Kevin Andrew Saucier (born August 9, 1956) is a former

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 ...

pitcher from 1978 to 1982 for the

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Nicknamed "Hot Sauce", Saucier (whose name is pronounced "So-Shay"), was an energetic pitcher who would often display his emotions while on the mound. Saucier retired prior to the 1983 season due to his loss of control on the mound leading him to fear that he might kill someone with a pitch.

Playing career

Saucier was selected in the 2nd round (27th overall) in the 1974 June Amateur Baseball Draft by the

out of

Escambia High School Escambia High School is a high school located in Escambia County, Florida, United States. There was controversy over its rebel mascot and playing of "Dixie." History Escambia High School (EHS) opened for the 1958–59 school year, and its f ...

in Pensacola, Florida. He was primarily a middle reliever with the Phillies in 1979 and 1980, winning a

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

ring in 1980. Saucier was traded twice within the fifty days following that Fall Classic. He was first sent to the Texas Rangers on November 19 to complete a transaction from two months earlier on September 13 when the Phillies acquired

Sparky Lyle Albert Walter "Sparky" Lyle (born July 22, 1944) is an American professional baseball pitcher who spent sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1967 through 1982. He was a relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Texa ...

. He was then dealt from the Rangers to the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

for Mark Wagner three weeks later on December 10, 1980. The Tigers named him their

closer Closer or Closers may refer to: Film and television * ''Closer'' (2000 film), a documentary by Tina Gharavi * ''Closer'' (2004 film), a 2004 adaptation of Patrick Marber's play (see below), directed by Mike Nichols * ''The Closer'', a 1990 mo ...

for 1981 season. During the strike-shortened '81 season, he saved 13 games in 15 opportunities and posted an excellent 1.65 ERA. After saving five games to start the 1982 season, he started to complain of a tired arm and was eventually placed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. His attempt to come back from the injury with the AAA

Evansville Triplets The Evansville Triplets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Triple-A American Association (AA) from 1970 to 1984. They were located in Evansville, Indiana, and played their home games at Bosse Field. The Triplets served as a farm club for ...

was unsuccessful, as he walked 23 batters in 22 innings and pitched to a 7.36 ERA. Concerned that he "didn't know where the ball was going to go", he chose to retire from baseball.

Post-playing career

Since the 1980s, Saucier has been a scout for the

Major League Scouting Bureau The Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau is a centralized scouting resource that operates under the auspices of the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball. Headquartered in Ontario, California, the MLBSB's efforts supplement the independent, propr ...

, evaluating amateur baseball prospects in Alabama, the Florida panhandle and a portion of Georgia. In this position he has scouted future MLB players such as

Chipper Jones Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones Jr. (born April 24, 1972) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves from 1993 to 2012. The Braves chose Jones with the first overall p ...

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, third baseman and designated hitter and current businessman. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (ML ...

, and

Bo Jackson Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football, football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-star#Sports, All-Star in Major professio ...

References

External links

Major League Baseball pitchers Philadelphia Phillies players Detroit Tigers players Pulaski Phillies players Spartanburg Phillies players Reading Phillies players Evansville Triplets players Peninsula Pilots players Oklahoma City 89ers players Baseball players from Pensacola, Florida 1956 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1950s-stub