| Sonny Siebert | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1937-01-14)January 14, 1937 (age 88) St. Mary, Missouri, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 26, 1964, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 25, 1975, for the Oakland Athletics | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 140–114 |
| Earned run average | 3.21 |
| Strikeouts | 1,512 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Wilfred Charles "Sonny" Siebert (born January 14, 1937) is an American formerMajor League Baseball right-handedpitcher from 1964 to 1975. He finished with a record of 140-114 and a 3.21ERA. He threw ano-hitter on June 10, 1966, against theWashington Senators. He was drafted simultaneously by theCleveland Indians and theSt. Louis Hawks of theNBA.
Siebert was born on January 14, 1937, inSt. Mary, Missouri. He attendedBayless Senior High School, and theUniversity of Missouri. At Missouri, he played basketball for three years (1956-1958), leading the team in scoring his final year. He played baseball for one year, playingfirst base and leading the team inhome runs (1958). He played on the1958 team, along with future major league pitcherJohn O'Donoghue,[1] that lost in theCollege World Series (CWS) finals in 12 innings to theUniversity of Southern California (whose roster included, among others, future major league playersDon Buford andRon Fairly, and major league Hall of Fame executivePat Gillick[2]). He was first-team All-Big 8 and third-teamAll-American. He was selected to the CWSAll- Tournament Team that year.[3][4]
Siebert was named to the All-Time CWS Team for the 1950s. He was inducted into the University of Missouri Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.[4] In 2017, he was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.[5] He was also drafted by theSt. Louis Hawks of theNational Basketball Association.[4]
In 1958, Siebert signed with theCleveland Indians as a free agent outfielder.[3] He played in lower-level minor leagues and suffered an injury in 1959, causing him to miss considerable time. Two years into his minor league career, Indians minor league pitching coachSpud Chandler convinced Siebert to try pitching.[6][3] Chandler himself had been an All-Star pitcher for theNew York Yankees, with a lifetime 109-43 record and 2.84earned run average (ERA).[7] Earlier in Siebert's life, his father told Siebert not to become a pitcher. His father had been a hard throwing pitcher as a young man and injured his arm preparing for a major league tryout, losing the opportunity to audition forRogers Hornsby and theSt. Louis Cardinals years earlier.[3]
During this period, theNBA's St. Louis Hawks asked Siebert to try out for the team for the 1959-60 season. Siebert participated in the Hawks training camp for two-three weeks, but chose baseball.[3]
Siebert was in the Indians minor league system from 1958 to 1963. His best year was 1962, pitching forCharleston in theEastern League,Single-A baseball, where he had a record of 15-8 with a 2.91 ERA.[8]
Siebert made his major league debut in 1964, pitching in 41 games for Cleveland, starting in 14 games. He had a 7–9 record with a 3.23 ERA. In 1965 and 1966 he had identical 16–8 win–loss records, with 2.43 and 2.80 ERAs respectively.[9] Not long after conferring with pitching coachEarly Wynn (himself a Hall of Fame pitcher[10]), on June 10, 1966, Siebert pitched ano-hitter against theWashington Senators.[6]
In those years with Cleveland, the starting pitching staff also included lifetime 229 game winner and Hall of Fame candidateLuis Tiant[11][12] and"Sudden" Sam McDowell, who was considered to be the most talented pitcher in baseball (though not the winningest).[13][14][15] In 1965, McDowell and Siebert ranked 1st and 3rd in ERA for the American League (Tiant was 25th);[16] in 1966, Siebert and McDowell ranked 7th and 8th in ERA for the American League (their teammatesSteve Hargan andGary Bell being 3rd and 14th);[17] and in 1967, Siebert and Tiant ranked 3rd and 10th.[18]
Although ranking third in ERA for the second time in three years, Siebert's 1967 record was 10-12. In 1968, he had a 12–10 record. This was his final full year in Cleveland.[9] He was traded along withJoe Azcue andVicente Romo from the Indians to theBoston Red Sox forKen Harrelson,Dick Ellsworth, andJuan Pizarro on April 19,1969.[19] Siebert spent all or part of five seasons with the Red Sox[9] and was named an All-Star in 1971.[20] Siebert was the most recent American League pitcher to hit two home runs in one game, until July 27, 2023, whenShohei Ohtani matched him.[3][21] Siebert accomplished the feat for the Red Sox on September 2, 1971, against theBaltimore Orioles, before the introduction of thedesignated hitter.[22]
He was traded in 1973 to theTexas Rangers, and then played for theSt. Louis Cardinals,San Diego Padres, andOakland Athletics.[9] The Rangers traded him to the Cardinals forTommy Cruz and cash on October 26, 1973.[23] On September 11, 1974, he was credited with the win in a 25-inning Cardinal win over theNew York Mets. It is the second longest game ininnings played inNational League history.[24]
He was involved in a three-team deal on November 18, 1974, in which he was dealt along withAlan Foster andRich Folkers from the Cardinals to the Padres forEd Brinkman who had been sent to San Diego withBob Strampe andDick Sharon from theDetroit Tigers forNate Colbert.[25]Danny Breeden went from the Padres to the Cardinals to subsequently complete the transactions.[26] He split the 1975 season, his final year as a player, between the Padres and the Oakland Athletics,[9] after being traded for Ted Kubiak on May 16, 1975.[26] He finished the season with a combined 7–6 record and 3.90 ERA.[9]
For his career, Siebert had a 140–114 record, with a 3.21 ERA and 29.3 WAR (wins above replacement). He started 307 games and had 16saves, with 1,512 strikeouts and only 692bases on balls in 2,152innings pitched, averaging 2.9bases on balls per nine innings, 6.8strikeouts per nine innings, .8home runs per nine innings, with a 2.18strikeout to walk ratio.[9]
As a hitter, Siebert was an occasional home run threat. He posted a .173batting average (114-for-660) with 52runs, 12home runs and 57RBIs. In 1971, as a member of the Red Sox, he batted a career-high .266 (21-for-79) with 6 home runs and 15 RBIs, also career highs.[9] Two of his home runs came in a game against the Baltimore Orioles in September of 1971 againstPat Dobson, in which he also pitched a three-hit shutout.[27][28]
From 1984-95, Siebert was a pitching coach for theSan Diego Padres' franchise. In 1994-95, Siebert was the pitching coach for the National League's San Diego Padres.[29][30] He was the pitching coach for the Padres Double-A affiliate in theTexas League, theWichita Wranglers, in 1992-93.[31][32][33] In 1991, he was pitching coach for the Single-AWaterloo Diamonds, the Padres affiliate in theMidwest League.[34][35] In 1985 and 1987-88, he served as pitching coach for theLas Vegas Stars of thePacific Coast League, the Padres Triple-A affiliate.[36][37][38] In 1986, he was pitching coach for theSpokane Indians, the Padres affiliate in the lower Single-ANorthwest League.[39][40] In 1984, Siebert was a pitching coach for Padres affiliate Miami Marlins in the Single-AFlorida State League.[41][42]
He also served as a coach for theColorado Springs Sky Sox in 1997-98, theColorado Rockies' affiliate in the Pacific Coast League.[43][44] Between his playing retirement in 1975 and coaching Miami, Siebert resided in St. Louis, working in business; but also coached college baseball with theSouthern Illinois-Edwardsville baseball team, and theSt. Louis University teams.[42]
| Preceded by | No-hitter pitcher June 10, 1966 | Succeeded by |
