Reggie Sanders (sandere01)
From BR Bullpen
Reginald Jerome Sanders
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 2", Weight 205 lb.
- High School Venice (CA) High School
- Debut September 1, 1974
- Final Game October 2, 1974
- Born September 9, 1949 in Birmingham, AL USA
- Died January 27, 2002 in Los Angeles, CA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
For a month, Reggie Sanders was the regular first baseman for the 1974 Detroit Tigers. Bill Freehan, usually a catcher, had been playing a lot of first base, and when Reggie came up he took over at the position.
Reggie is not to be confused with the later Reggie Sanders.
He was born in Birmingham, AL in 1949. Oscar Gamble and Andre Thornton were also born in Alabama that same year. He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox from the Atlanta Braves in the 1977 Rule V Draft.
Sanders played 10 seasons in the minors, mostly as a first baseman but also appearing in the outfield and infield at times. He had at least 156 home runs in the minors, pretty regularly hitting in double figures each year. He played in the Mexican League in 1977.
Reggie's stats in the majors were decent enough for a rookie: .273/.308/.434. The team averages that year were much lower at .247/.303/.366. However, the next year manager Ralph Houk went with a committee at first base for the 1975 Tigers: Jack Pierce was in 49 games, Dan Meyer in 46 games, Nate Colbert in 44, and other players including Bill Freehan in fewer than 15. Sanders was traded right before the start of the 1975 season to Atlanta for Pierce, and while Pierce played in the majors, Sanders was at Richmond. The 1975 Atlanta Braves used Earl Williams as their regular first baseman. Williams hit .240 with 11 home runs while Sanders in Richmond hit .265 with 14 home runs on a team whose batting average was .249.
He homered in his major league debut.
