Kevin Andrew Saucier (born August 9, 1956) is a former

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), ...

pitcher from 1978 to 1982 for 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 ...

and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. Nicknamed "Hot Sauce", Saucier (whose name is pronounced "So-Shay"), was an energetic pitcher who would often display his emotions while on the mound. Saucier retired prior to the 1983 season due to his loss of control on the mound leading him to fear that he might kill someone with a pitch.

Playing career

Saucier was selected in the 2nd round (27th overall) in the 1974 June Amateur Baseball Draft by the

out of

Escambia High School Escambia High School is a high school located in Escambia County, Florida, United States. History Escambia High School opened for the 1958–59 school year, and its first graduating class in 1959 was composed of 207 students. A large n ...

in Pensacola, Florida. He was primarily a middle reliever with the Phillies in 1979 and 1980, winning a

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

ring in 1980. Saucier was traded twice within the fifty days following that Fall Classic. He was first sent to the Texas Rangers on November 19 to complete a transaction from two months earlier on September 13 when the Phillies acquired

Sparky Lyle Albert Walter "Sparky" Lyle (born July 22, 1944) is an American former left-handed relief pitcher who spent sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1967 through 1982. He was a relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, ...

. He was then dealt from the Rangers to the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

for Mark Wagner three weeks later on December 10, 1980. The Tigers named him their closer for 1981 season. During the strike-shortened '81 season, he saved 13 games in 15 opportunities and posted an excellent 1.65 ERA. After saving five games to start the 1982 season, he started to complain of a tired arm and was eventually placed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. His attempt to come back from the injury with the AAA

Evansville Triplets The Evansville Triplets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Triple-A American Association (AA) from 1970 to 1984. They were located in Evansville, Indiana, and played their home games at Bosse Field. The Triplets served as a farm club for th ...

was unsuccessful, as he walked 23 batters in 22 innings and pitched to a 7.36 ERA. Concerned that he "didn't know where the ball was going to go", he chose to retire from baseball.

Post-playing career

Since the 1980s, Saucier has been a scout for the Major League Scouting Bureau, evaluating amateur baseball prospects in Alabama, the Florida panhandle and a portion of Georgia. In this position he has scouted future MLB players such as

Chipper Jones Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones Jr. (born April 24, 1972) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves from 1993 to 2012. The Braves chose Jones with the first overall p ...

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

, and

Bo Jackson Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. Jackson's el ...

References

External links

Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Florida Philadelphia Phillies players Detroit Tigers players Pulaski Phillies players Spartanburg Phillies players Reading Phillies players Evansville Triplets players Peninsula Pilots players Oklahoma City 89ers players Sportspeople from Pensacola, Florida 1956 births Living people {{US-baseball-pitcher-1950s-stub