Reggie Sanders
Quick Facts
Biography
Reginald Laverne Sanders (born December 1, 1967) is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed. Sanders was 23 years old when he made his major league debut on August 22, 1991, after being selected in the seventh round of the 1987 amateur draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He attended Spartanburg Methodist College before beginning his pro career with the Rookie-level Billings Mustangs of the Pioneer League in 1988. He also played professionally with the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Kansas City Royals, and was a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks' 2001 World Series championship over the New York Yankees. With the Cardinals, Sanders had a breakout of sorts during the 2005 National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres. In a three-game sweep of the Padres, Sanders had 10 runs batted in, a new record for a division series.
Sanders gained some notoriety during the 1994 season when Pedro MartÃnez hit him with a pitch to end his bid for a perfect game with one out in the eighth inning. Sanders responded by charging the mound and igniting a bench-clearing brawl. He was ridiculed by some in the press for believing that a pitcher would abandon an attempt at a perfect game to intentionally hit a batter.
In Game 1 of the 2005 NLCS Sanders hit a two run home run to give the Cardinals a two run lead, making it his seventh career postseason home run. However, the Cardinals would lose the series in six games, giving the Houston Astros their first NL pennant and trip to the World Series.
On June 10, 2006, as a member of the Royals, Reggie hit his 300th home run. This made him the fifth member of Major League Baseball's 300-300 club, as he had stolen the 300th base of his career on May 1, and had gotten his 302nd career stolen base just a day earlier. He became the first player in history to join the club at his home stadium. Steve Finley of the San Francisco Giants joined the 300-300 club as its sixth member on June 14, four days after Sanders achieved the feat. Sanders hit 20 or more home runs in one season for five different National League teams. He hit at least 10 home runs in a season for every major league team he played for (seven in all).
Sanders missed the majority of the 2007 season due to an injury and became a free agent after the season.
Career statistics
Years | Games | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | FLD% |
17 | 1777 | 7043 | 6241 | 1037 | 1666 | 341 | 60 | 305 | 983 | 304 | 674 | 1614 | .267 | .343 | .487 | .981 |
In 64 postseason games, Sanders batted .195 (43-for-221) with 24 runs, 7 home runs, 25 RBI, 9 stolen bases and 26 walks.