Robert Leroy "Sarge" Kuzava (May 28, 1923 – May 15, 2017) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player, a left-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

(1946–1947),

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

(1949–1950), Washington Senators (1950–1951),

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

(1951–1954),

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

(1954–1955),

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

(1955),

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

(1957) and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

(1957). He was born in

Wyandotte, Michigan Wyandotte ( ) is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detro ...

and attended St. Patrick High School. In 2003, Kuzava was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.

Career

Born and raised in the

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

area, Kuzava made his Major League debut against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

. He was the Indians' starting pitcher for a late-season 1946 game in Cleveland, and over eight innings he gave up just four hits and one earned run. He got no decision, the game lasting 11 innings, with Detroit's

Dizzy Trout Paul Howard "Dizzy" Trout (June 29, 1915 – February 28, 1972) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from to , most notably as a member of the Detroit Tigers team that finishe ...

pitching all 11 for the victory. He spent most of the 1947 and 1948 seasons in the minor leagues before his breakout season with the White Sox in 1949. Kuzava, whose nickname was "Sarge" or "The White Rat," finished fourth in voting for the 1949

American League Rookie of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

for having a 10–6 record for the

, with nine complete games. He had served as a military policeman in India and Burma during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Kuzava helped the Yankees win three consecutive World Series from 1951–53. He gained saves in the final games of both the

1951 World Series The 1951 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the New York Giants, who had won the National League pennant in a thrilling three-game playoff with the Brooklyn Dodgers on the legendary home run by Bobby T ...

against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

(Game 6) and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

against the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

(Game 7). He pitched in the ninth inning of a

1953 World Series The 1953 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1953 season. The 50th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the American League (AL) champion and four-time defending World ...

Game 5 victory for the Yankees as well. Although his success in the World Series came in relief, Kuzava was a starting pitcher for the Yankees for three seasons, throwing 12 complete games. He joined them on June 15, 1951, with the Washington Senators trading him to New York for three players, and proceeded to earn three championship rings as a Yankee. In a ten-season career, Kuzava had a 49–44 win–loss record, 13 saves, 446 strikeouts and a 4.05

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA).

Death

Kuzava died on May 15, 2017, 13 days short of his 94th birthday.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuzava, Bob 1923 births 2017 deaths American people of Polish descent Baltimore Orioles players Baltimore Orioles (International League) players 20th-century American sportsmen Charleston Senators players Charleston White Sox players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Jets players Indianapolis Indians players Kansas City Athletics scouts Major League Baseball pitchers Mansfield Braves players Milwaukee Braves scouts New York Yankees players Oakland Athletics scouts Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players Rochester Red Wings players St. Louis Cardinals players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Wilkes-Barre Barons players United States Army personnel of World War II American military police officers Sportspeople from Wyandotte, Michigan Baseball players from Wayne County, Michigan

Career

Death

References

Further reading

External links