Carl Ernest Sawatski (November 4, 1927 – November 24, 1991) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

and executive. In the Major Leagues, he was a

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

(1948, 1950 and 1953),

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) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

(1954),

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

(1957–58),

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

(1958–59) 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 (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1960–63). He also was an influential figure in minor league baseball. Sawatski attended

Pompton Lakes High School Pompton Lakes High School (PLHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the borough of Pompton Lakes in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Pompton Lakes School District. The sch ...

Pompton Lakes, New Jersey Pompton Lakes is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 11,097,Shickshinny, Pennsylvania Shickshinny is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 630 at the 2020 census. The borough is named after Shickshinny Creek, which runs through the municipality and the surrounding area. According to the book ...

, played 11 seasons in MLB, appearing in 633

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

. His career totals include 1,449

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

, 133 runs, 351

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

, 46 doubles, five triples, 58

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, 213

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

, two

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

and 191 walks, and batted .242. Sawatski helped the Braves win the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

pennant, appearing in 58 games, 19 as a catcher (third-most among the club's backstops), and contributing six home runs to the Milwaukee cause. During the

1957 World Series The 1957 World Series featured the defending champion New York Yankees of the American League playing against the Milwaukee Braves of the National League. After finishing just one game behind the N.L. Champion Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956, the Brav ...

against the

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) Amer ...

, Sawatski had two appearances as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

(Games 3 and 6) and

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

each time, but the Braves prevailed in seven games to win the world title. Sawatski was a prodigious minor league hitter. He batted .352 and slugged 34 homers in the Class D

North Atlantic League The North Atlantic League was the name of two minor baseball leagues. The first was a Class D affiliated system that operated from 1946 until 1950, and the second was an independent minor league that played from 1995 until 1996. Three of that le ...

in 1947. Then, two seasons later, he led the Double-A

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cl ...

with 45 homers and batted .360, second in the league while playing for the Nashville Vols..Information
at

Baseball Reference Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...

After his playing career ended, Sawatski served as the

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

of the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, a Cardinal affiliate, from 1967–75. He then was elected president of the Texas League itself and served in the post from 1976 until his 1991 death in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

at the age of 64. During his presidency, the league prospered as part of the renaissance of minor league baseball that began in the 1980s.

References

External links

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sawatski, Carl 1927 births 1991 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Canada American people of Polish descent Baseball players from New Jersey Baseball players from Pennsylvania Bloomingdale Troopers players Bradford Blue Wings players Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Des Moines Bruins players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball catchers Milwaukee Braves players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Minor league baseball executives Nashville Vols players People from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania People from Pompton Lakes, New Jersey Philadelphia Phillies players Pompton Lakes High School alumni St. Louis Cardinals players Schenectady Blue Jays players Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas Sportspeople from Passaic County, New Jersey Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players