Former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brian Wolfe has died suddenly, the team announced on Wednesday, September 16. He was 45.
“We are saddened to learn of the passing of former Blue Jay, Brian Wolfe,” the team posted on social media. “Our thoughts are with his loved ones during this difficult time 💙.”
Brian’s wife, Rachell, confirmed the news via Facebook on Wednesday.
“[I’m] sorry to write this but after a really really difficult and torturous battle Brian Wolfe passed away early this morning,” she shared.
Brian and Rachell shared two daughters: Scarlett and Avery. No further details about Brian’s death have been shared publicly.
Former MLB pitcher Brandon Barnes addressed Brian’s death in an emotional video on Wednesday, noting that “life is too short.”
“I just lost one of my best friends and a mentor,” Barnes, 40, said. “Those words hit a lot frickin’ different right now because eventually there will be a last conversation with somebody you love. A last phone call, a last laugh, a last text and a last time you see them. Most of the time you won’t know it’s the last one, and that’s the part that gets me. We spend so much of our lives worrying about the s*** that doesn’t matter: holding grudges, stressing about money, worrying about what strangers think about us, putting off that trip, putting off that phone call, putting off that dream that is in your heart, thinking what we will eventually get around to it.”
Barnes — who played in the Majors from 2012 to 2018 with the Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies and Cleveland Indians — added, “When you’re with the people you love, be there. Put the phone down. I fall victim to this. Listen to them. Laugh with them. You are not going to get these days back. Take that picture with them. Stay just a little bit longer. Because I’m realizing right now that some of the ordinary moments we barely think about while they’re happening end up becoming the moments we’d give anything to have one more time.”
A native of Fullerton, California, Brian played three seasons with the Blue Jays from 2007 to 2009.
Following his MLB career, Brian played professional baseball in Japan from 2010 to 2018 with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Saitama Seibu Lions.
During his final season with the Fighters, Brian was teammates with future MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani.
