Steve Sax
Encyclopedia
Stephen Louis Sax is a former second baseman
in Major League Baseball
. He was a right-handed batter for the Los Angeles Dodgers
(1981–1988), New York Yankees
(1989–1991), Chicago White Sox
(1992–1993), and the Oakland Athletics
(1994).
Rookie of the Year
award.
Throughout his career, Sax was on the All-Star
team five times and had a batting average
over .300 in three seasons. He had great success on the basepaths, stealing
over 40 bases in six seasons for a career total of 444 stolen bases. He also set the Yankees team record for most singles in a season (171 in 1989).
Sax has two World Series rings, both with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981 and 1988.
Sax was also a higher-up in the Players Association
during his career. He controversially opined that major league players should not speak to or assist anyone who was a replacement player
during the infamous 1994 Major League Baseball strike and later joined a club when the strike had ended. He also opined that such players should be denied pensions by the union
.
disease", named after the Pirates pitcher who suffered a similar breakdown of basic mechanics. As his accuracy suffered, fans sitting behind the first base dugout began wearing batting helmets as mock protection. (Teammate Pedro Guerrero, an outfielder
pressed into service at third base
in 1983, once reportedly stated that his first thought whenever he was in the field was "I hope they don't hit it to me," while his second thought was "I hope they don't hit it to Sax.") By 1989, however, Sax seemed to be completely "cured", leading the American League in both fielding percentage
and double plays.
, who also played for the Dodgers. He is also the father of Lauren Ashley Sax now Lauren Ashley Bliss, and son John Jeremy Sax.
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. He was a right-handed batter for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
(1981–1988), New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
(1989–1991), Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
(1992–1993), and the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
(1994).
Career
Sax starred at James Marshall High school (now known as River City High School) in West Sacramento from 1975 to 1978 before being drafted by the Dodgers on June 6, 1978 in the ninth round of the 1978 Amateur Draft . Sax was a late season call up in 1981, playing 29 games. Sax broke into the majors as a regular in 1982, earning the National LeagueNational League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
Rookie of the Year
MLB Rookie of the Year Award
In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is annually given to one player from each league as voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America . The award was established in 1940 by the Chicago chapter of the BBWAA, which selected an annual winner from 1940 through 1946...
award.
Throughout his career, Sax was on the All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
team five times and had a batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
over .300 in three seasons. He had great success on the basepaths, stealing
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
over 40 bases in six seasons for a career total of 444 stolen bases. He also set the Yankees team record for most singles in a season (171 in 1989).
Sax has two World Series rings, both with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981 and 1988.
Sax was also a higher-up in the Players Association
Major League Baseball Players Association
The Major League Baseball Players Association is the union of professional major-league baseball players.-History of MLBPA:The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players...
during his career. He controversially opined that major league players should not speak to or assist anyone who was a replacement player
Replacement player
In professional sports, a replacement player is an athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a strike or lockout.- National Football League – 1987 :...
during the infamous 1994 Major League Baseball strike and later joined a club when the strike had ended. He also opined that such players should be denied pensions by the union
Major League Baseball Players Association
The Major League Baseball Players Association is the union of professional major-league baseball players.-History of MLBPA:The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players...
.
"Steve Sax Syndrome"
Though never regarded as one of the top fielding second basemen in the league, Steve Sax inexplicably became incapable of making routine throws to first base in 1983, committing 30 errors that season. This is referred to in baseball terminology as "Steve Sax Syndrome", the fielder's variant of "Steve BlassSteve Blass
Stephen Robert "Steve" Blass is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher and a current broadcast announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates.-Playing career:Blass was born in Canaan, Connecticut...
disease", named after the Pirates pitcher who suffered a similar breakdown of basic mechanics. As his accuracy suffered, fans sitting behind the first base dugout began wearing batting helmets as mock protection. (Teammate Pedro Guerrero, an outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
pressed into service at third base
Third Base
is a 1978 Japanese film directed by Yōichi Higashi.-External links:...
in 1983, once reportedly stated that his first thought whenever he was in the field was "I hope they don't hit it to me," while his second thought was "I hope they don't hit it to Sax.") By 1989, however, Sax seemed to be completely "cured", leading the American League in both fielding percentage
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...
and double plays.
Family
Steve is the brother of another former Major League Baseball player, Dave SaxDave Sax
David John Sax is a former Major League Baseball player and the brother of All-Star second baseman Steve Sax. He played catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox in his brief major league career.-External links:...
, who also played for the Dodgers. He is also the father of Lauren Ashley Sax now Lauren Ashley Bliss, and son John Jeremy Sax.
Life after baseball
After Steve's playing career ended in , he has been involved in various ventures, including:- Steve is currently piloting a new sports networking site called allsportsconnection.com. Steve is focused on fitness and took the initiative to sponsor and develop a tool for athletes to form teams, post local events, and find places to play. Memberships are free to the public as a means to combat sedentary lifestyles and afford everyone an opportunity to compete at any level.
- Briefly ran for a seat in the California State AssemblyCalifornia State AssemblyThe California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
5th District as a RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in 1996. Sax later dropped out of the race, when his divorceDivorceDivorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
became publicized.
- In the mid-1990s, he was a part-owner of a nightclub and restaurant called the Twin Palms, located in FolsomFolsom, CaliforniaFolsom is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States. Folsom is most commonly known for its famous Folsom Prison. The population was 72,203 at the 2010 census....
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
- Worked as a baseball analyst on television.
- He worked as a financial consultant for RBC Dain Rauscher, LLCLimited liability companyA limited liability company is a flexible form of enterprise that blends elements of partnership and corporate structures. It is a legal form of company that provides limited liability to its owners in the vast majority of United States jurisdictions...
, in their RosevilleRoseville, California-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Roseville had a population of 118,788. The population density was 3,279.4 people per square mile...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
office. He had approximately 25 to 30 clients, including several athletes. He was a partner in the Sax/Hinman Sports Professional Group at RBC Dain Rauscher providing professional wealth management for sports professionals at every level of all professional sports.
- A black beltBlack belt (martial arts)In martial arts, the black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. It is often associated with a teaching grade though...
, he also owns a martial artsMartial artsMartial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
studio in RosevilleRoseville, California-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Roseville had a population of 118,788. The population density was 3,279.4 people per square mile...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
- Sax has made many television cameos, including The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Square PegsSquare PegsSquare Pegs is an American comedy series that aired on CBS during the 1982–1983 season. The series follows Patty Greene and Lauren Hutchinson , two awkward teenage girls desperate to fit in at Weemawee High School....
, Who's the Boss, Hollywood SquaresHollywood SquaresHollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
and Sabrina The Teenage Witch - Sax has also been on the Fox News Political show "Hannity"
Statistics
| G Games played Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,... |
AB At bat In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance... |
H | 2B Double (baseball) In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice.... |
3B Triple (baseball) In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice.... |
HR Home run In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process... |
R | RBI | SB Stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate... |
BB Base on balls A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08... |
SO Strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters.... |
AVG Batting average Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :... |
OBP On base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes... |
SLG | OPS On-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player to both get on base and to hit for power, two important hitting skills, are represented. An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,769 | 6,940 | 1,949 | 278 | 47 | 54 | 913 | 550 | 444 | 556 | 584 | .281 | .335 | .358 | .693 |
| New York Yankees Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Record | Total | Season |
| Most singles Single (baseball) In baseball, a single is the most common type of base hit, accomplished through the act of a batter safely reaching first base by hitting a fair ball and getting to first base before a fielder puts him out... in a season |
171 |