go in peace my love."
Caple, a Washington state native who attended the University of Washington, covered baseball at ESPN from 2001-2017. He also spent time at the St. Paul Pioneer-Press, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and most recently at The Athletic. In total, Caple covered 20 World Series and six Olympics. He was also a longtime columnist at ESPN’s “Page 2.”
He wrote several books throughout his career, too, including a New York Yankees book titled, “The Devil Wears Pinstripes,” and “Best Boston Sports Arguments” with longtime Boston Herald columnist Steve Buckley. He also wrote a novel that was partly based on his dad’s experience as a pilot in World War II.
"Jim was an amazing and prolific writer who always found the joy in sports," former ESPN vice president and Caple's longtime editor Kevin Jackson said, <a class="rapid-with-clickid" data-i13n="elm:affiliate_link;sellerN:ESPN;elmt:;cpos:2;pos:1" data-original-link="https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/38550277/jim-caple-former-espn-national-mlb-writer-dies-61" href="https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?merchantId=8b9dfafd-e7b1-4ac1-bb73-50d55c74d82d&siteId=us-sports&pageId=1p-autolink&featureId=text-link&merchantName=ESPN&custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVyaXpvbiIsImxhbmRpbmdVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5lc3BuLmNvbS9lc3BuL3N0b3J5L18vaWQvMzg1NTAyNzcvamltLWNhcGxlLWZvcm1lci1lc3BuLW5hdGlvbmFsLW1sYi13cml0ZXItZGllcy02MSIsImNvbnRlbnRVdWlkIjoiOTRkNWFmOTgtMTEwZS00MWM2LWFhMDctMjA1ZmRhMzQ1ODg3In0&signature=AQAAAQpzHah9w-ocLEuSfDEcEwRvnGP7OUHCRBqgYYs1NSww&gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.espn.com%2Fespn%2Fstory%2F_%2Fid%2F38550277%2Fjim-caple-former-espn-national-mlb-writer-dies-61"><ins>via ESPN</ins></a>. "Whether he was writing about baseball, the Olympics, the NCAA Tournament or his beloved Tour de France, Jim cared deeply about the games we play, but he never took them too seriously."
Plenty of other writers, journalists and media members took to social media on Monday to honor Caple.