MVP Profile: Hank Sauer, 1952

Outfielder, Chicago Cubs

Age:  35

4^th season with Cubs (third complete)

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’3”    Weight: 198

Prior to 1952:

A native of the Pittsburgh area, Sauer grew up in a working class household and played baseball informally in his town while growing into a rugged athlete with a soft-spoken manner. After finishing high school he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps to help support his family during the Depression. Later he played baseball on weekends and came to the attention of a scout for the Yankees and signed with Butler of the Class D Pennsylvania State Association for $75 per month. Playing first base he batted .268 in 68 games with three home runs and 38 RBIs. Returning to Butler in 1938 he had a much bigger season, hitting .351 with 135 hits that included 29 doubles and 12 home runs. Moving on to Akron of the Class C Middle Atlantic League in 1939 he batted .301 with 13 home runs and 92 RBIs. Lanky and strong while lacking speed, Sauer demonstrated solid hitting ability and moved up to Birmingham of the Southern Association in 1940 where he hit .292 with 9 home runs and 79 RBIs. Again with Birmingham in 1941, he had an outstanding year at the plate, batting .330 with 19 home runs and 114 RBIs. But in the field he committed 26 errors, which led all of the league’s first basemen. Having been drafted away from the Yankee organization by the Cincinnati Reds, Sauer received a September call-up to the Reds and was shifted to left field. Appearing in nine games he hit .303. Assigned to Syracuse of the International League in 1942, he suffered through an injury-plagued season and hit just .213 with 11 home runs and 44 RBIs while developing his outfield skills. Sauer had a much more productive season with Syracuse in 1943, batting .275 with 12 home runs and 75 RBIs. Afterward he joined the Coast Guard for the remainder of World War II, returning to baseball in 1945. Back with the Reds late in the ’45 season Sauer appeared in 31 games and hit .293 with 5 home runs and 20 RBIs. In the minors with Syracuse again in 1946, he batted .282 with 21 home runs and 90 RBIs. Now using a heavier bat, Sauer began to realize his power potential. Still with Syracuse in 1947 he batted .336 with 50 home runs and 141 RBIs and was named Minor League Player of the Year by The Sporting News. The regular left fielder for the Reds in 1948, Sauer hit .260 with 35 home runs and 97 RBIs. Off to a slow start in 1949, he was traded to the Cubs in June and his production improved. For the year he batted .275 with 31 home runs and 99 RBIs. Sauer was an All-Star for the first time in 1950 on the way to hitting .274 with 32 home runs and 103 RBIs. His batting production was solid again in 1951 as he hit .263 with 30 home runs and 89 RBIs.

1952 Season Summary

Appeared in 151 games

LF – 151

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 649 [12]

At Bats – 567 [13]

Runs – 89 [11, tied with Bobby Thomson]

Hits – 153 [15, tied with Solly Hemus & Enos Slaughter]

Doubles – 31 [4, tied with Richie Ashburn]

Triples – 3

Home Runs – 37 [1, tied with Ralph Kiner]

RBI – 121 [1]

Bases on Balls – 77 [8, tied with Sid Gordon]

Int. BB – 9 [8, tied with Enos Slaughter, Duke Snider & Del Ennis]

Strikeouts – 92 [3]

Stolen Bases – 1

Caught Stealing – 2

Average - .270 [20, tied with Bobby Thomson]

OBP - .361 [15]

Slugging Pct. - .531 [2]

Total Bases – 301 [2]

GDP – 14 [13, tied with four others]

Hit By Pitches – 4 [13, tied with seven others]

Sac Hits – 1

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading RBIs were +13 ahead of runner-up Bobby Thomson

Midseason snapshot: HR – 23, RBI – 69, AVG - .290, SLG – .604

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) vs. NY Giants 5/4 – 10 innings

Longest hitting streak – 6 games

Most HR, game – 3 (in 4 AB) vs. Phila. Phillies 6/11

HR at home – 23

HR on road – 14

Multi-HR games – 3

Most RBIs, game – 6 vs. NY Giants 8/21

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 350

Put Outs – 327

Assists – 17

Errors – 6

DP - 3

Pct. - .983

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

All-Star (started for NL in LF)

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Hank Sauer, ChiC.: 226 pts. – 8 of 24 first place votes, 67% share

Robin Roberts, PhilaP.: 211 pts. – 7 first place votes, 63% share

Joe Black, Brook.: 208 pts. – 8 first place votes, 62% share

Hoyt Wilhelm, NYG: 133 pts. – 40% share

Stan Musial, StLC.: 127 pts. – 38% share

(1 first place vote for Duke Snider, Brook., who ranked eighth)

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Cubs went 77-77 to finish fifth in the NL, 19.5 games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn Dodgers, while leading the league in hits (1408).

