Lenn Haruki Sakata(born June 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues primarily as a utility player from 1977 to 1987 and was a member of the Baltimore Orioles 1983 World Series Championship team. He was the second Asian American to playMajor League Baseball.[1]He isYonsei(fourth-generation American of Japanese ancestry).[2]Sakata graduated fromKalani High Schoolin 1971. Sakata played college baseball for theGonzaga BulldogsofGonzaga UniversityinSpokane, Washington.[3]
| Lenn Sakata | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Second baseman | |
| Born:June 8, 1954 Honolulu, Hawaii,U.S. | |
Batted:Right Threw:Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 21, 1977, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 28, 1987, for the New York Yankees | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .230 |
| Home runs | 25 |
| Runs batted in | 109 |
| StatsatBaseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Sakata was acquired by the Orioles from the Brewers forJohn Flinnon December 6, 1979.[4]He began 1981 as a reserve and missed time in May due to a sprained ankle. In September, he took over the shortstop position, replacing longtime Oriole shortstopMark Belanger.[5][6]Sakata was humble about this, saying, "I never looked at myself as the next Mark Belanger. It would have been pointless and arrogant for anybody to feel that way." He was the starting shortstop for the Orioles whenCal Ripken Jr.,began his consecutive games played streak. When managerEarl Weaverdecided to shift Ripken to short at the beginning of July 1982, he moved Sakata to second, keeping Sakata in the lineup.[7]
Sakata is remembered in Orioles lore during the 1983 pennant race when he substituted to play catcher, a position he had not played since childhood, in the tenth inning of the August 24, 1983, game at Baltimore'sMemorial Stadium.The Orioles had replaced their starting catcher and his backup while rallying to tie the game in the ninth inning. ThreeToronto Blue Jayshitters reached first base; each one took a big lead, thinking it would be easy to steal a base on Sakata.Tippy Martinezproceeded to pick each Blue Jays base runner off first base. Sakata then hit awalk-off home runin the bottom of the tenth to win the game.[8][9]
After his playing career ended, Sakata began coaching in the minor league system. He has served as manager of the Modesto A's (1989),San Jose Giants(1999, 2001, 2004–2007),Bakersfield Blaze(2000), andFresno Grizzlies(2002). On May 31, 2007, Sakata notched his 527th victory as a California League manager, setting the record for lifetime wins.[10]Sakata became the farm team manager of theChiba Lotte Marinesin Japan in 2008.[11]He returned to American baseball in 2011, becoming the hitting coach forAsheville Tourists(Low-A). After managing theModesto Nutsfrom 2012 to 2013, Sakata rejoined the San Jose Giants in 2014 and was succeeded on January 10, 2015, by Russ Morman taking over as manager beginning the 2015 season.[12]In 2020, Sakata was named the new manager of theSalem-Keizer Volcanoes.[13]Sakata has returned to the San José Giants for the 2021 season.
Sakata was selected byCNN Sports Illustratedas one of the 50 greatest sports figures in Hawaii's history[14]and is a member of the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame located in theBishop Museum.Sakata is also a member of Gonzaga University's Sports Hall of Fame. In 2018 he was inducted to the California League Hall of Fame for his success as a manager.
References
edit- ^Seattle Mariners' Manager Sees Chance to Highlight his PastNY Times, December 27, 2008
- ^Costello, Rory (2009)."The Baseball Biography Project: Lenn Sakata".Society for American Baseball Research.RetrievedJuly 25,2010.
- ^"Gonzaga University Baseball Players Who Made It to the Major Leagues".Baseball-Almanac.Archived fromthe originalon July 12, 2004.RetrievedAugust 10,2012.
- ^Baltimore Orioles 1980 Information Guide (Lenn Sakata profile on pages 145 & 146).Retrieved October 29, 2020
- ^Rosenfeld, p. 44
- ^"Lenn Sakata 1981 Batting Gamelogs".Sports Reference, LLC.Baseball-Reference.RetrievedJuly 12,2014.
- ^Rosenfeld, p. 70
- ^Boswell, Thomas. "In Bizarre Finish, Orioles Winners,"The Washington Post,Thursday, August 25, 1983.Retrieved August 2, 2023.
- ^Klingaman, Mike (August 4, 2017)."Catching up with... former Orioles infielder Lenn Sakata".Baltimore Sun.RetrievedMay 30,2021.
- ^"Sakata Winningest Manager in California League History".Archived from the original on October 31, 2007.RetrievedSeptember 28,2007.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^Lefton, Brad (June 16, 2009)."Lenn Sakata doesn't expect to see more Japanese-American managers any time soon".The Seattle Times.RetrievedSeptember 14,2009.
- ^Sakata returns to San Jose dugout
- ^"Volcanoes introduce new coaching staff for 2020 season".Keizertimes.March 12, 2020.RetrievedApril 12,2020.
- ^"The 50 Greatest Hawaii Sports Figures".Sports Illustrated.Archived fromthe originalon December 3, 2003.RetrievedSeptember 14,2009.
Rosenfeld, Harvey (1995).Iron Man: The Cal Ripken, Jr., Story.New York: St. Martin's Press.ISBN0-312-13524-6.
External links
edit- Career statistics fromBaseball Reference,orBaseball Reference (Minors),orRetrosheet,orSABR Biography Project,orPura Pelota