Roger De Saedeleer

Roger de Saedeleer

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Biographical Information

Roger de Saedeleer has been a four-decade player in Belgium. He has led Belgium's top league in numerous categories both as a hitter and as a pitcher.

In 1988 (the first season for which Belgian statistics are available online as of December 2011), Roger hit .338/.468/.537 for the Mortsel Stars with 38 runs, 29 RBI and 33 walks (4th in the First Division). On the mound, he was 2-0 with a 6.16 ERA while walking 22 in 19 innings. In 1989, he put up a .349/.393/.517 line and tied for 5th in runs (43). He was 0-1 as a pitcher, allowing 6 runs (2 earned) in 9 innings and walking 9. For Mortsel in 1990, he hit .455/.573/.649 and was 6th in average. He was 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA, walking an unsightly 42 in 15 1/3 innings. He moved to the Hoboken Pioneers in 1991 and hit .369/.414/.586 with 37 runs (tied for 5th) and 35 RBI. As a pitcher, he was 3-0 with a 6.14 ERA and walked 33 in 29 1/3 IP. In 1992, he returned to Mortsel and batted .373/.485/.711 while having a 1-1, 8.10 record and walking 40 in 23 1/3 innings. He was 9th in the slugging and tied for the most steals (15, while only being caught 3 times).

With the 1993 Stars, de Saedeleer batted .396/.472/.632 and stole 14 bases in 16 tries (tied for 4th in the league in steals). He went 7-2 with a 3.59 ERA, walking 74 and fanning 86 in 87 2/3 IP). He tied for fifth in the First Division in wins, led in walks issued and was fifth in strikeouts. In the 1993 European Championship, he hit .217/.280/.434 and had a 4.05 ERA, walking 15 in 13 1/3 IP. He did drive in a team-high eight runs. He fielded .941 as Belgium's main center fielder, with one assist in six games, and stole three bases without being caught. He was 10th in the event in opponent average (.l96, between Heino von Bargen and Alessandro Parri), tied Javier Arrondo and Joeri Loykens for 8th in IP, 8th in strikeouts (11), tied Leonid Korneev for second in walks (4 behind Andrei Tselykovsky) and tied Patrick Klerx and Mikael Aho for the most quality starts (2). Roger's batting line in 1994 was .424/.524/.788 and he had 9 homers, 46 RBI, 41 runs and 18 steals (only caught once). He went 7-3 on the hill with a 4.52 ERA, fanning 95 in 83 1/3 IP but walking 74 and tossing 13 wild pitches. He was among the league leaders in wins (tied for 3rd), walks allowed (1st by 15), wild pitches (tied for first), strikeouts (4th), average (8th), slugging (5th), runs (7th), homers (5th), RBI (4th) and stolen bases (3rd).

In '95, de Saedeleer joined the Brasschaat Braves and helped them win the pennant. He had a big offensive campaign at .516/.667/1.084 with 14 home runs, 17 steals (without being gunned down), 48 runs and 58 RBI. He won all five of his decisions, had a 3.54 ERA and walked 30 in 40 2/3 innings. He tied for second in steals, tied for 4th in runs, tied for 3rd in homers, was 2nd in RBI, 2nd in slugging and third in average. In the 1995 European Championship, he hit .324/.405/.730 with 4 homers, 10 runs and 11 RBI in 10 games. He led Belgium in ERA but that was deceptive as he allowed 8 runs (7 unearned) in 6 innings. He walked 7 and threw three wild pitches. As a baserunner, he stole 4 bases in 6 tries. He tied David Meurant and Luigi Carrozza for second in home runs (one behind France's Arnaud Fau), tied for 8th in RBI (with Sylvain Hervieux, Davide Rigoli and Johnny Balentina), tied for 9th in steals, tied for 6th in doubles (3), was 4th in total bases (27, behind Fau, Carrozza and Meurant) and was 8th in slugging (between Eddy Dix and Andrea Evangelisti). Belgium won the Bronze Medal, their best finish in a decade.

