Overview
- The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Claire died Monday, October 5, in Pasadena after recently entering hospice and the club’s president Stan Kasten issued condolences to his wife Sheryl and their three children.
- Claire rose from sportswriter and public relations roles to become general manager in 1987 and is credited with assembling the underdog 1988 team through moves such as signing Kirk Gibson and completing a three‑team winter trade that brought Jay Howell, Jesse Orosco and Alfredo Griffin.
- His 1988 roster construction helped Orel Hershiser deliver a historic pitching season and set the stage for Gibson’s iconic pinch‑hit home run in Game 1 of the World Series.
- Claire led the Dodgers’ baseball operations through the 1990s but was dismissed in June 1998 after the club was sold to News Corporation and a high‑profile Mike Piazza trade was completed without his involvement.
- Beginning in 2015 he waged a public battle with recurrent squamous cell carcinoma, underwent surgery, radiation and immunotherapy, co‑wrote a book about his experience, and raised money for City of Hope while remaining a longtime public voice on baseball.