Ray Sadecki: 1973 N.L. Champion Mets Pitcher (1970-1974 /1977)

Raymond Michael Sadecki was born on December 26, 1940, in the "Polish Hill" section of Kansas City, Kansas. 

His grandparents were immigrants from Poland. They came to the US & owned a family grocery store Ray's father Frank worked as a child.

As an adult Frank Sadecki worked as a US Marshall & sometimes transported prisoners to Indiana. He would take Ray along on certain trips & stop in St. Louis to watch the Cardinals or Browns play.

Frank Sadecki wanted his son to be a left hander & dreamed he'd make the major leagues, just as Ray did.

The five-foot eleven left hander was a star pitcher in high school. In 1958, he was signed as a" bonus baby" at 17 years old, by the St. Louis Cardinals.

He went thru the first levels of the minors & in 1959 he won 13 games (13-9) at AA Omaha. In
1960 he was pitching, at AAA Rochester. After six games going 2-1 with a 1.76 ERA, he was called up to the Cards staff at age 21. 

 MLB Career: Sadecki debuted on May 19th, 1960, taking a loss to that year's World Champion, Pittsburgh Pirates. 

On June 15th, he pitched a three hitter, against the Reds in Cincinnati, for his first career win.

In his first season, he earned the Cardinals Rookie of the Year honors, after posting a 9-9 record with 3.78 ERA in 26 games.
The next season he won 14 games (14-10) with a 3.72 ERA but walked 102 batters (3d most in the NL). 

Sadecki then began to spend some time in the bullpen. He had control issues, giving up high walk totals & throwing a few wild pitches. He threw 12 wild pitches (4th in the NL) in 1963. In his career he would throw 94 wild pitches (131 most all time). 

He also gave up a few too many HRs early on, serving up 25 or more three times from 1961-1965. He would allow over 20 HRs four times in his career & 240 career overall. 

But he overcame his issues, having a good career as a quality starter & excellent relief pitcher in the days where it was not a glorified position.

1964 Cardinals Championship Season: In that year he had his best year, winning 20 games (20-11) (3rd most wins in the NL). 

He pitched 37 games (32 starts) posting a 3.68 ERA, striking out 119 batters & walking 60 in 222 innings of work. He was known as the left-handed compliment to Bob Gibson.

That season the Cardinals & Cincinnati Reds were both chasing the Philadelphia Phillies. They were six games back with twelve left to play. 

The Cards went on a nine-game win streak, to win the NL pennant, as the Phillies lost ten games in a row. It was one of the most amazing pennant races of the sixties & won of the worst collapses of all time.

On September 29th, Sadecki earned his 20th win of the season, as he beat those Phillies, sending
his team into a tie for first place. 

The Cardinals won their first pennant since 1946 on the final day of the season, defeating the New York Mets 11-5.

1964 World Series: Sadecki got the start in Game #1 of the 1964 World Series in St. Louis. He gave up three runs, including a two run HR to Tom Tresh, in the second inning. 

He quickly settled down, allowing just one more run, pitching thru the 6th inning. He would earn the win over Whitey Ford 9-5. 

He started Game #4, but didn't make it out of the 1st inning, allowing three runs (two earned). The Cards went on to win the game 4-3 & the World Series in seven games. Bob Gibson put in fantastic pitching performances in Games Five & Seven.

After the Championship: In 1965 Sadecki record fell to 6-15 with an ERA ballooning to 5.21, from there he began to see time in the bull pen. 

On May 8, 1966, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Orlando Cepeda. Cepeda went on to win the MVP Award that year.

Giants Career: Sadecki played on good Giants teams, that finished in second place, all four years he was there. 

In 1966 Sadecki was 5-8 in 31 appearances (22 starts) with a 4.80 ERA.  In 1967 he rebounded to a 12-6 record with a career-best 2.78 ERA, while throwing two shut outs. He struck out 145 batters in 188 innings. 

Overall, he was the fourth best pitcher on a good Giants staff that included Gaylord Perry, Juan Marichal & 22 game winner, Mike McCormick. 

In 1968 he won 12 games again & made 36 starts in 38 appearances. But bad luck, would have him tie for NL's most losses (18). He struck out 206 batters (5th most in the NL) threw six shutouts (5th in the NL) with 13 complete games & posted a 2.91 ERA.

