Dick Sisler
Richard Alan Sisler (November 2, 1920 – November 20, 1998) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was the son of Hall of Fame first baseman and two-time .400 hitter George Sisler. Younger brother Dave Sisler was a relief pitcher in the 1950s and 1960s with four MLB teams, and older brother George Jr. was a longtime executive in Minor League Baseball (MiLB).
| Dick Sisler | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| First baseman / Left fielder / Manager | |||
| Born: November 2, 1920 St. Louis, Missouri | |||
| Died: November 20, 1998 (aged 78) Nashville, Tennessee | |||
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 16, 1946, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| August 1, 1953, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .276 | ||
| Home runs | 55 | ||
| Runs batted in | 360 | ||
| Managerial record | 121–94 | ||
| Winning % | .562 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Playing career
Sisler attended Colgate University. Listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and 205 pounds (93 kg), he batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
He was a journeyman left fielder and first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals (1946–47; 1952–53), Philadelphia Phillies (1948–51) and Cincinnati Reds (1952). In an eight-season career, he hit .276 with 720 hits, 55 home runs and 360 RBI in 799 games. Defensively, he recorded an overall .984 fielding percentage playing primarily at first base and left field.
Only with the Phillies did Sisler play on a consistent basis; he was Philadelphia's most-used first baseman in 1948 and 1949, and regular left fielder in 1950 and 1951. He made the National League All-Star team in 1950, a season during which Sisler reached personal bests in games played (141), games started (136, all in left field), at bats (523), runs scored (79), hits (155), doubles (29), homers (13), runs batted in (83), on-base percentage (.373), slugging percentage (.442) and batting average (.296). The season also gave Sisler lasting fame.
Pennant-winning home run
On the 1950 season's closing day, at Ebbets Field, with the game tied at one, Sisler hit a tenth-inning, opposite-field three-run home run against the Brooklyn Dodgers that led to the "Whiz Kids" Phillies winning the club's first National League pennant in 35 years. Had Philadelphia lost, the Phillies and Dodgers would have finished in a flatfooted tie for the NL championship and a best-of-three playoff would have resulted.
The home run made Sisler world-famous in both baseball and literary circles; Ernest Hemingway immortalized him in his novel The Old Man and the Sea. In a conversation between an aging Cuban fisherman and his young apprentice discussing the unfolding 1950 big-league season, the older man says:
"In the other league, between Brooklyn and Philadelphia, I must take Brooklyn. But then I think of Dick Sisler and those great drives in the old park. There was nothing ever like them. He hits the longest ball I have ever seen."[1]
His father, George Sr., was a scout for Brooklyn in 1950. When asked after the pennant-winning game how he felt when his son beat his current team, the Dodgers, George replied, "I felt awful and terrific at the same time."[2]
In the 1950 World Series that followed, however, Sisler would collect only one single in 17 at bats (.059), as the Phillies were swept by the New York Yankees in four games. Earlier, in 1946, he had gone hitless in two at bats as a pinch hitter for the Cardinals in that season's Fall Classic, but picked up a World Series ring when the Redbirds defeated the Boston Red Sox in seven games. Twenty-one years later, while serving as the Cardinals' first base coach, he earned his second ring when St. Louis again defeated the Red Sox in a seven-game series.
Coaching and managerial career
After managing in the minor leagues with the Double-A Nashville Vols and Triple-A Seattle Rainiers, Sisler became a coach for Cincinnati in 1961, serving under manager Fred Hutchinson.
In August 1964, he was promoted to acting manager when Hutchinson, suffering from terminal cancer, was forced to give up the reins. He led the Reds to a 32–21 record, and the team finished in a second-place tie (with the Phillies), one game behind the Cardinals. After his formal appointment as manager in October 1964, he brought the Reds home fourth in 1965 with an 89–73 mark before being fired at season's end.[3] He then returned to the major league coaching ranks with the Cardinals (1966–70), San Diego Padres (1975–76) and New York Mets (1979–80). In his late sixties, he was still working with young players as a roving hitting instructor in the Cardinal farm system.
He died November 20, 1998, at the age of 78 in Nashville, Tennessee.[4]
See also
References
Further reading
- Rich Ashburn (September 1975). "When Dick Sisler Had His Moment in the Spotlight". Baseball Digest.
- John Garrity (1989-08-14). "The College Of Cardinals". Sports Illustrated.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Dick Sisler st SABR (Baseball BioProject)
- Dick Sisler at The Deadball Era
- Dick Sisler at Find a Grave
| Preceded by Ernie White |
Nashville Vols manager 1957–1959 |
Succeeded by Jim Turner |
| Preceded by Alan Strange |
Seattle Rainiers manager 1960 |
Succeeded by Johnny Pesky |
| Preceded by Wally Moses |
Cincinnati Reds first base coach 1961–1964 |
Succeeded by Frank Oceak |
| Preceded by Mickey Vernon |
St. Louis Cardinals first base coach 1966–1970 |
Succeeded by Ken Boyer |
