Roy Edward Sievers (November 18, 1926 – April 3, 2017) was an American professional baseball player. Signed by the St. Louis Browns as a free agent in 1947, Sievers debuted in the major leagues on April 21, 1949. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman/left fielder. From 1949 through 1965, Sievers played for the St. Louis Browns (1949–53), the original Washington Senators (1954–59), Chicago White Sox (1960–61), Philadelphia Phillies (1962–64), and finally the new Senators (1964–65). He batted and threw right-handed.

Career

Sievers, nicknamed "Squirrel", won the American League Rookie of the Year and TSN Rookie of the Year awards in 1949, batting .306 with 16 home runs and 75 RBI. He struggled to .238 in 1950, and for the next three years he suffered shoulder and arm injuries that limited his playing time to 134 games. He was traded to the Washington Senators for Gil Coan before the 1954 season.

In Washington, Sievers collected 95 or more RBI and played at least 144 games during five consecutive years (1954–58) and made the AL All-Star team three times (1956–57, 1959). His most productive season came in 1957, when he led the league in home runs (42), RBI (114), extra base hits (70) and total bases (331), batting .301. He finished third in the MVP ballot with four first-place votes and 205 points –Mickey Mantle got six and 233, Ted Williams five and 209. On April 4, 1960, Sievers went to the Chicago White Sox in the same trade that sent Earl Battey and Don Mincher to Washington. In his first year with the Sox, he hit .295 with 28 homers and 93 RBI, and had almost an identical season in 1961 with .295, 27, 92, making his fourth All-Star appearance. From 1962-64, Sievers remained productive with the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League. In the 1964 midseason, his contract was sold to the AL expansion Senators, playing his final game on May 9, 1965.

At the time of his death in 2017 Sievers was the oldest living member of the expansion Senators team. At a time when achieving 300 home runs was still a rarity, he became only the 22nd ballplayer to reach the plateau. He also shares the dubious distinction with Gil Hodges of being one of the first two major leaguers to hit 300 career home runs and not make the Baseball Hall of Fame. Sievers hit his 300th home run on July 19, 1963. Hodges hit No. 300 on April 23, 1958. In a 17-season career, Sievers was a .267 hitter with 318 home runs and 1147 RBI in 1887 games. After his playing career ended, he served one season (1966) as a coach for the Cincinnati Reds and managed in the minor leagues. Sievers was one of only nine players to don the uniform of both the original and expansion Washington Senators teams, the others being Don Mincher, Camilo Pascual, Pedro Ramos, Johnny Schaive, Zoilo Versalles, Hal Woodeshick, Rudy Hernández, and Héctor Maestri.

Death

Sievers died in Spanish Lake, Missouri on April 3, 2017, aged 90.

Highlights

• 4-time All-Star (1956–57, 1959, 1961)
• AL Rookie of the Year (1949)
• Set seasonal and career records in home runs for the Senators:
  • 42, in 1957
  • 180, in 3547 at-bats

Top 10 AL leaderboards and awards

• 3-time MVP vote (1957–58, 1960)
• 3-time in batting average (1949, 1957, 1960)
• 6-time in home runs (1954–58, 1960)
• 7-time in RBI (1949, 1954–58, 1960)
• 4-time in runs (1956–58, 1960)
• 7-time in extra base hits (1954–58, 1960)
• 6-time in slugging (1949, 1955, 1957–58, 1960–61)
• 4-time in intentional walks (1956–60)