He went 19–10 with a 3.21 earned run average as a starting pitcher his first professional season with the Florida State League's Sanford Greyhounds. He split his time between starts and relief appearances until 1964, when he was converted to a full-time reliever with the Birmingham Barons. He made his major league debut against the New York Yankees later that season, pitching 1.2 innings without giving up a run.[1] For the season, Sanders went 0–2 with a 3.67 ERA and one save.
The Brewers lost 97 games their first season in Milwaukee (after having spent one season in Seattle as the Pilots). One of the few bright spots on the team was Sanders' emergence as a legitimate major league closer. Sanders set a club record with 13 saves to go along with a 5–2 record and 1.75 ERA. His 1971 season was even more impressive as he led Major League Baseball with 83 appearances on the mound (his closest competitor was Cincinnati RedspitcherWayne Granger with 70), and set a major league record by finishing 77 of them.[5] He also led the major leagues with 31 saves. Coupled with his seven wins, Sanders figured in 38 of the Brewers' 69 wins.
Sanders earned eight saves for the Twins by the end of May 1973 despite a relatively high 5.60 ERA. He lost the closer's job to Ray Corbin, and was placed on waivers. He was soon claimed by the Cleveland Indians, and pitched far more respectably with his new club, going 5–1 with a 1.65 ERA and five saves. Back-to-back poor performances against the Boston Red Sox[8] and Baltimore Orioles[9] led to his release in 1974.
He soon signed a minor league deal with the California Angels, and was promoted to the big league club after 19 games at triple A. He appeared in nine games with the Angels, earning one save. During the off season, he was traded to the New York Mets for catcherIke Hampton.
Though the Mets finished in third in the National League East in 1975, it was not out of a lack of pitching. Sanders, along with former Brewers teammate Skip Lockwood and Bob Apodaca, gave the Mets one of the more formidable bullpens in the division. For his part, Sanders went 1–1 with a 2.30 ERA and five saves. Toward the end of the 1976 season, his contract was sold to the Kansas City Royals. He started the 1977 season playing minor league ball for the Brewers before retiring,[10] and moving into real estate.[11]
^Adam McCalvy (April 10, 2002). "Where have you gone, Ken Sanders?". MLB.com.
^"Kansas City A's 4, Baltimore Orioles 3". Baseball-Reference.com. June 28, 1966.
External links
Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
Ken Sanders at Ultimate Mets Database
Ken Sanders at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League)
January 30, 2023
sanders, baseball, kenneth, george, sanders, born, july, 1941, american, former, professional, baseball, relief, pitcher, played, major, league, baseball, from, 1964, 1976, kansas, city, athletics, boston, oakland, athletics, milwaukee, brewers, minnesota, twi. Kenneth George Sanders born July 8 1941 is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher He played in Major League Baseball MLB from 1964 to 1976 for the Kansas City Athletics Boston Red Sox Oakland Athletics Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins Cleveland Indians California Angels New York Mets and Kansas City Royals Ken SandersPitcherBorn 1941 07 08 July 8 1941 age 81 St Louis Missouri U S Batted RightThrew RightMLB debutAugust 6 1964 for the Kansas City AthleticsLast MLB appearanceSeptember 27 1976 for the Kansas City RoyalsMLB statisticsWin loss record29 45Earned run average2 97Strikeouts360Saves86TeamsKansas City Athletics 1964 Boston Red Sox 1966 Kansas City Oakland Athletics 1966 1968 Milwaukee Brewers 1970 1972 Minnesota Twins 1973 Cleveland Indians 1973 1974 California Angels 1974 New York Mets 1975 1976 Kansas City Royals 1976 Career highlights and awardsAL saves leader 1971 Milwaukee Brewers Wall of Honor Contents 1 Early years 2 Milwaukee Brewers 3 Journeyman 4 Career stats 5 Personal life 6 References 7 External linksEarly years EditSanders attended St Louis University High School in St Louis Missouri and was a standout in soccer football and baseball After a month at St Louis University he signed with the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent in 1960 He went 19 10 with a 3 21 earned run average as a starting pitcher his first professional season with the Florida State League s Sanford Greyhounds He split his time between starts and relief appearances until 1964 when he was converted to a full time reliever with the Birmingham Barons He made his major league debut against the New York Yankees later that season pitching 1 2 innings without giving up a run 1 For the season Sanders went 0 2 with a 3 67 ERA and one save After spending all of 1965 in triple A Sanders was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 1965 rule 5 draft In 1966 he went 3 6 with two saves and a 3 80 ERA for the Bosox before being dealt back to Kansas City with Jim Gosger and