John Henry "Heinie" Sand (July 3, 1897 – November 3, 1958) was an American

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played from to with the

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 ...

. He debuted on April 17, 1923 and played his final game on September 30, 1928. In 1925, he had a .364

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

and 55

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 ...

and was 18th in the voting for 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 ...

Most Valuable Player Award In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. Over six season, he played in 848 games, including 772 at shortstop. For his career, he hit for a .258 average with a .343 on-base percentage. Born in San Francisco, California, Sand got his start playing for the

Salt Lake City Bees The Salt Lake City Bees was a primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams, based in Salt Lake City, Utah between 1911 and 1970 under various names. After minor league baseball first began in Salt Lake City in 1900, the Bees were long-time ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

from 1918 to 1922. Sand had an unassisted triple play while playing for Salt Lake City. Sand is best known for his role in a 1924 bribery incident that resulted in two players being banned from baseball by Commissioner

Kenesaw Mountain Landis Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his h ...

. Sand knew

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

player Jimmy O'Connell from their days in San Francisco. On September 23, the Phillies were out of contention, and O'Connell offered to pay $500 to Sand if he would "go easy" on the Giants. The incident came to the attention of Judge Landis, who conducted a hearing. O'Connell admitted making the offer and implicated Giants coach

Cozy Dolan Patrick Henry "Cozy" Dolan (December 3, 1872 – March 29, 1907) was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Beaneaters, Chicago Orphans, Brooklyn Superbas, Chicago White Sox and C ...

in the scheme. Landis banned both O'Connell and Dolan from baseball. Sand was involved as a shortstop in three

triple play In baseball, a triple play (denoted as TP in baseball statistics) is the act of making three outs during the same play. There have only been 733 triple plays in Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1876, an average of just over five per season. Th ...

s in his career. In July 1924, Sand was involved in a triple play on a ball hit by

Heinie Groh Henry Knight "Heinie" Groh (September 18, 1889 – August 22, 1968) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from 1912 to 1927, spending nearly his entire career with the Cinc ...

. In 1929, Sand was acquired by the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. After playing one year in Rochester, Sand was sold to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

in November 1929. Sand played for the Orioles for four years from 1930 to 1933. He finished his career in 1934 playing for San Francisco's

Mission Reds The Mission Reds were a minor league baseball team located in San Francisco, California, that played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1926 through 1937. First Missions team In early September of 1914, the failed Sacramento Solons team moved ...

in the

. The statistic that stands out above all others with Sand was his propensity to

strike 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 denot ...

. He was among the top 10 batters in strikeouts in all six of his major league seasons, striking out 56 times in his rookie season in 1923 (5th highest in the National League (NL)), 57 in 1924 (3rd highest in the NL), 65 in 1925 (2nd highest in the NL), 56 in 1926 (6th highest in the NL), 59 in 1927 (3rd highest in the NL), and 49 in his final season in 1928 (9th highest in the NL). Sand was also a leader in

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, walking 82 times in 1923 (2nd in the NL), 52 times in 1924 (10th in the NL), 64 times in 1925 (6th in the NL), and 66 times in 1926 (2nd in the NL). Sand also was third in

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

in the National League in 1926, with 99. Sand belongs to that small group of players who always had at least 120 games and 400+

at bat 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 ...

s in every major league season played. After retiring from baseball, Sand became involved in the plumbing business. He was a member of one of the oldest plumbing contracting companies in San Francisco. In November 1958, Sand died at age 61 at St. Mary's Hospital in San Francisco.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sand, Heinie 1897 births 1958 deaths Major League Baseball shortstops Philadelphia Phillies players Salt Lake City Bees players Bloomington Bloomers players Seattle Rainiers players Rochester Red Wings players Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Mission Reds players Baseball players from San Francisco