Frank Sacka

Frank Sacka (August 30, 1924 – December 7, 1994) was an American professional baseball player. He appeared in 14 Major League games as a catcher and pinch hitter for the 1951 and 1953 editions of the Washington Senators — playing in seven games in each season. Sacka threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg).

Frank Sacka
Catcher
Born: (1924-08-30)August 30, 1924
Romulus, Michigan
Died: December 7, 1994(1994-12-07) (aged 70)
Dearborn, Michigan
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 29, 1951, for the Washington Senators
Last MLB appearance
September 13, 1953, for the Washington Senators
MLB statistics
Batting average.265
Home runs0
Runs batted in6
Teams
  • Washington Senators (1951; 1953)

Born in Romulus, Michigan, the same hometown of future MLB catcher and batting coach Charley Lau, Sacka joined the professional baseball ranks in 1946 and played through the 1956 season. After spending his first five pro years in the St. Louis Browns' and Cleveland Indians' farm systems, Sacka was selected by Washington in the Rule 5 draft after a stellar 1950 campaign with the Anderson Rebels of the Class B Tri-State League, in which Sacka batted .324 with 23 home runs and 124 runs batted in.[1] In his MLB debut on April 29, 1951, Sacka went hitless in three at bats as the starting catcher in a game against Ed Lopat and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.[2] Eight days later, he enjoyed his best day in the Majors, collecting three singles in five at-bats with two runs batted in against his former organization, the Indians, helping Washington win, 11–10.[3]

He stuck with the Senators through the end of May, then was optioned to the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts, where he would spend most of the next five seasons. However, he was recalled to Washington in late July 1953 and appeared in seven more MLB games. He collected two hits in two of them, against the Browns (another former employer) and the Yankees.[4] Altogether, Sacka collected nine hits, all singles, in 34 MLB at bats during his 14-game career.

References
  1. Spink, J.G. Taylor, Rickart, Paul A., and Abramovitch, Joe, The Official 1954 Baseball Register. St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1954, p. 131
  2. 1951-4-29 box score from Retrosheet
  3. 1951-5-7 box score from Retrosheet
  4. 1951 batting log from Retrosheet
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