In 1969, he was 5-8 as a spot starter & reliever.  The Giants finished second to the Braves in the first year of divisional play. 

They would get defeated by the eventual World Champion Mets. In December 1969, Sadecki & Dave Marshall, were traded to the Champion Mets, for Bobby Heise & Jim Gosger.

Mets Career: When he arrived in New York, Sadecki went from being the younger guy on a staff to the oldest guy on a staff. Manager Gil Hodges said to him "I don't know what we are going to do with you, we have the finest young group of pitchers in baseball".  Sadecki was thirty years old at the time.

Sadecki would spend five years in New York, as a spot starter & middle reliever on some very good pitching staffs. He was a good teammate & added some fun to the clubhouse by telling his classic jokes.

Tom Seaver remembers: “Ray & Koos would tell the same bad jokes over & over again, then they would always laugh at it”.

1970: In his first season with the Mets, Sadecki began the year with a relief appearance in St. Louis, his only appearance in April. On May 12th, he beat the Montreal Expos, pitching six innings for his first Mets win. By mid-May he was a regular in the starting rotation, going 4-0 into June with a 3.24 ERA. 

By June he was being used in the bullpen again by Gil Hodges. He did much better in the starting role & it took him time to adapt. 

Overall in 1970, He threw three complete games, & went into the 8th inning, eight different times as a starter. 

On September 9th, in the second game of a double header, he had one of his best outings of the year. It was a one run, four hitter, where he struck out 12 Phillies, at Shea Stadium.

On the season he finished 8-4 with a 3.63 ERA, striking out 89 while walking 52 in 138 innings, pitching in 28 games, 19 of them as a starter.

1971: He began the year making a start in the tenth game of the season. He allowed one run to the reigning NL Champion Reds, earning no decision in the 3-2 loss.

He made five relief appearances, even earning a win on May 15th, although he gave up three runs in three innings. On May 23rd he shut out the Atlanta Braves, throwing a five hitter while striking out seven. 

In his next start he gave up four runs to the Padres out west & took his first loss of the year. He kept being used as both a starter & reliever by Gil Hodges throughout the 1971 season.

On July 5th, in the second game of a double header with the Expos at Shea, he threw a three-hit shutout striking out six & walking no one. 

On July 19th, he gave up two runs but just three hits in a win over his old Cardinal teammates. He went 3-1 in the month.

On August 5th, he allowed one run over eight innings, but took a no decision in 2-1 Mets loss to Atlanta. He would not earn a victory all month but earned two losses including a terrible outing on August 13th where he gave up six runs to the Padres in a start in San Diego.

On September 3rd, he beat the Phillies with a complete game, ten hit, one run outing at Veterans Stadium.  

In his last start of the season, he allowed just a run & two hits to the Cardinals through nine innings. But the Mets bullpen blew the game, allowing five runs in the top of the 10th inning. 

For the year Sadecki was 7-7 with a 2.93 ERA striking out 120 batters in 138 innings. He averaged 6.6 strikeouts per nine innings which was seventh best in the league. He made twenty starts in 34 appearances. The Mets finished third, at 83-79.

1972: After the untimely death of Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra became the new Mets manager. This season Yogi used Sadecki mostly as a mid-inning reliever. For the season he made just two starts in 34 appearances. 

Willie Mays' Return to NY: In a classic May 14th Mother's Day game at Shea Stadium, Sadecki was the winning pitcher, in game against his old San Francisco Giants teammates.

In that game Willie Mays made his Mets debut, returning to New York after being traded from the San Francisco Giants. In dramatic fashion, Mays homered in the 5th inning off the Giants Don Carrithers, in what turned out to be the game winning run. 

He delighted the 35,000 fans on hand in the rain. Also in the game, another new Met, Rusty Staub, had hit a grand slam HR in the 1st inning. Sadecki pitched five innings allowing four runs on six hits.

On August 1st, Sadecki earned his second win of the year. He came into the game in the 16th inning of a 2-2 tie with the Phillies at Veterans Stadium. The Mets won it on Cleon Jones walk off single.

