Johnny Schaive

John Edward Schaive

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 175 lb.
• High School Lanphier High School
• Debut September 19, 1958
• Final Game April 19, 1963
• Born February 25, 1934 in Springfield, IL USA
• Died May 11, 2009 in Springfield, IL USA

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Biographical Information

Johnny Schaive spent 14 years in professional baseball. After a slow start to his career, he wound up playing parts of five seasons as an infielder in the major leagues, all of which were spent playing for teams called the Washington Senators, although he played for the original Senators from 1958-1960 and for the expansion Senators in 1962 and 1963.

Johnny broke in with the 1952 Thomasville Tomcats and hit just .190/~.190/.253 in 22 games. He did not walk or steal a base and fielded .938 at second base. The next season, he was with the Wisconsin Rapids White Sox and managed to bat only .200 with an OBP around .231, though he did slug .400 in his 16 games. He fielded .848 at third base.

In 1954, Schaive began to hit, with a .271 mark for the Decatur Commodores; on the mound, he was 2-3 with a 5.28 ERA. He blossomed in 1955 with the Erie Senators, batting .333 with 14 HR and 101 RBI. He was third in the PONY League in RBI, 7th in homers and in the top 10 in average. He led the loop with 178 hits.

Schaive was with the Chattanooga Lookouts in 1956 and hit .300 for them. He missed 1957 due to military service.

In 1958, Johnny returned to baseball and batted .294 with 6 HR and 79 RBI for Chattanooga. That led to a September call-up to the Senators, for whom he went 6 for 24. In 1959, John split time between Chattanooga (.278, 4 HR, 45 RBI), the Denver Bears (.313, 2 HR, 17 RBI) and the Senators (.153/.167/.186 only in 16 games).

Schaive had a fine 1960 season for the Charleston Senators, batting .314 with nine home runs and 78 RBI. He was 10th in the American Association in RBI, two behind Billy Williams. He went 3 for 12 for the Washington Senators. After the season, the Senators became the Minnesota Twins, but he never played for them as he was claimed in the expansion draft by the "new" Washington Senators.

In 1961, the infielder struggled with the Columbus Jets, eking out just a .218 line, albeit with 11 HR. He did not play in the majors that season. He then spent his only full season in the majors in 1962, batting .253/.270/.409 in 82 games. His OPS+ was 81 and was used primarily as a pinch-hitter and third baseman.

Schaive went 0 for 3 for the Senators in 1963, finishing his major league career in April with a .232/.249/.350 lifetime batting line, and returned to the minor leagues. He hit .278 with 1 HR and 5 RBI for the Jacksonville Suns but spent most of the year with the York White Roses, hitting .321 with 3 HR and 22 RBI. On the mound, he was 2-1 with a 5.88 ERA. He also took over as manager of York on May 23rd.

Johnny played briefly for the 1964 Atlanta Crackers (.280, 0 RBI) but then south to finish his career in the Mexican League. He hit .357/~.377/.442 in 68 games for the 1964 Reynosa Broncos. In 1965, Johnny returned to Reynosa for a full year and batted .314/~.342/.475. He hit nine triples and 15 home runs. During his last season, Schaive put up a .275/~.313/.401 line for Reynosa and the Monterrey Sultans. He also spent two months (March 29-May 29) as manager in Reynosa. Overall, he had hit .309/~.334/.441 in the Mexican League.

Sources: 1953 and 1954 Baseball Guides, Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database, The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros

Further Reading

• Obituary