| Hank Sauer | |
|---|---|
 Sauer as a Red, 1948 | |
| Left fielder | |
| Born:(1917-03-17)March 17, 1917 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| Died: August 24, 2001(2001-08-24) (aged 84) Burlingame, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 9, 1941, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 17, 1959, for the San Francisco Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .266 |
| Home runs | 288 |
| Runs batted in | 876 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Henry John Sauer (March 17, 1917 – August 24, 2001) was an American professionalbaseball player,coach andscout. He appeared in 1,399games, primarily as aleft fielder, inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theCincinnati Reds (1941–1942, 1945, 1948–1949),Chicago Cubs (1949–1955),St. Louis Cardinals (1956), andNew York / San Francisco Giants (1957–1959).
A two-timeAll-Star, Sauer hit more than 30home runs six times in the seven seasons of 1948 through 1954. He was a feared slugger for the early-1950s Cubs, exceeding the 30-homer mark five times in a Chicago uniform, with a career-high of 41 in1954. His most productive season came in1952, when Sauer led theNational League in home runs (37, tied withRalph Kiner) andruns batted in (121), and was named theMost Valuable Player. Sauer andJohnny Bench are the only players in major league history ever to have hit three homers in a single game twice against the same pitcher. He did it1950 and 1952 while with the Cubs, victimizingCurt Simmons of thePhiladelphia Phillies. A younger brother,Ed, also an outfielder, played in 189 games in the majors for three National League teams during the 1940s.
A native ofPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Hank Sauer was listed as 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and 198 pounds (90 kg). He threw and batted right-handed. He started his professional career in theNew York Yankees' organization, and was acquired by Cincinnati in October 1939 after threeminor league seasons. After two short stints totaling 16 games with the1941–1942 Reds,World War II service in theUnited States Coast Guard, then another audition, this time 31 games, for the1945 Reds, Sauer spent the full seasons of 1946 and 1947 with theTriple-ASyracuse Chiefs. In the latter year, Sauer led the 1947International League inruns scored (130),hits (182) and runs batted in (141); he slugged 50 homers, three fewer than league leaderHowie Moss, andhit .336, one percentage point behind batting championNippy Jones. He was named the circuit'sMVP.
His breakout season in Syracuse earned him a permanent major league spot, at age 31, with the1948 Reds, and Sauer would play in over one hundred games in every season through 1954. As Cincinnati's regular left fielder in 1948, Sauer slugged 35 home runs, fourth in the National League. But he started slowly in1949, with only four homers in his first 32 games, and on June 15, he was traded to the Cubs in a two-for-two, all-outfielder trade involvingFrank Baumholtz,Harry Walker, andPeanuts Lowrey.
During a time when the Cubs were especially moribund, Sauer provided some joy for the team's fans with his power hitting, earning him the nickname "The Mayor ofWrigley Field". In addition to his 37 blasts in 1952 and 41 in 1954, Sauer also put up seasons of 27, 32 and 30 home runs as a Cub. He was well known for using smokeless tobacco, and it has often been reported that after he hit a home run, when he returned to his left field position, bleacher fans might shower him with packets of his favorite chew, Beech Nut tobacco.
Sauer was not especially fleet afoot. In contrast to radio'sQuiz Kids or the 1950 Phillies "Whiz Kids", according to Chicago columnistMike Royko the 1950s Cubs had an outfield "that was so slow they were known as theQuicksand Kids." Sauer, Baumholtz and Kiner played left, center and right fields, respectively.[1]
One of the highlights of Sauer's tenure in Chicago occurred during the1952 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, played July 8 atShibe Park,Philadelphia. Starting in left field for the National League, Sauer came to bat in the fourthinning with the NL trailing 2–1 andStan Musial on first base. Facing eventualHall of FamerBob Lemon, Sauer belted a two-run homer to give his team the lead. When the game was called due to rain after it had completed the mandatory five innings, the NL was awarded the 3–2 victory and Sauer's homer stood as the winning blow.[2]
In1954, Sauer recorded career highs of 41 home runs, 98 runs scored, and a .938OPS. In1955, however, Sauer batted only .211 in 79 games for the Cubs, and was traded to the Cardinals duringspring training in1956. He appeared in 75 games for the Redbirds that season and batted .298 in part-time duty, but—nearing his 40th birthday—he was handed his unconditional release October 16. He signed as a free agent with the Giants, and in1957, the club's last year inNew York City, he slugged 26 home runs in 127 games, finishing tenth in the Senior Circuit in long balls. He played two more years with the franchise inSan Francisco before becoming a coach late in1959, and then a long-time scout and roving minor league batting instructor for the Giants.
In his 15-season MLB career, Sauer was a .266 hitter with 288 home runs and 876 runs batted in. His 1,278 hits also included 200doubles and 19triples.
Sauer died of aheart attack while playing golf inBurlingame, California, on August 24, 2001, at the age of 84.[3]
· Baseball Almanac