John White Sipin (born August 29, 1946) is a former major league baseball player from

Watsonville, California Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, located in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 according to the 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and Democratic, Watsonville is a self ...

. He was a second baseman for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. He also played nine seasons in Japan with the

Taiyo Whales The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current ...

and

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

. He is of Filipino (Ilocano) and Caucasian ancestry.

Personal life

John Sipin was born in Watsonville, California and is the son of Johnny Imperial Sipin, a Filipino of Ilocos origin and Ethel White, a native from Little Rock Arkansas, US. John grew up in Watsonville and went to

Watsonville High School Watsonville High School is a high school located in Watsonville, Santa Cruz County, California, and is part of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. The school mascot is Willy the Wildcat. The school colors are black and gold. Watsonville Hi ...

where his baseball jersey was retired in 2006. John is currently married to Gizelle Sipin (a local of Soquel, California) and together they have two daughters Alisha and Kamala.

Youth career

Sipin played for the men's softball team of the

Ilocos Region Ilocos Region ( ilo, Rehion/Deppaar ti Ilocos; pag, Sagor na Baybay na Luzon/Rehiyon Uno; tl, Rehiyon ng Ilocos) is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region I, occupying the northwestern section of Luzon and part of ...

(Region I) in the

Palarong Pambansa The Palarong Pambansa ( Filipino for "National Games") is an annual multi-sport event involving student-athletes from 17 regions of the Philippines. The event, started in 1948, is organized and governed by the Department of Education. Student- ...

, the national student's games of the Philippines, in the 1970s. Sipin's team dominated the games and were known as the "Marcos Boys" since the regional softball program was supported by the Marcos political family.

Professional career

St. Louis Cardinals

Sipin was selected by the

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 ...

in the 55th round of the 1965 amateur draft. He played four seasons in the Cardinals' minor league system, rising as high as the Triple-A

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

, with whom he opened the season. He was traded to the

on May 22, 1969, with Sonny Ruberto for the Padres'

Jerry DaVanon Frank Gerald DaVanon (born August 21, 1945) is a former professional baseball player. He played all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as an infielder. Professional career First Cardinals stint DaVanon attended Hoo ...

and

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...

.Baseball Reference Website
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San Diego Padres

Following the trade, Sipin was promoted to the major leagues. Sipin played 68 games for the Padres that season, batting .223 with 12

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

s, two triples and two homers in 229

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. He also had 9 RBIs and 2

stolen base 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 ...

s that season. Sipin had 7

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

s in the field, giving him a

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

of 0.976 for 477 innings. An interesting quirk to Sipin's major league career was that he hit a

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

in each of his first two big league at bats, but never collected another three-base hit in the majors. On May 24, 1969, Sipin hit triples in the first and fourth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

s off

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Ken Holtzman Kenneth Dale Holtzman (born November 3, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Chicago Cubs for whom he pitche ...

of 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 ...

. Following the 1969 season, Sipin returned to the minor leagues. He played the next two seasons with the Padres' top farm team, 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 ...

and for the

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

. Each year, he hit over .300 with exactly 20 home runs. However, he never got another shot at the major leagues.

Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball

Sipin signed with the Taiyo Whales (current

Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japan, Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its c ...

) in 1972, and instantly became one of the best second basemen in Japanese baseball during the 1970s. He played his best season in 1975, hitting 34 home runs and 82 RBIs, with a .295 batting average. He also won the Japanese golden glove award, being the first foreigner to be awarded the Golden Glove, in 1972 and 1973. He was traded to the

in 1978, and hit over .300 each of his seasons with the Giants, often playing in the outfield instead of second base. He retired in 1980, after missing half of the season with an injury. Sipin gained popularity in Japan, and his hair and beard gave him the nickname, Lion Maru (after the character in the children's television series

Kaiketsu Lion-Maru , was a Japanese tokusatsu television series in the Lion-Maru franchise that aired in 1972-1973, produced by P Productions and set during Japan's Sengoku period (the Age of Warring States). Plot During the late 16th century (September 1, 1567 ...

). He was entertaining on and off the field, making entrances with extravagant outfits, or fielding ground balls with his batting helmet on. He changed his appearance when he joined the Yomiuri Giants, shaving off his long hair and beard to adopt a gentleman-like look (similarly,

Michihiro Ogasawara Michihiro Ogasawara (小笠原道大, born October 25, 1973 in Mihama-ku, Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese former professional baseball player. He is currently the first team head coach for Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He had an ...

shaved off his trademark beard when he joined the Giants. Though Sipin changed his look when he joined the Giants, his personality did not change, especially because

Clete Boyer Cletis Leroy "Clete" Boyer (February 9, 1937 – June 4, 2007) was an American professional baseball third baseman — who occasionally played shortstop and second base — in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Athletics (1955–57 ...

, his coach and mentor on the Taiyo Whales, was no longer there to hold him back. In 1978, he charged at the mound after being hit by a pitch two times during the season, and was ejected both times after beating up the opposing pitcher. He had been ejected once with the Whales, but only for kicking sand onto the home plate after a disputed call.

Sources

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sipin, John 1946 births Living people Baseball players from Santa Cruz County, California Major League Baseball second basemen American people of Ilocano descent San Diego Padres players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Hawaii Islanders players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Taiyō Whales players Yomiuri Giants players People from Watsonville, California Arkansas Travelers players Cedar Rapids Cardinals players Florida Instructional League Cardinals players Modesto Reds players Salt Lake City Bees players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players American baseball players of Filipino descent