Ken "Bulldog" Sanders spent most of his first ten pro seasons bouncing around the Athletics organization, interrupted only by a brief Rule V stint with the Red Sox in 1966. He finally became a full-time major leaguer during the Brewers' first season in Milwaukee in 1970, and for three years he was one of the best relief pitchers in the American League. After going 5-1 with a 1.75 ERA and 13 saves in 1970, he exploded for a league leading 31 saves in a league leading 83 appearances in 1971, and still kept his ERA below 2.00. He was traded twice immediately following the 1972 season -- first from the Brewers to the Phillies, and one month later from the Phillies to the Twins in the Cesar Tovar deal.
Bulldog began 1973 as the Twins' top fireman, but was released in June after posting a rough 6.09 ERA and 1.67 WHIP. After being claimed by Cleveland, he immediately found his game, picking up five wins and five saves to go with a sparkling 1.65 ERA for them over the rest of the season.
No comments:
Post a Comment