Johnny Sain

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John Franklin Sain

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 2", Weight 200 lb.

Debut April 24, 1942
Final Game July 15, 1955
Born September 25, 1917 in Havana, AR USA
Died November 7, 2006 in Downers Grove, IL USA

BR page

1 Biographical Information
2 Notable Achievements
3 Further Reading
4 Related Sites

[edit] Biographical Information

"Spahn and Sain and pray for rain!" - rallying cry for the 1948 Braves

Johnny Sain, who received as much as 34% of the Hall of Fame vote, was part of a classic pennant run in 1948. He was signed originally in 1936, but did not become a regular until 1946.

Sain broke in with the Boston Braves in 1942, going 4-7 with 6 saves (which was good enough to be # 4 in the league in saves). Because of World War II, he did not appear again until 1946, when he became a regular starting pitcher at the age of 28.

He was with Boston through most of the 1951 season. He won 20+ games in 1946-1948. He was an All Star in 1947 and 1948, and was named Pitcher of the Year by the Sporting News in 1948. He was in the top 3 in the league in ERA in both 1947 and 1948, and led the league in victories in 1948.

It wasn't completely fair to say that the 1948 Boston Braves had only Spahn and Sain as decent pitchers. Bill Voiselle had an 13-13 record with a 3.63 ERA in 36 appearances. Vern Bickford, Bobby Hogue, Red Barrett, Ernie White, and Nels Potter all made frequent appearances as starters or relievers with ERAs better than Warren Spahn's season ERA of 3.71. In spite of Gerald Hern's famous poem in the Boston Post, Spahn had just one start (and two relief appearances) in the six World Series games. Sain pitched two complete games in that series, winning one and losing one.

After two less-impressive seasons in 1950 and 1951, Sain was traded close to the end of the season in 1951 to the New York Yankees, where he was to spend most of the rest of his career. The Yankees, managed by Casey Stengel, won the World Series in 1951, 1952 and 1953. In 1954, they won 103 games although they finished 2nd in the league, and in 1955 they won the pennant. Sain was both a starter and a reliever in 1952 and 1953. He had 11 victories and 7 saves in 1952, and 14 victories and 9 saves in 1953. In 1954 he became a full-time reliever, with 22 saves, which was the top save total in the league. He appeared in only 3 games with New York in 1955 before going to the Kansas City Athletics, in a trade with Enos Slaughter for Sonny Dixon and cash. He finished up with them with a 2-5 record and one save.

He was a good hitter for a pitcher, with a .245 lifetime batting average. He had 28 doubles and 101 RBI. More impressively, he only struck out 20 times in his entire career, while walking 24 times. He is one of only three pitchers to have compiled over 100 RBI in fewer than 800 at-bats (the others are Earl Wilson and Jim Tobin). In 1946, he went an entire season without striking out, going 28 for 94 (.298). Only two other players have gone an entire season of 90 or more at-bats without striking out since 1910: Lloyd Waner, in 219 at bats in 1941, and Bill Rariden in 101 in 1920.

While he pitched very well for Boston in the 1948 World Series, with a 1.06 ERA, his Yankee teams were more successful, winning all three of the Series in which he pitched for them.

Based on similarity scores, the most similar contemporary pitchers were Frank Lary and Harvey Haddix. Sain's main main teammates were Bob Elliott, Tommy Holmes, Warren Spahn, Earl Torgeson, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Phil Masi.

As a pitching coach between 1959 and 1986, Sain was widely admired by his players. He had fifteen pitchers win 20 games in a season under his stewardship. Ten of his pitchers led the league in victories and five of his pitching staffs won the league pennant.