Sidney Schacht (February 3, 1918 – March 30, 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

. Born in

Bogota, New Jersey Bogota is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 8,187,right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

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 ...

who appeared in 19 games in the Major Leagues 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 ...

(1950–1951) and Boston Braves (1951).Career statistics and history
a
Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> He was listed at tall and . He was not related to

Al Schacht Alexander Schacht (November 11, 1892 – July 14, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and, later, restaurateur. Schacht was a pitcher in the major leagues from 1919 to 1921 for the Washington Senators. Early life Schacht ...

, the former pitcher and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

known as "the Clown Prince of Baseball."

Baseball career

Schacht did not begin his professional baseball career until 1947, when he was 29 years old. He signed with the minor league Stamford Bombers of the Class B

Colonial League The Colonial League is an athletic conference consisting of 14 high schools mostly from the Lehigh Valley portion of eastern Pennsylvania. It is part of PIAA District 11, District XI of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. The C ...

. Then living in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

and caring for his ailing mother,Horvitz, Peter S., and Horvitz, Joachim, ''The Big Book of Jewish Baseball.'' New York: S.P.I. Books, 2001, page 163 Schacht commuted 25 miles (40 km) one-way to pitch for the Bombers, and won 18 of 25 decisions with a sparkling 2.94

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. The following year, Schacht dropped his ERA to 2.09, although he went only 7–8. His contract was then acquired by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

, where in 1949 he compiled a 20–5 record in a season split between the Class A Eastern League and 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), Cla ...

–19 of those victories coming in the EL for the

Scranton Red Sox Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming Val ...

. At year's end, he was selected by the Browns in the 1949 Rule 5 draft. He made the Browns' roster out of spring training and worked in eight big-league games during the season's early months. His only starting pitcher assignment came May 29 against another second-division club, the

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 ...

, and Schacht

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

only two batters, allowing three hits, two bases on balls and four

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

.1950-5-29 box score
from

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He also was hit hard in

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appearances by the eventual world champion

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

and first-division Red Sox. Schacht was then optioned to the Triple-A Kansas City Blues, where he pitched effectively despite a losing record. In , he again began the year on the Browns' 28-man roster, and earned his only MLB save on April 29 against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

. However, Schacht was ineffective in three of his five appearances. He was placed on waivers when the rosters were cut to 25 men in mid-May and picked up by 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 ...

Boston Braves. In six games for Boston during May and June, all in relief, Schacht allowed only one

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

, but earned two losses and then was optioned to the Triple-A Milwaukee Brewers. He went 4–1 for the minor-league Brewers, but retired from the game at age 33, after five professional seasons. In 21⅓ innings pitched in Major League Baseball, Schacht allowed 44 hits, 21 bases on balls (compiling a WHIP of 3.047) and 34 earned runs, with 12 strikeouts and an earned run average of 14.34. He died at age 73 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schacht, Sid 1918 births 1991 deaths Baseball players from New Jersey Birmingham Barons players Boston Braves players Jewish American baseball players Jewish Major League Baseball players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players People from Bogota, New Jersey St. Louis Browns players Scranton Red Sox players Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey Baseball players from New York City 20th-century American Jews Stamford Pioneers players