Marty Noble, longtime New York baseball writer, dies at 70

NEW YORK (AP) — Marty Noble, a longtime baseball writer and Hall of Fame voter who was a mainstay on the New York Mets beat for decades, has died. He was 70.

He died Sunday in Florida, according to Newsday and MLB.com. Newsday said a family member confirmed his death, but no cause was given.

Noble covered the New York Yankees and Mets for Newsday from 1981-2004, the newspaper said. He later worked for MLB.com, chronicling the Mets there as well.

A dean among the city’s many experienced baseball writers, Noble was a familiar presence to all in the press box and clubhouse at Shea Stadium and Citi Field, often smiling as he pulled up a chair next to a Mets player sitting at his locker to strike up a friendly chat.

An artful writer who was still producing long-form pieces, Noble was a go-to source on the history of both New York baseball teams. He established good relationships with generations of Mets stars from Tom Seaver and Keith Hernandez to Dwight Gooden and David Wright.

According to Newsday, Noble started his reporting career at the Herald News in New Jersey in 1970 and was on the baseball beat at the Bergen Record by 1974. He joined Newsday in 1981 and covered both the Mets and Yankees at various times during the 1980s. He stayed solely on the Mets beat from 1990-2004.

In recent years, Noble devoted many hours to editing and overseeing the program for the annual New York Baseball Writers’ Association of America dinner, where winners of the MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards often receive their prizes.

Noble is survived by his wife, Yvette, and two daughters, Carolyn and Lindsay, according to MLB.com. There was no immediate information on funeral arrangements.