Roy Sievers

Roy Sievers
Roy Sievers in St Louis 1995
First baseman / Left fielder
Born: (1926-11-18) November 18, 1926 St. Louis, Missouri
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 21, 1949 for the St. Louis Browns
Last MLB appearance
May 9, 1965 for the Washington Senators
Career statistics
Batting average	.267
Home runs	318
Runs batted in	1,147
Teams
St. Louis Browns (1949–1953) Washington Senators (1954–1959) Chicago White Sox (1960–1961) Philadelphia Phillies (1962–1964) Washington Senators (II) (1964–1965)
Career highlights and awards
5× All-Star (1956, 1957, 1959, 1959², 1961²) 1949 AL Rookie of the Year 1957 AL home run champion 1957 AL RBI champion

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.

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

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 for Gil Coan 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 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.

On April 4, 1960, Sievers went 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, playing his final game on May 9, 1965.

At a time when achieving 300 home runs was still a rarity, Sievers became only the 18th ballplayer to reach the plateau. He also holds the dubious distinction of being the first member to hit 300 home runs and not make the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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.

Sievers currently resides in St. Louis, and attends the annual St. Louis Browns Alumni gathering each year.

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

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)

Fact

Sievers was one of only nine players to don the uniform of both the original and expansion Washington Senators teams, the others being Don Mincher, Camilo Pascual, Pedro Ramos, Johnny Schaive, Zoilo Versalles, Hal Woodeshick, Rudy Hernández, and Hector Maestri.

See also

• The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award
• List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
• List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
• List of Major League Baseball home run champions

External links

• Baseball Library - profile and chronology
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube

Preceded by Alvin Dark	American League Rookie of the Year 1949	Succeeded by Walt Dropo
Preceded by Mickey Mantle	American League Home Run Champion 1957	Succeeded by Mickey Mantle
Preceded by Mickey Mantle	American League RBI Champion 1957	Succeeded by Jackie Jensen