Francis Field Saucier (born May 28, 1926) is an American former

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player, an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

who played two months of the baseball season for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

. He is known for being replaced by the shortest player in baseball history,

Eddie Gaedel Edward Carl Gaedel (June 8, 1925 – June 18, 1961) was the smallest player to appear in a Major League Baseball game. Gaedel gained recognition in the second game of a St. Louis Browns doubleheader on August 19, 1951. Weighing and standing t ...

, who pinch-hit for him in a stunt devised by Browns' owner Bill Veeck in , Saucier's only season in the big leagues.Joyner, R., "Frank Saucier", ''Sports Collectors Digest'', Krause Publications, March 30, 2007. In his eighteen-game major league career, Saucier had one hit in 14 at-bats, giving him a .071 batting average. He also had three walks, scored four runs, and had one

run 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 ...

.Baseball-Reference.com: Frank Saucier
/ref> He was much more prolific in the minor leagues, however, hitting .348 in , his first pro season, at Belleville in the Illinois State League, and followed that with a .446 average at

Wichita Falls Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. According ...

in , which led all of professional baseball. This attracted the attention of Veeck, who signed him in July 1951, paying him a substantial bonus to return to baseball. In 1950, Saucier batted .343 for the San Antonio Missions to lead the Texas League in hitting, and won ''The Sporting News'' Minor League Player of the Year Award. An injury in 1951 and two years in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during the Korean War (in addition to 38 months during World War II) short-circuited his playing time, and he never played in the majors again. Saucier graduated from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri with a degree in math and physics; the baseball field there is named after him.http://www.westminster-mo.edu/athletics/mens_sports/baseball/facts.html Westminster College Baseball information The site is named Frank Saucier Field, a reflection of his full name Francis Field Saucier.

References

1926 births Living people People from Franklin County, Missouri Westminster Blue Jays baseball players Major League Baseball outfielders St. Louis Browns players Baseball players from Missouri United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy personnel of the Korean War Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Belleville Stags players San Antonio Missions players Wichita Falls Spudders players {{US-baseball-bio-stub