Robert Sadowski (February 19, 1938 – August 5, 2018) was an American

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, ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

who played from 1963 through 1966 for the

Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...

(1963–65) and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

(1966). Sadowski batted and threw right-handed. He debuted on June 19, 1963 and played his final game on July 4, 1966. He was the brother of

Ed Sadowski Edward Roman Sadowski (January 19, 1931 – November 6, 1993) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball who played in all or part of four seasons between and for the Boston Red Sox (1960), Los Angeles Angels (1961–1963) and Atlanta B ...

and Ted Sadowski, and uncle of Jim Sadowski. He was not, however, related to third baseman Bob Sadowski, who played for four MLB teams between 1960 and 1963.

Career

Sadowski divided his playing time between

starting Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Starts use in sport race * Standing start, and rolling start, i ...

and relieving. He was signed by the

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 ...

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 1958, then was sent to the Milwaukee Braves along with Gene Oliver in 1963 in the same trade that brought

Lew Burdette Selva Lewis Burdette, Jr. (November 22, 1926 – February 6, 2007) was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Boston / Milwaukee Braves. The team's top right-hander during its years in Mil ...

to the Cardinals. His most productive season came in 1964, when he posted career-highs in wins (9),

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher. The statistic is also referred to as appearances, especially to refer to the number of ...

(51), starts (18), saves (5) and

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

(166). Sadowski has the distinction of being the last Braves starting pitcher in their final home opener in Milwaukee, as he defeated the

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

5–1 (April 15, 1965). Suffering from arm miseries, he pitched his final Major League season for the Boston Red Sox in 1966. Sadowski worked in only 33 innings and made five starts, but one of them, on June 1, saw him combine with José Santiago on a three-hit

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

to defeat the Washington Senators at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

. It was Sadowski's only win in a Red Sox uniform and his last in the big leagues. In a four-season MLB career, Sadowski posted a 20–27 record with a 3.87

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

, eight saves, and 257

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s in 115 games (54 as a starter). In 439 innings pitched, he allowed 416 hits and 130

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

References

External links

RetrosheetTimes-Herald interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadowski, Bob 1938 births 2018 deaths American people of Polish descent Atlanta Crackers players Austin Braves players Baseball players from Pittsburgh Boston Red Sox players Charleston Marlins players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Chickasaws players Milwaukee Braves players 20th-century American sportsmen Rochester Red Wings players San Juan Marlins players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Winnipeg Goldeyes players