Carl Sawatski
| Carl Sawatski | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Catcher | |||
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Born: November 4, 1927 Shickshinny, Pennsylvania | |||
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Died: November 24, 1991 (aged 64) Little Rock, Arkansas | |||
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 29, 1948, for the Chicago Cubs | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 29, 1963, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .242 | ||
| Home runs | 58 | ||
| Runs batted in | 213 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Carl Ernest Sawatski (November 4, 1927 – November 24, 1991) was an American professional baseball player and executive. In the Major Leagues, he was a catcher for the Chicago Cubs (1948, 1950 and 1953), Chicago White Sox (1954), Milwaukee Braves (1957–1958), Philadelphia Phillies (1958–1959) and St. Louis Cardinals (1960–1963). He also was an influential figure in minor league baseball.
A left-handed batter who threw right-handed, Sawatski the player stood 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) (178 cm) tall and weighed 210 pounds (95 kg). The native of Shickshinny, Pennsylvania, helped the Braves win the 1957 and the 1958 National League pennants. In 11 seasons, he played in 633 games and had 1,449 at bats, 133 runs, 351 hits, 46 doubles, 5 triples, 58 home runs, 213 runs batted in, 2 stolen bases, 191 walks, .242 batting average, .330 on-base percentage, .401 slugging percentage, 581 total bases, 2 sacrifice hits, 13 sacrifice flies and 38 intentional walks. During the 1957 World Series against the New York Yankees, Sawatski had two appearances as a pinch hitter (Games 3 and 6) and struck out twice, but Milwaukee prevailed in seven games to win the world title.
Sawatski was a prodigious minor league hitter. He batted .352 and slugged 34 homers in the Class D North Atlantic League in 1947. Then, two seasons later, he led the Double-A Southern Association with 45 homers and batted .360, second in the league.[1] After his playing career ended, Sawatski served as the general manager of the Arkansas Travelers of the Double-A Texas League, a Cardinal affiliate, from 1966–1975. He then was elected president of the Texas League itself from 1976 until his death, in Little Rock at the age of 64. During his presidency, the league prospered during the renaissance of minor league baseball that began in the 1980s.
In a 1976 Esquire magazine article, sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter", consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Sawatski was the catcher on Stein's Polish team.
References
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
- Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics
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