Tom Saffell
| Tom Saffell | |
|---|---|
 Saffell in 1952 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born:July 26, 1921 Etowah, Tennessee,U.S. | |
| Died:September 10, 2012(aged 91) Sarasota, Florida,U.S. | |
Batted:Left Threw:Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 2, 1949, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 25, 1955, for the Kansas City Athletics | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .238 |
| Home runs | 6 |
| Runs batted in | 40 |
| Teams | |
Thomas Judson Saffell(July 26, 1921 – September 10, 2012) was an Americanprofessional baseballoutfielder.He played inMajor League Baseball(MLB) for thePittsburgh PiratesandKansas City Athletics.
Early life
[edit]Saffell grew up inEtowah, Tennessee,[1]playing sports, especially fast-pitch softball. His team won the state tournament and played in a national tournament inDetroit.After completing high school in 1940, Saffell enrolled atMaryville College,where he injured his knee playing football. Saffell signed as a baseball player in 1941 with the Newport Canners in theAppalachian League,but reinjured his knee and was released. He tried out with the Kingsport Cherokees, but was cut after two weeks because of a sore knee, playing 23 games in all while hitting.231.[2]
Saffell returned home and worked for a railroad until serving in World War II. He enlisted with theArmy Air Corpsin late 1942 and joined them in 1943. Saffell flew 61 missions over Europe in aP-47 Thunderbolt,and was discharged in 1946.
Career synopsis
[edit]Saffell played for thePittsburgh PiratesandKansas City Athleticsin parts of four seasons spanning1949–1955.[3]He batted left-handed, threw right-handed, and was a fleet baserunner.[3]He wore #18 and #21 for Pittsburgh. Saffell averaged.238 in the major leagues and.286 in 1,576 minor league contests. He spent time with theIndianapolis IndiansandHollywood Stars.[3]He also served as a pitcher for the television seriesHome Run Derby.[4]
Major and minor league outfielder
[edit]In1946,he batted.270 for Class ACharlestonof theSouth Atlantic League.In a month the parent club, theAtlanta Crackers,sent him to theBurlington Beesof the Class CCarolina League,where he hit.370 with 5 homers, 42 RBIs, and 28 stolen bases. Saffell went to spring training with the Crackers in1947.After three weeks the club sent him to theSelma Cloverleafsof the Class B Southeastern League. He was passed over by Atlanta, which signed All-American football player,Charley Trippi,and gave him a $10,000 bonus.[1]
Saffell was recalled by the Pirates from theIndianapolis Indiansof theAmerican Associationon June 26, 1949. He batted.299 for Indianapolis in1948and was hitting.278 for them in 68 games in 1949.[5]He played center field, batted leadoff, third, and pinch hit for Pittsburgh, in the second half of 1949 with a.322 average. Saffell was released by Pittsburgh before the end ofspring trainingin1950.[3]Saffell was again recalled by the Pirates on July 28, 1951, after playing 42 games for Indianapolis with a batting average of.304.[6]
Saffell was purchased by the Athletics from the Pirates for the $10,000 waiver price on September 14, 1955.[7]On April 16, 1956 Saffell was acquired from the Athletics by theBrooklyn Dodgers,along with right-handed pitcher LeRoy Wheat, for rookie catcher Charley Thompson. Saffell was assigned to thePortland Beaversof thePacific Coast League[8]and never again appeared in the majors, although he played in the Dodgers' farm system until 1959, after which he played in 17 games over the years 1962-64 in the Pirates' system.[2]
Minor league manager
[edit]Saffell was replaced by Homer "Dixie" Howell as manager of theClass AJacksonville Jets of theSouth Atlantic League,on July 18, 1961.[9]In May1964Saffell was suspended for 30 days and fined $250 byEddie Mulligan,President of theCalifornia League.As manager of theReno Silver Sox,he refused to let his team take the field for a game at theFresno Giants.Saffell disputed a call by umpire Joe Carrington at home plate on the previous night. When he found out that Carrington was to umpire again, he pulled the Silver Sox off the field following batting and infield practice. He was given five minutes to bring out his lineup card before the game was forfeited.[10]
Saffell served as President of theGulf Coast LeagueinSarasota, Florida.In 1999 he was presented with theKing of Baseballaward given by Minor League Baseball.
References
[edit]- ^ab"Tom Saffell",http://bioproj.sabr.org.,The Baseball Biography Project,2001, Page 2.
- ^ab"Tom Saffell Minor League Statistics & History".Baseball-Reference.com.RetrievedSeptember 20,2012.
- ^abcd"Tom Saffell",http://bioproj.sabr.org,2001,The Baseball Biography Project,Page 1.
- ^Nevada State Journal,July 1960, p. 9
- ^"Pirates Recall Outfielder",New York Times,June 27, 1949, Page 21.
- ^"Pirates Recall Saffell",New York Times,July 29, 1951, Page 125.
- ^"Athletics Buy Saffell",New York Times,September 15, 1955, Page 42.
- ^"Catcher Thompson Sold",New York Times,April 17, 1956, Page 35.
- ^"Homer Howell New Manager",New York Times,July 18, 1961, Page 20.
- ^"Reno Manager Is Suspended For Forfeiting Ball Game",New York Times,May 22, 1964, Page 25.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics and player information fromBaseball Reference,orBaseball Reference (Minors)
- 1921 births
- 2012 deaths
- People from Etowah, Tennessee
- Major League Baseball outfielders
- Pittsburgh Pirates players
- Kansas City Athletics players
- Newport Canners players
- Kingsport Cherokees players
- Charleston Rebels players
- Burlington Bees players
- Atlanta Crackers players
- Selma Cloverleafs players
- Indianapolis Indians players
- Hollywood Stars players
- Portland Beavers players
- Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players
- Spokane Indians players
- Grand Forks Chiefs players
- Reno Silver Sox players
- Baseball players from Tennessee
- Minor league baseball managers
- Maryville University alumni