De Saedeleer hit .430/.531/.794 back with Mortsel in 1996, with 41 runs and 42 RBI. He had a 6-2, 5.60 record. He tied for 5th in wins, was 8th in slugging, tied for 2nd with 5 triples and tied Karl Onzia for 6th in runs. In '97, he produced at a .441/.531/.712 rate with 57 runs and 15 doubles. As a pitcher, he was 9-3 with a 5.33 ERA. He struck out 98 in 99 2/3 innings, walked 75 and threw 12 wild pitches. He led the First Division in runs, wins, strikeouts and innings, tied for the lead in doubles, was 3rd in ERA and 10th in average. During 1998, he won a pennant with the Namur Angels. He batted .457/.550/.857 with 12 home runs, 61 runs, 51 RBI and 23 steals (without being caught once). He won 10 games, lost one and had a 2.63 ERA, while striking out 95 in 68 1/3 innings. He led the league in stolen bases, was 7th in average, 8th in slugging, tied for 7th in runs, tied Michael Leys for third in wins and would have beaten Leys for the ERA title had he qualified.

Roger began his 4th stint with Mortsel in 1999, hitting .416/.476/.652 and having a 4-4, 5.43 pitching ledger. In 2000, he helped the Stars win their only title (through 2011), with a batting line of .421/.517/.874 (with 45 runs, 45 RBI and 9 home runs) and a pitching line of 5-2, 3.48. Had he qualified, he would have ranked second in ERA. He was second in RBI, fifth in runs and tied for 8th in dingers. In 2001, he batted .430/515/.675 with 53 runs and 11 steals (in 12 attempts). The veteran was 8-1 with a 2.61 ERA and struck out 80 in 58 2/3 innings. He led the league in runs, tied for second in wins, was 4th in strikeouts and would have been second in ERA (behind Terence Antonacci) had he qualified. He was 2 for 14 with a double in the 2001 European Championship. As Belgium's most-used hurler (16 IP), he led the team in walks (9) and whiffs (8) and had a 1-1, 7.31 record.

The veteran hit .407/526/.640 with 39 runs, 5 homers and 26 walks in 2002 after rejoining Brasschaat; he won another First Division title, his third with three different teams. He was untouchable as a pitcher, allowing only 7 hits and no runs in 19 2/3 innings. He walked 8 and fanned 22 and won both of his decisions. He was 8th in the league in average, 8th in slugging, tied for 3rd in runs and tied for the lead in walks. In 2003, he helped Brasschaat win another title, going 19 for 57 with 10 walks, 4 doubles and a homer and a 4-0, 3.00 record. He was 1 for 6 with 3 strikeouts in the 2003 European Championship while going 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA (5 R, 2 ER in 6 IP). Only Dennis van Hoof had a lower ERA on the Belgian squad.

Brasschaat won again in 2004 while de Sadeleer chipped in on the mound (5-2, 3.47, 58 K to 13 BB in 49 1/3 IP) more so than at the plate (14 for 42, 3 2B, HR, 11 BB). He tied for 5th in wins and was 3rd in strikeouts. In '05, he was a dominant two-way force for Brasschaat, going 5-1 with a 2.50 ERA and hitting .423/.627/.592 with 39 walks in 110 plate appearances. He led the league in free passes drawn and OBP, was third in average (only 8 points behind leader Steven De Lannoy) and was 4th in slugging. In 2006, he had his fifth stint with the Mortsel Stars. He was just 2 for 15 with 5 walks at the plate while allowing no runs in 4 2/3 IP.

Moving to the Borgerhout Squirrels in 2007, the old-timer had a 3-4, 3.95 record and showed he could still hit, at .355/.488/.398 and he could run too - 15 steals in 15 tries. He was 4th in the First Division in steals and tied for the walk lead. With the 2008 Squirrels, his record was 3-1, 3.77 and he struck out 54 in 45 1/3 innings. He did not bat often, but did well when he did - 18 for 39 with 18 walks, 7 doubles and 2 homers. He tied Yannick Gontier for 8th in the league in strikeouts. He did not play in the First Division in 2009, the first time in at least 21 years he had not played in Belgium's top loop.

In 2010, de Saedeleer played for the K. Deurne Spartans. He had a 4-1, 2.14 record and showed much better control than early in his career (15 BB, 0 WP, 48 K in 42 IP). He hit .295/.461/.385. Had he qualified, he would have been 5th in the league in ERA and tied for 10th in walks drawn (18). The next year, he was 1-0 with a 1.84 ERA in three games pitched for the Spartans while hitting only .188/.304/.354.

Sources

• International baseball statistician Harry Wedemeijer
• Belgian Baseball and Softball Federation