Roger Sawyer

Roger Eldridge Sawyer

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 180 lb.

• Born October 31, 1934 in Warsaw, NY USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

The nephew of Eddie Sawyer, Roger Sawyer pitched for seven years in the minor leagues, going 60-42. He debuted with the 1952 Brunswick Pirates, going 5-6 with a 2.41 ERA in 12 games. Roger had the lowest ERA on the club, which was most notable in retrospect for the presence of future New York governor Mario Cuomo in center field. Roger had his best year in 1953, posting a 22-5, 1.99 line for the Hutchinson Elks. He led the Western Association in ERA, wins and shutouts (9, more than the next two hurlers combined). He threw 24 complete games in his 32 starts and struck out 200, tied for second in the WA.

In 1954, Roger was 14-6 with a 3.03 ERA for the Waco Pirates but just 1-6 with the Williamsport Grays (though his ERA was still 3.75). During the 1955 campaign, Sawyer had his last season with double-digit wins and his only year with double-digit losses, going 11-13 with a 3.73 ERA for the New Orleans Pelicans in his first year at AA.

Pitching 44 games (15 of them as a starter), Sawyer was the second-most-used pitcher by the 1956 Hollywood Stars. He went 6-4 with a 3.38 ERA for the club in 146 innings of toil. In '57, he only threw one game for Hollywood and five outings with the Columbus Jets, recording no decisions all year. After not pitching in 1958, Sawyer completed his career with the 1959 Tulsa Oilers (1-2, 6.09) and Salt Lake City Bees.

Sources: 1953-54 and 1958 Baseball Guides, 1956 PCL season for Diamond Mind Baseball by Stephen Davis, 1955 SA season for DMB by Scott Parks, Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database, Bill O'Donnell for information on Roger Sawyer's being related to Eddie Sawyer.

Related Sites

• Branch Rickey Papers