Guido Grilli for Rollie Sheldon Jose Tartabull and John Wyatt 2 He made his only major league start upon his return to the A s pitching four innings of one run ball against the California Angels before giving way to the bullpen 3 With the exception of a brief one month call up in 1968 by the Oakland Athletics Sanders spent the next three seasons in the minors Just prior to Spring training 1970 he Mike Hershberger Lew Krausse Jr and Phil Roof were traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for Don Mincher and Ron Clark 4 Milwaukee Brewers EditThe Brewers lost 97 games their first season in Milwaukee after having spent one season in Seattle as the Pilots One of the few bright spots on the team was Sanders emergence as a legitimate major league closer Sanders set a club record with 13 saves to go along with a 5 2 record and 1 75 ERA His 1971 season was even more impressive as he led Major League Baseball with 83 appearances on the mound his closest competitor was Cincinnati Reds pitcher Wayne Granger with 70 and set a major league record by finishing 77 of them 5 He also led the major leagues with 31 saves Coupled with his seven wins Sanders figured in 38 of the Brewers 69 wins He began the 1972 season as the Brewers closer pitching 18 2 innings and earning four saves before giving up his first earned run of the season From there things went south for Sanders as he found himself at 1 7 with a 3 45 ERA and 13 saves at the All Star break He lost the confidence of new Brewers manager Del Crandall and only picked up four more saves for the rest of the season Following the campaign Sanders was traded twice in a span of 32 days First to the Philadelphia Phillies along with Jim Lonborg Ken Brett and Earl Stephenson for Don Money John Vukovich and Bill Champion on October 31 6 Then to the Minnesota Twins along with Ken Reynolds and Joe Lis for Cesar Tovar on December 1 7 Journeyman EditSanders earned eight saves for the Twins by the end of May 1973 despite a relatively high 5 60 ERA He lost the closer s job to Ray Corbin and was placed on waivers He was soon claimed by the Cleveland Indians and pitched far more respectably with his new club going 5 1 with a 1 65 ERA and five saves Back to back poor performances against the Boston Red Sox 8 and Baltimore Orioles 9 led to his release in 1974 He soon signed a minor league deal with the California Angels and was promoted to the big league club after 19 games at triple A He appeared in nine games with the Angels earning one save During the off season he was traded to the New York Mets for catcher Ike Hampton Though the Mets finished in third in the National League East in 1975 it was not out of a lack of pitching Sanders along with former Brewers teammate Skip Lockwood and Bob Apodaca gave the Mets one of the more formidable bullpens in the division For his part Sanders went 1 1 with a 2 30 ERA and five saves Toward the end of the 1976 season his contract was sold to the Kansas City Royals He started the 1977 season playing minor league ball for the Brewers before retiring 10 and moving into real estate 11 Career stats EditW L Pct ERA G GF SV IP H ER R HR BB K WP HBP Avg Fld 29 45 392 2 97 408 285 86 656 2 564 217 240 50 258 360 9 17 115 958 As a reliever Sanders only had 67 plate appearances One of his two career RBIs came against Hall of Famer Jim Palmer in 1966 12 Preceded byRon Perranoski American League Saves Champion1971 Succeeded bySparky LylePersonal life EditHe and his wife Mary Ann have three children Leanne Steven and Laura and five grandchildren References Edit New York Yankees 5 Kansas City A s 3 Baseball Reference com August 6 1964 After Cleveland Rainout Sox Ship Gosger Grilli Sanders to KC in Exchange for Sheldon Wyatt Tartabull Nashua Telegraph June 14 1966 California Angels 6 Kansas City A s 5 Baseball Reference com August 27 1966 Pilots Send Don Mincher to A s in Six Man Deal Lewiston Morning Tribune January 16 1970 Gary Bedingfield Ken Sanders baseballbiography com Phillies Obtain Jim Lonborg In 7 Man Deal With Brewers United Press International UPI Tuesday October 31 1972 Retrieved April 13 2020 Durso Joseph A s Send Epstein to Rangers Scheinblum Nelson to Reds The New York Times Saturday December 2 1972 Retrieved April 13 2020 Boston Red Sox 6 Cleveland Indians 5 Baseball Reference com April 21 1974 Baltimore Orioles 12 Cleveland Indians 1 Baseball Reference com May 11 1974 A Significant Addition Spokane Daily Chronicle June 14 1977 Adam McCalvy April 10 2002 Where have you gone Ken Sanders MLB com Kansas City A s 4 Baltimore Orioles 3 Baseball Reference com June 28 1966 External links EditCareer statistics and player information from MLB or ESPN or Baseball Reference or Fangraphs or Baseball Reference Minors or Retrosheet Ken Sanders at Ultimate Mets Database Ken Sanders at Pura Pelota Venezuelan Professional Baseball League Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ken Sanders baseball amp oldid 1133677270, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
