Hank Sauer
Henry John “Hank” Sauer was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He appeared in 1,399 games, primarily as a left fielder, in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and New York / San Francisco Giants. A popular player with the Cubs where he had his peak seasons, he was known as "the Mayor of Wrigley Field".
A two-time All-Star, Sauer hit more than 30 home 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 in. His most productive season came in, when Sauer led the National League in home runs and runs batted in, and was named the Most Valuable Player. Sauer and Johnny 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 it and 1952 while with the Cubs, victimizing Curt Simmons of the Philadelphia Phillies. A younger brother, Ed, also an outfielder, played in 189 games in the majors for three National League teams during the 1940s.
Early life
Sauer was born on March 17, 1917, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was raised in Bellevue, Pennsylvania and attended Sam Hamilton High School, where he played three years on the baseball, basketball and football teams, and also set records as a swimmer.Sauer played semipro baseball and was signed by the New York Yankees in 1937, and assigned to play in their minor league system.
Minor league career
Sauer was listed as tall and. He threw and batted right-handed. He was known by the nickname “Honk” or "Honker" because of his nose, among others.He started his professional career in 1937 with the New York Yankees' organization, playing for the Class D Butler Yankees of the Pennsylvania State Association. Sauer hit a triple and single in his first professional game on June 28, 1937. He played in 64 games that season with a.268 batting average. He returned to Butler in 1938, and hit.351 in 100 games, with 12 home runs, 74 runs batted in, 89 runs scored, 29 doubles, eight triples and a.994 OPS. He also had 25 stolen bases. He led the Pennsylvania State Association in batting average, and was second in OPS.
In 1939, he was promoted to the Class C Akron Yankees of the Middle Atlantic League, as a first baseman. In 127 games, he hit.301 with 13 home runs. After the season ended, the Cincinnati Reds selected Sauer in the minor league draft. In 1940, the Reds assigned Sauer to the Class A-1 Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association, where he hit.292 with nine home runs in 118 games. In 1941 with Birmingham, he hit.330 with 19 home runs. He was the first Barons player ever to hit a homerun ball over the scoreboard in Birmingham's Rickwood Field. After the season ended, he was called up to the Reds that September.
In 1942, he played in 82 games for the Double-A Syracuse Chiefs of the International League, batting.213, with 11 home runs in 291 at bats. He was with the Reds for a portion of the season. In 1943, he was again assigned to the Double-A Chiefs. He hit.275, with 12 home runs, 75 RBI and 73 runs. During World War II, Sauer served in the United States Coast Guard, and did not play professional baseball in 1944. After returning from the Coast Guard in 1945, he did not play in the minor leagues, but did play for the Reds that year.
Sauer spent the full seasons of 1946 and 1947 with the now Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs of the International League. In 1946, he hit.282, with 21 home runs, 90 RBIs, 99 runs and an.848 OPS. In 1947, Sauer was batting third in the Chiefs lineup. Early in the season his bat speed was so quick he kept pulling the ball foul. He had been using a 35-ounce bat. Manager Jewell Ens recommended that Sauer use a Chick Hafey model 36 inch long 40-ounce bat to slow down Sauer’s swing slightly. Ens also said that Sauer kept breaking the lighter bats, and this was wasting his hitting power; which the heavier bat would capture. After two weeks, the experiment was a success, transforming Sauer’s future career.
Sauer led the 1947 International League in runs scored, hits, RBIs and OPS. He had 50 home runs, three fewer than league leader Howie Moss, and hit.336, one percentage point behind batting champion Nippy Jones. He was named the International League's MVP in 1947. The Sporting News named him the Minor League Player of the Year.
1947 was his final minor league season.
Major league career
Cincinnati Reds
The Reds called Sauer up in September 1941, and he hit.303 in nine games. They switched him defensively from first base to the outfield. He played in seven games for the Reds in 1942, mostly in May, hitting.250 in 20 at bats, with two home runs. After completing his World War II service with the U.S. Coast Guard in 1945, Sauer appeared in 31 games for the Reds in September 1945. He hit.293 in 116 at bats, with five home runs.After his 1947 MVP season for the Syracuse Chiefs, in the Reds brought the 31-year old Sauer up to the Major Leagues for the entire season, and he never returned to the minor leagues. He became a starter in the outfield and hit.260, leading the team in home runs, RBIs, runs and OPS. He was fourth in the National League in home runs, seventh in RBIs, and 10th in OPS. He also struck out more than any other NL batter that season.
