Ray Sadecki
Encyclopedia
Raymond Michael Sadecki is a former Major League Baseball
pitcher
. A left-hander, Sadecki pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals
(1960–66, 1975), San Francisco Giants
(1966–69), New York Mets
(1970–74, 1977), Atlanta Braves
(1975), Kansas City Royals
(1975–76) and Milwaukee Brewers
(1976).
86 batters in his rookie season (in 157⅓ innings pitched
) and 102 in 1961.
and Curt Simmons
, helped pitch the Cardinals to the National League
pennant, their first since , with the Philadelphia Phillies
and Cincinnati Reds
finishing tied for second, one game behind the Redbirds. The Phillies had held a 6½-game lead over the Reds and Cardinals on September 20 with 12 games to play, only to squander the pennant by losing ten consecutive games, while the Cardinals and Reds recorded winning streaks of eight and nine games respectively. Sadecki won his 20th game on September 29 against the Phillies for Philadelphia’s ninth consecutive loss and St. Louis’ seventh consecutive win. The win also pulled the Cardinals even with the Reds who, after taking over first place on September 27, had their nine-game winning streak snapped by the Pittsburgh Pirates
on Bob Friend
’s 2-0 shutout earlier in the day. The next day, the Cardinals took over first place by defeating the Phillies while the Reds were again shut out by the Pirates.
The Cardinals, ahead by a half-game over the Reds entering the final weekend, now appeared to have the pennant put away: their final three games were at home against the lowly New York Mets
, while the Phillies and Reds were to play a two-game series at Crosley Field
. However, the Cardinals lost the first two games of the series, first with Al Jackson
outduelling Gibson 1-0 (that same day, the Phillies spotted the Reds a 3-0 lead, then scored four runs in the eighth inning to win 4-3 and finally snap their 10-game losing streak), then Sadecki getting battered in one inning, giving up five runs in a 15-5 loss. The Cardinals won the pennant on the final day, defeating the Mets 11-5 while the Phillies hammered the Reds 10-0.
After unexpectedly winning the pennant, the Cardinals defeated the New York Yankees
in the World Series
. Sadecki started Game One and gave up three runs in the second inning, but settled down after that and defeated the Yankees 9-5, in what would be Whitey Ford
’s final World Series game. Starting Game Four, Sadecki was again battered early, this time being pulled after giving up three runs in one-third of an inning. The Cardinals, however, came back to win 4-3, the runs coming on Ken Boyer
’s sixth-inning grand slam. The Cardinals went on to win the Series, with Gibson winning Games Five and Seven.
skyrocketed to 5.21. On May 8, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Orlando Cepeda
. In he went 12-6 with a career-best 2.78 ERA; in he posted a 2.91 ERA but with a 12-18 record, the 18 losses tying him with Claude Osteen
for the Major League lead. After a 5-8 record as a spot starter in Sadecki was again traded, this time to the New York Mets.
In Sadecki pitched for the Mets’ National League champions who, like the 1964 Cardinals before them, unexpectedly won the pennant, trailing by as many as nine games behind the Chicago Cubs
and winning the National League East
title on the final weekend. (Coincidentally, four years earlier the Mets, prior to unexpectedly winning the World Series
, had also won the division title by jumping past the Cubs.) Sadecki pitched as a “swingman”—relief pitcher
and spot starter in a rotation with Tom Seaver
, Jerry Koosman
and Jon Matlack
—in helping the Mets win the division. He pitched four of the seven games of the World Series
, which the Mets lost to the Oakland Athletics
, gaining the save in Game Four.
In his 18-year career, Sadecki won 135 games against 131 losses, with a 3.78 ERA and 1614 strikeouts in 2500⅔ innings pitched.
When Catholic Charities
of Kansas City and the Baseball Tomorrow Fund renovated a baseball field in 2002, it was dedicated and renamed Ray Sadecki Field in honor of the neighborhood native. It stands at 9th and Homer Streets in Kansas City, Kansas
.
On June 14, 2007 Sadecki was inducted into The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/UPDATE/704110454
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
. A left-hander, Sadecki pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
(1960–66, 1975), San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
(1966–69), New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
(1970–74, 1977), Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
(1975), Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
(1975–76) and Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
(1976).
Early career
A “bonus baby,” Sadecki won Cardinal Rookie of the Year honors after posting a 9-9 record as a 19-year-old in . He became a full-time starter in , posting a 14-10 record. However, he exhibited periods of wildness during his first two seasons, walkingBase on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
86 batters in his rookie season (in 157⅓ innings pitched
Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...
) and 102 in 1961.
The 1964 Season
Sadecki’s best season was ; he posted a 20-11 record and, along with Bob GibsonBob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
and Curt Simmons
Curt Simmons
Curtis Thomas "Curt" Simmons is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1947–50 and 1952-67. With right-hander Robin Roberts, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Simmons was one of the twin anchors of the starting rotation of the "Whiz Kids", the Philadelphia Phillies' ...
