Frank Deford died on Sunday at the age 78. For sports fans (not just baseball fans) of my generation, both his writing and his speaking about sports was as good as you could get. His ability to put you at the scene of an event, to explain the importance of a moment or something larger, and his use of language to do so was, for me, mesmerizing.

There have been a number of articles and tributes to him already, and I suspect many  more will be written over the days to come. This one, by Joe Posnanski, tells about the impact Deford had on one of our current best sports writers (in my opinion) and why he believes “Frank was the greatest sportswriter there ever was.”

A Toast to the Best, by Joe Posnanski, May 29 on the death of Frank Deford.

Update 9 PM, 5/30 – For those who want to know more about Deford, see this NPR post: The Best of Frank Deford, According to Frank Deford.