Aftermath of ‘52:

Having received a salary increase to $37,500, Sauer endured an injury-riddled season in 1953 in which he batted .263 with just 19 home runs and 60 RBIs. He bounced back in 1954 by hitting .288 with 41 home runs and 103 RBIs. Popular with Cub fans, he came to be known as “the Mayor of Wrigley Field”. The 38-year-old Sauer was no longer an everyday player in 1955 and he batted only .211 with 12 home runs and 28 RBIs while appearing in 79 games. Traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in the spring of 1956 he appeared in 75 games in a backup role and hit .298 with 5 home runs and 24 RBIs. Released by the Cardinals in the offseason, he moved on to the New York Giants in 1957 and was productive, batting .259 with 26 home runs and 76 RBIs. Moving to San Francisco with the team in 1958, he hit 12 home runs with 46 RBIs in his last full season. He started the 1959 season with the Giants and was made a coach at midseason, as he ended his playing career. For his major league career Sauer batted .266 with 1278 hits that included 200 doubles, 19 triples, and 288 home runs. He also compiled 876 RBIs. With the Cubs he batted .269 with 141 doubles, 17 triples, 198 home runs, and 587 RBIs. Sauer was a two-time All-Star and received MVP votes following six seasons. His brother Ed was a major league outfielder with three teams, including the Cubs, in the 1940s. Sauer was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame in 2008, seven years after his death at age 84.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.

Rookie of the Year: Joe Black, 1952

Pitcher, Brooklyn Dodgers

Age:  28

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’2”    Weight: 220

Prior to 1952:

Black, a native of Plainfield, NJ, was an outstanding all-around athlete in high school. He attended Morgan State University and played Negro League baseball with the Baltimore Elite Giants. Black was signed by the Dodgers and advanced readily through their minor league system, compiling an 11-12 record with St. Paul and Montreal in 1951, as well as playing winter ball in Cuba. With his outstanding fastball, Black earned a call-up to the Dodgers in 1952.  

1952 Season Summary

Appeared in 57 games

P – 56, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 56 [2]

Games Started – 2

Complete Games – 1

Wins – 15 [6, tied with Warren Hacker & Hoyt Wilhelm]

Losses – 4

PCT - .789 [Non-qualifying]

Saves – 15 [2]

Shutouts – 0

Innings Pitched – 142.1

Hits – 102

Runs – 40

Earned Runs – 34

Home Runs – 9 

Bases on Balls – 41

Strikeouts – 85

ERA – 2.15 [Non-qualifying]

Hit Batters – 1

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 0

Midseason Snapshot: 3-0, ERA - 1.63, SV – 5, SO - 26 in 38.2 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 6 (in 8 IP) at NY Giants 8/5, (in 7.2 IP) at NY Giants 9/8

10+ strikeout games – 0

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 3 (in 9 IP) at Boston Braves 9/21

Batting

PA – 42, AB – 36, R – 1, H – 5, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 5, BB – 0, SO – 15, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .139, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 6, SF – N/A

Fielding

Chances – 29

Put Outs – 7

Assists – 18

Errors – 4

DP – 2

Pct. - .862

Postseason Pitching:

G – 3, GS – 3, CG – 1 (World Series vs. NY Yankees)
 Record – 1-2, PCT – .333, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 21.1, H – 15, R – 6, ER – 6, HR – 4, BB – 8, SO – 9, ERA – 2.53, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 0

Awards & Honors:

NL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

3rd in NL MVP voting (208 points, 8 first place votes, 62% share)

NL ROY Voting:

Joe Black, Brook.: 19 of 24 votes, 79% share

Hoyt Wilhelm, NYG.: 3 votes, 13% share

Dick Groat, Pitt.: 1 vote, 4% share

Ed Mathews, BosB.: 1 vote, 4% share

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Dodgers went 96-57 to win NL pennant by 4.5 games over the New York Giants after finishing second the previous two years. The pitching staff led the NL in strikeouts (773). Lost World Series to New York Yankees, 4 games to 3. Black started three games, including the opener, a 4-2 win that made him the first African-American pitcher to win a World Series game. 

Aftermath of '52:

Black was unable to sustain his first-year success with the Dodgers. Once again used almost exclusively as a reliever in 1953, he appeared in 34 games and compiled a 6-3 record with 5 saves and a 5.33 ERA. Black appeared in only five games with Brooklyn in 1954 and had an 11.57 ERA when he was demoted to Class AAA Montreal and, utilized primarily as a starter, had a 12-10 record and 3.60 ERA.  He returned to the Brooklyn bullpen in 1955 and was traded to Cincinnati in June, where he compiled a 5-2 record with a 4.22 ERA while appearing in 32 games, 11 of them starts.  He worked out of the bullpen for the Reds in ’56 with unimpressive results and finished his major league career with the Washington Senators in 1957. Overall in the major leagues, Black had a 30-12 record and 3.91 ERA with 25 saves. He was 22-7 with a 3.45 ERA and 20 saves in 101 games for the Dodgers. Following his playing career, he obtained his master’s degree and became a teacher and also was an executive with the Greyhound Corporation. Black was also active in the civil rights movement and worked for the Baseball Assistance Team providing help to former major league personnel in need. He also served as a consultant to major league baseball and was involved in community relations for the Arizona Diamondbacks prior to his death in 2002.

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.