Victor Sylvester Saier (May 4, 1891 – May 14, 1967) was an American
first baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
in
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), ...
from 1911 to 1919. He played for the
Chicago Cubs and the
Pittsburgh Pirates. Saier stood at and weighed 185 lbs.
["Vic Saier Statistics and History"](_blank)
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
Career
Vic Saier was born in
Lansing, Michigan, and attended St. Mary's High School.
He started his professional baseball career in 1910. In his first season, with the Lansing Senators, he led the
Southern Michigan League
The Southern Michigan League was a Minor League Baseball circuit which operated between 1906 and 1912. It was classified as a Class D league from 1906 to 1910 and as a Class C league from 1911 to 1912. After that, the league was known as the Sou ...
in
hits,
doubles, and total bases, and he was purchased by the Chicago Cubs for $1,500.
Saier joined the Cubs in 1911. During his
rookie
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
season, starting first baseman,
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
, and future Hall of Famer
Frank Chance
Frank Leroy Chance (September 9, 1877 – September 15, 1924) was an American professional baseball player. A first baseman, Chance played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs (initially named the "Orphans") and New York Yankees from 18 ...
got injured, and Saier replaced him.
[Gordon, Peter]
"Vic Saier"
''bioproj.sabr.org''. Retrieved 2010-12-27. He
batted .259 in 86 games.
The next season, he raised his average to .288 in his first season as an MLB starter; in 1913, he hit his peak, setting career-highs in nearly every offensive category while leading 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 ...
in
triples, with 21.
In July 1915, Saier was leading the league in
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 ba ...
when he suffered a leg injury that kept him out of the lineup for three weeks.
He continued to put up decent numbers, but then he injured his leg again early in 1917 that sidelined him for almost the entire year.
"Vic Saier Chronology"
. ''baseballlibrary.com''. Retrieved 2010-12-27. Saier was then purchased by the Pirates before 1919. After batting just .223 in 58 games that season, he was released.batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
(775-for-2948) with 455 runs, 143 doubles, 61 triples, 55 home runs, 396 RBIs
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 ...
, 121 stolen bases, 378 bases on balls, .351 on-base percentage and .409 slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded a .986 fielding percentage playing every inning of his career at first base.East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...
, at the age of 76.
See also
* List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saier, Vic
1891 births
1967 deaths
Major League Baseball first basemen
Chicago Cubs players
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Lansing Senators players
Baseball players from Lansing, Michigan