, helped pitch the Cardinals to the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
pennant, their first since , with the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
and Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
finishing tied for second, one game behind the Redbirds. The Phillies had held a 6½-game lead over the Reds and Cardinals on September 20 with 12 games to play, only to squander the pennant by losing ten consecutive games, while the Cardinals and Reds recorded winning streaks of eight and nine games respectively. Sadecki won his 20th game on September 29 against the Phillies for Philadelphia’s ninth consecutive loss and St. Louis’ seventh consecutive win. The win also pulled the Cardinals even with the Reds who, after taking over first place on September 27, had their nine-game winning streak snapped by the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
on Bob Friend
Bob Friend
Robert Bartmess Friend is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who pitched primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates , joining the New York Yankees and New York Mets in his final season of...
’s 2-0 shutout earlier in the day. The next day, the Cardinals took over first place by defeating the Phillies while the Reds were again shut out by the Pirates.
The Cardinals, ahead by a half-game over the Reds entering the final weekend, now appeared to have the pennant put away: their final three games were at home against the lowly New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
, while the Phillies and Reds were to play a two-game series at Crosley Field
Crosley Field
Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second and third American Football League...
. However, the Cardinals lost the first two games of the series, first with Al Jackson
Al Jackson
Al Jackson, Jr. was a drummer, producer, and songwriter. He is best known as a founding member of Booker T. & the M.G.s, a group of session musicians who worked for Stax Records and produced their own instrumentals...
outduelling Gibson 1-0 (that same day, the Phillies spotted the Reds a 3-0 lead, then scored four runs in the eighth inning to win 4-3 and finally snap their 10-game losing streak), then Sadecki getting battered in one inning, giving up five runs in a 15-5 loss. The Cardinals won the pennant on the final day, defeating the Mets 11-5 while the Phillies hammered the Reds 10-0.
After unexpectedly winning the pennant, the Cardinals defeated the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
in the World Series
1964 World Series
The 1964 World Series pitted the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the American League champion New York Yankees, with the Cardinals prevailing in seven games. St...
. Sadecki started Game One and gave up three runs in the second inning, but settled down after that and defeated the Yankees 9-5, in what would be Whitey Ford
Whitey Ford
Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who spent his entire 18-year career with the New York Yankees. He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.-Early life and career:...
’s final World Series game. Starting Game Four, Sadecki was again battered early, this time being pulled after giving up three runs in one-third of an inning. The Cardinals, however, came back to win 4-3, the runs coming on Ken Boyer
Ken Boyer
Kenton Lloyd Boyer was an American Major League Baseball third baseman and manager. During a 15-year baseball career, he played for 1955-1969 for four different teams, playing primarily for the St. Louis Cardinals...
’s sixth-inning grand slam. The Cardinals went on to win the Series, with Gibson winning Games Five and Seven.
Later years
In Sadecki’s record plummeted to 6-15, and his earned run averageEarned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
skyrocketed to 5.21. On May 8, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes is a former Puerto Rican Major League Baseball first baseman.Cepeda was born to a poor family. His father, Pedro Cepeda, was a baseball player in Puerto Rico, which influenced his interest in the sport from a young age. His first contact with professional baseball was...
. In he went 12-6 with a career-best 2.78 ERA; in he posted a 2.91 ERA but with a 12-18 record, the 18 losses tying him with Claude Osteen
Claude Osteen
Claude Wilson Osteen , nicknamed "Gomer" because of his resemblance to Gomer Pyle, is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched for six different teams: the Cincinnati Redlegs/Reds , Washington Senators , Los Angeles Dodgers , Houston Astros , St...
for the Major League lead. After a 5-8 record as a spot starter in Sadecki was again traded, this time to the New York Mets.
In Sadecki pitched for the Mets’ National League champions who, like the 1964 Cardinals before them, unexpectedly won the pennant, trailing by as many as nine games behind the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
and winning the National League East
National League East
The National League East Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies are tied for the most National League East Division titles . All of Atlanta's NL East titles came during a record stretch of 14 consecutive division titles...
title on the final weekend. (Coincidentally, four years earlier the Mets, prior to unexpectedly winning the World Series
1969 World Series
The 1969 World Series was played between the New York Mets and the Baltimore Orioles, with the Mets prevailing in five games to accomplish one of the greatest upsets in Series history, as that particular Orioles squad was considered to be one of the finest ever...
, had also won the division title by jumping past the Cubs.) Sadecki pitched as a “swingman”—relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
and spot starter in a rotation with Tom Seaver
Tom Seaver
George Thomas "Tom" Seaver , nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "The Franchise", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1967-1986 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the New York Mets...
, Jerry Koosman
Jerry Koosman
Jerome Martin Koosman is a former left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies between 1967 and 1985...
and Jon Matlack
Jon Matlack
Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher...
—in helping the Mets win the division. He pitched four of the seven games of the World Series
1973 World Series
The 1973 World Series matched the defending champion Oakland Athletics against the New York Mets, with the A's winning in seven games to repeat as World Champions....
, which the Mets lost to the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
, gaining the save in Game Four.
In his 18-year career, Sadecki won 135 games against 131 losses, with a 3.78 ERA and 1614 strikeouts in 2500⅔ innings pitched.
When Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities is a network of charities whose aim is "to provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire church and other people of good will to do the same." It is one of the largest charities in the United States...
of Kansas City and the Baseball Tomorrow Fund renovated a baseball field in 2002, it was dedicated and renamed Ray Sadecki Field in honor of the neighborhood native. It stands at 9th and Homer Streets in Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
.
On June 14, 2007 Sadecki was inducted into The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/UPDATE/704110454