On September 17th, he pitched five innings of relief in a loss at Wrigley Field, striking out a season high five batters.

In 1972 Sadecki went 2-1 posting a 3.09 ERA striking out 38 batters walking 31 in 75 innings of work. He would finish off 17 games on the year.

 

Quotes: Sadecki tells a story of pitching on the same staff with Tom Seaver: "One day, Seaver got roughed up and I mopped up for him. He and I were in the locker room after, and he said, you want to walk back to the hotel? He didn't want to meet with the press, and I didn't blame him. 

He was telling me how lousy his fastball was, his control was lousy, his breaking ball wasn't worth a damn, and I was just listening, then we got across the bridge and I said to him, the stuff I take out there every time is half your fastball and half your curveball. You want me to feel sorry for you? That's me at my best." 

1973 Mets Pennant Season: Sadecki was a major asset to Yogi Berra & pitching coach Rube Walker's pitching staff in 1973. He would work as a reliever & a spot starter as needed, when the Mets staff had injuries.

After 15 relief appearances & finishing off five Mets losses, he finally made his first start on July 7th. Ray pitched six innings, allowing two runs, getting a no decision, in a 9-8 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

On July 13th, in the second game of a double header at Cincinnati, he beat the Reds to get his first win of the year. 

After a terrible loss at Montreal where he gave up five earned runs, he notched his second win on Augst 2nd, beating Jim Rooker & the Pirates at Shea 5-1. He gave up just one run in eight innings.

On August 21st, he had his best start of the year. It came at She Stadium in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sadecki tossed a complete game one run, four hitter to beat Don Sutton 2-1. The Mets won it on John Milner's walk off single.

The Mets began the month in fifth place 5.5 games out of first. But a 19-8 September had them win the NL East.

On September 5th he threw 5.2 shutout innings against the Phillies while striking out six to earn the win. 

In the second game of a September 7th double header in Montreal he came in to get the last two outs of the 15th inning, striking out Pepe Mangual & getting Felipe Alou to fly out with the bases loaded.

He got one more start & took a loss to the Cubs. In his final five appearances in the regular season, Sadecki helped in the bullpen as a mid-reliever.

In three crucial games with the Pirates, he pitched eight scoreless innings. On September 18th, he pitched three scoreless innings of relief at Three Rivers Stadium in the 6-5 Mets win. The win got the Mets to within one game of the first place Pirates.

Ball on the Wall Game: On September 20th, he came into the game in the 10th inning with the score tied at 3-3. In the top of the 13th inning Richie Zisk singled with one out. With two outs, Dave Augustine blasted Sadecki's pitch off the top of the left field wall. 

The ball bounced back to Cleon Jones who threw to cut off man Wayne Garrett who threw home to rookie catcher Ron Hodges to nail Zisk at the plate. The play became known as the Ball on the Wall game. 

Ron Hodges got the game winning hit in the bottom of the inning. Sadecki earned the win as the Mets were just a half game out of first.

The Mets won the NL East on the final game of the season.

Overall, on the year Sadecki went 5-4 with a save, posting a 3.39 ERA. He had 87 strikeouts & 41 walks in 116 innings pitched in 31 appearances, making 11 starts. He finished off seven games as well.

1973 Post Season- World Series: Sadecki didn’t pitch in the 1973 NLCS. 

He made his first Mets post season appearance in In Game #2 of the World Series at Oakland. He
relieved Jerry Koosman in the 3rd inning, and got out of a one out, bases loaded jam. First, he picked off Gene Tenace leaning off third base, he ended up in a run downplay getting tagged out by Mets catcher Jerry Grote. Sadecki, then struck out Dick Green to end the inning. 

In the 4th inning he struck out two batters, retiring the side in order. 

In Game #3 he relieved Tom Seaver to start out the 9th inning of a 2-2 tie game. His first batter reached on an error & he then gave up a single to Pat Bourque. Yogi Berra came out to quickly take him out of the game, replacing him with Tug McGraw who got out of the jam.

In Game #4 at Shea Stadium, he came in to relieve Jon Matlack in the 9th inning with the Mets ahead 6-1. Sadecki gave up two hits & a walk but managed to strike out Bert Campaneris to end the game earning a World Series save. 

