Roy Sievers

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Roy Edward Sievers (born November 18, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri) is a former first baseman/left fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1949 through 1965, Sievers played for the St. Louis Browns (1949-53), the original Washington Senators (1954-59), Chicago White Sox (1960-61) , Philadelphia Phillies (1962-64), and finally the new Senators (1964-65). He batted and threw right-handed.

Being signed by the St. Louis Browns as a free agent in 1947, Sievers debuted in the major leagues on April 21, 1949.

[edit] Career

Sievers won the American League Rookie of the Year and TSN Rookie of the Year awards in 1949, batting .306 with 16 home runs and 75 RBI. He struggled to .238 in 1950, and for the next three years he suffered shoulder and arm injuries that limited his playing time to 134 games. He was traded to the Washington Senators before the 1954 season.

In Washington, Sievers collected 95 or more RBI and played at least 144 games during five consecutive years (1954-58) and made the AL All-Star team three times (1956-57, 1959). His most productive season came in 1957, when he led the league hitters in home runs (42), RBI (114), extra base hits (70) and total bases (331), batting .301. He finished third in the MVP ballot with four first-place votes and 205 points –Mickey Mantle got six and 233, Ted Williams five and 209.

In 1960, Sievers came to the Chicago White Sox in the same trade that sent Earl Battey and Don Mincher to Washington. In his first year with the Sox, he hit .295 with 28 homers and 93 RBI, and had almost an identical season in 1961 with .295, 27, 92, making his fourth All-Star appearance.

From 1962-64, Sievers remained productive with the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League. In the 1964 midseason, he was sold to the AL expansion Senators. He played his final game on May 9, 1965.

In a 17-season career, Sievers was a .267 hitter with 318 home runs and 1147 RBI in 1887 games. After his playing career ended, he served one season (1966) as a coach for the Cincinnati Reds and managed in the minor leagues.

Mr. Sievers currently resides in St. Louis, MO.

[edit] Highlights

• 4-time All-Star (1956-57, 1959, 1961)
• AL Rookie of the Year (1949)
• Set seasonal and career records in home runs for the Senators:
  • 42, in 1957
  • 180, in 3547 at-bats

[edit] Top 10 AL leaderboards and awards

• 3-time MVP vote (1957-58, 1960)
• 3-time in batting average (1949, 1957, 1960)
• 6-time in home runs (1954-58, 1960)
• 7-time in RBI (1949, 1954-58, 1960)
• 4-time in runs (1956-58, 1960)
• 7-time in extra base hits (1954-58, 1960)
• 6-time in slugging (1949, 1955, 1957-58, 1960-61)
• 4-time in intentional walks (1956-60)

[edit] Facts

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• In 1957, Sievers belted home runs in six straight games to tie an American League mark held by Ken Williams and Lou Gehrig. The major league record is eight, set by Dale Long in the National League (1956), and matched in the AL by Don Mattingly (1987) and Ken Griffey, Jr. (1993).

• Hit his 300th career home run against New York Mets pitcher Roger Craig (1963).

• Also known as "Squirrel", gained his nickname as a high school basketball player, from hanging around the "cage" all the time.

• During his tenure in Washington, became the favorite player of Richard Nixon (then Vice President).

• Forty years after his final major-league baseball game, Roy Sievers helped usher in the National League's newest franchise - the Washington Nationals [1].

[edit] See also

• The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award
• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
• List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
• List of Major League Baseball home run champions
• Chicago White Sox all-time roster

[edit] External links

• Baseball Library - profile and chronology
• Baseball Reference - career statistics and analysis
• Washington Baseball Club - The 1958 Senators