Ray Sadecki

Raymond Michael Sadecki

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.
• High School Bishop Ward High School
• Debut May 19, 1960
• Final Game April 23, 1977
• Born December 26, 1940 in Kansas City, KS USA
• Died November 17, 2014 in Mesa, AZ USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Lefthander Ray Sadecki pitched for 18 major league seasons, compiling a record of 135-131. He won 20 games for the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals but never again came close to that mark. He was the winning pitcher and had a run-scoring single in Game 1 of the 1964 World Series.

Ray was traded from the Cardinals to the San Francisco Giants for Orlando Cepeda on May 8, 1966. The trade occurred right after the two teams played each other in the final game at the original Busch Stadium. On July 3, 1966, Ray hit a home run off Tony Cloninger of the Atlanta Braves in the 5th inning. In the same game, Cloninger hit two grand slams, the second of which came off Ray in the 4th.

Ray is the only pitcher off whom Bob Uecker hit two home runs, both of which came in 1966. His 206 strikeouts for the Giants in 1968 were the most by a left-hander in franchise history, until Madison Bumgarner had 219 in 2014.

He was a member of the National League Champion New York Mets in 1973 and recorded a save in Game 4 of the 1973 World Series. He died of complications from blood cancer in 2014. He was 73.

• 1992 Coach Peoria Chiefs

Notable Achievements

• 15 Wins Seasons: 1 (1964)
• 20 Wins Seasons: 1 (1964)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 3 (1961, 1964 & 1968)
• 200 Strikeouts Seasons: 1 (1968)
• Won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964

Related Sites

• Ray Sadecki at the SABR Bio Project