In the final Game #7 at Oakland, he came in relief of Harry Parker to start the 5th inning, with the Mets already down 4-0. He gave up back-to-back singles to Campaneris & Joe Rudi, as a run scored.  He retired the next six batters he faced. In two relief innings he gave up a run, a hit & struck out one.

Overall, he was used in four games of the World Series loss to the Oakland A's. He earned a save, pitching in 4.2 innings, allowing a run on five hits, striking out six & walking one, posting a 1.93 ERA.

After the Pennant: In 1974 the Mets had a disappointing fifth place finish. Sadecki once again proved vital to Berra & Rube Walker pitching in both relief & as a spot starter.

In his first start he gave up six runs in just 2.2 innings taking a loss in Montreal. On May 5th he came in the game in the 10th inning & was the winning pitcher when John Milner hit a walk off HR to beat the Padres. 

On May 26th, he earned another win in another Mets comeback, with the 9th inning hits being provided by Felix Millan & Milner once again.

In June he got back-to-back wins, both coming in late inning relief performances. On June 8th he blew a Mets lead in Houston giving up a 12th inning single to Cliff Johnson to tie the game back up. The Mets scored in the top of the 14th & Sadecki shut out the Astros in the bottom of the inning for the win.

He was 4-2 in mid-June but had an ERA of 5.60. He then went through a tough period, where he lost five straight decisions, three starts & two relief appearances.

In late August he was put back into the starting rotation as the Mets arms were hurting. He excelled going 4-0 throwing three complete games. On August 25th, he threw a five-hit shutout in Atlanta beating Phil Niekro 1-0 in a classic pitcher's duel. 

He came back on August 30th to beat Atlanta at Shea Stadium in another complete game win. On September 9th, he threw yet another complete game a one run eight inning win over the Expos.

In that winning stretch he only allowed four earned runs over 33 innings. 

He finished up the season .500 with an 8-8 record, posting a 3.41 ERA. He struck out 46 but walked 35 in 103 innings of work in 34 appearances making ten starts & finishing off eight games.

At the age of 34, he was beginning to wind down his career. In October of 1974 he was traded back to the St. Louis Cardinals, along with Tommy Moore in exchange for veteran Joe Torre. 

Post Mets Career: In 1975 he pitched eight games for the Cardinals going 1-0. On May 28th he was traded to Atlanta where he appeared in 25 games. He was then sent to & Kansas City in September where he appeared in five games. 

In 1976 he began the year at Kansas City but was released in May. He signed on with the Milwaukee Brewers going where he found some new life going 2-0.

Return to the Mets: After the season, he signed on as a free agent with the Mets for 1977. At that time, a familiar face from the glory days of "the Pennant of '73" was a small treat for sad Met fans. 

Unfortunately, Ray was at the end of his career, he went 0-1 in six games, getting released on May 2nd.

Career Stats:

  Mrs. Stan Musial w/
Diane Sadecki 1962

In his 18-year MLB career, Sadecki pitched in 563 games making 328 starts. He went 135-131 with seven saves while posting a 3.78 ERA. He had 1614 strikeouts & 922 walks in 2500.1 innings pitched, with 20 shut outs & 85 complete games. 

Mets Career: Sadecki pitched in 165 games as a Met (tied for 43 most all time). He was 30-25 with one save, pitching three shut outs with 13 complete games (tied for 18th most on the Mets all-time list).

Sadecki had 380 strike outs with 206 walks in 600 innings pitched (33rd most).

Family: Ray married his wife Diane (Rush) in 1960. They met in high school where he was an athlete & she was a cheerleader. At the time she was 18 & he was just 19 years old at the time. Together they had two children. 

They divorced in 1989 while they were living in Kansas. After raising the two children, Diane worked for the Gerber Products Company in 1981. She later moved to Arizona after the divorce. 

In retirement Ray sold mobile phones for a brief time.

Honors: In his hometown of Kansas City, Kansas, The Catholic Charities named its newly renovated baseball field, Ray Sadecki Field in 2002. 

In 2007 he was inducted into The National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame.

Passing: In November of 2014, Sadecki passed away in Mesa, Arizona, due to complications from blood cancer, he was 73.