Beloved Minnesota Twins scouting director Mike Radcliff dies

Radcliff had worked for the Twins since 1987.

The Minnesota Twins and many longstanding members of the Major League Baseball community are mourning the death of Twins' scouting director Mike Radcliff. 

Radcliff was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019 before surgery to remove the tumor made him cancer-free in September 2020. Patrick Reusse reports that Radcliff died after "docs kept pancreatic cancer at bay for a time."

Mike Radcliff, the great scout and Twins vice president, has died after the docs kept pancreatic cancer at bay for a time.
Called him last week to get quote on evaluation for Arraez trade. Didn't ask, "How you doin'?,'' b/c I figured he was tired of that question.

— Patrick Reusse (@Patrick_Reusse) February 3, 2023

A source from the Twins confirmed Radcliff's death to Bring Me The Sports and said the team was prepared to release a statement in the near future. 

Numerous baseball insiders have reacted to the news of his death. 

RIP Mike Radcliff, one of the game’s best and most revered scouts. Radcliff joined the Twins in 1987 and became team’s VP of Player Personnel in Sept. 2007. In the words of one of his peers, “Best work ethic in MLB…wonderful person…on Mt. Rushmore of scouting industry.”

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 3, 2023

Just crushed to hear about the death of longtime @Twins scout Mike Radcliff. If there was a more respected or more liked scout in the game, I don't know who it was. Not sure how many hours I spent talking & learning with Mike, but they were many & I enjoyed them all. RIP, Mike.

— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) February 3, 2023

I've been fortunate to get to know so many wonderful people in baseball. None were better, smarter, more gracious than longtime @Twins scout Mike Radcliff. This world is emptier now that he has left it. Rest easy, MRad

— Jonathan Mayo (@JonathanMayo) February 3, 2023

Radcliff joined the Twins in 1987 – the year they won their first World Series – and was a renowned scout before being named the vice president of player personnel in 2007. His bio on the Twins website is the stuff of legends. 

"Among the game’s most revered talent evaluators, Radcliff was named 2011 Scout of the Year in the Midwest by his peers in Major League Baseball, was inducted into the Professional Scouts Hall of Fame in July of 2014 and elected to the Killebrew Root Beer Professional Scouts Hall of Fame in September 2021. In addition, Radcliff was the 2016 recipient of the George Genovese Lifetime Achievement Award in Scouting, given by the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation."

No scouting director in baseball had held the position as long as Radcliff did with the Twins, dating all the way back to 1993.