Sauer started slowly with the Reds in. After playing 42 games, he was hitting.237, with only four home runs in his first 30 games. On June 15, he was traded to the Cubs in a two-for-two, all-outfielder trade involving Sauer and Frank Baumholtz going to the Cubs for Harry Walker and Peanuts Lowrey.
Chicago Cubs
Sauer played for the Cubs during a time when the Cubs were especially moribund, never finishing above fifth place and never having a season above.500. Sauer provided some joy for the team's fans with his power hitting, and was once described as "the one bright star on lowly Cubs teams that struggled just to finish higher than last place". In his first month with the Cubs in 1949 he hit 11 home runs, and his popularity with the Cubs fans soon after earned him the nickname "The Mayor of Wrigley Field". He was called the team’s most popular player since Gabby Hartnett and remained the Cubs most popular player for many years.After being traded to the Cubs in 1949, Sauer became a starting outfielder. He played in 96 games, hitting.291, with 27 home runs, 83 RBIs and 59 runs scored in only 357 at bats. He led the team in home runs and RBIs even though he only played a partial season with the Cubs. He was 19th in NL Most Valuable Player voting. In 1949, he was third in the NL in home runs and ninth in RBIs.
1950 All-Star controversy
In 1950, Sauer was voted by the fans to the NL All-Star Team for the first time, as a starting outfielder. The game was played in Chicago, at Comiskey Park. A controversy arose when NL manager Burt Shotten of the Brooklyn Dodgers wanted to replace Sauer as a starter with Dodger center fielder Duke Snider, on the basis that the outfielders the fans selected did not include a center fielder and the team needed someone who could play center field in the All-Star Game. Commissioner Happy Chandler originally permitted Shotten to proceed with this change, but then reversed himself after considerable public pressure from Cubs fans. He told Shotten to follow the fans vote and overruled the decision to replace Sauer with Snider. Before the game began, Shotten was strongly booed by the Chicago fans.In 1950, Sauer hit.274, with 32 home runs, 103 RBIs, and 85 runs. He was tied for third in the NL in home runs, and tied for ninth in RBIs. In 1951, he hit.263, with 30 home runs, 89 RBIs, and 77 runs.
1952 MVP
1952 was arguably his best season. In spring training, he worked on changing his hitting style to hit the ball where it was pitched instead of trying to pull every pitch. This was in part driven by opposing teams using an infield shift against him when Sauer batted. He worked on this skill by using a batting tee, and learning from utility man teammate, Bob Ramazzotti. In 1952, Sauer led all Major League players with 121 RBIs, and was tied with future Hall of Fame outfielder Ralph Kiner with the most home runs by any player that season. On the season, Sauer hit.270, with 89 runs, an.892 OPS, and career highs in bases on balls and strikeouts.The 35-year old Sauer was selected the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1952, even though the Cubs finished the season in fifth place. He edged out future Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts who had a 28–7 record that season. Sauer said "The MVP was the top thrill for me... and I beat out a heckuva guy".
Sauer was named to the NL All-Star Team for the second and final time in 1952. One of the highlights of Sauer's tenure in Chicago occurred during the 1952 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, played July 8 at Shibe Park, Philadelphia. Starting in left field for the National League and batting cleanup, Sauer came to bat in the fourth inning with the NL trailing 2–1 and Stan Musial on first base. Facing eventual Hall of Famer Bob Lemon, Sauer hit a long 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 home run stood as the winning blow. Sauer once called his home run against Lemon his greatest thrill.
In 1953, he suffered broken fingers and a broken hand early in the season, affecting his ability to grip the bat which hampered his playing time and production. He played in only 108 games, batting.263 with 19 home runs, 60 RBI and 61 runs. He followed an offseason regime of exercising with hand grips to improve his hand strength and grip leading into the 1954 season.
At age 37 in, he came back to record career highs of 41 home runs, 98 runs scored, and a.938 OPS. He tied for third in the National League in home runs, with Willie Mays, was seventh in the NL in OPS, and tied for eighth in RBIs with future Hall of Fame third baseman Eddie Mathews.
Despite his production, the Cubs 1955 contract offer was for $1,500 less than he was paid in 1954, on the basis that the Cubs could have just as easily finished in seventh place with or without him. After responding about how he brought fans to watch the Cubs, Sauer settled for receiving the same salary as in 1954. In, Sauer had physical ailments early in the season and was in a hitting slump well into May. On the season, he batted only.211 in 79 games for the Cubs, with 12 home runs and 28 RBIs.