THE PLAYER WHO REPLACED DAVEY LOPES – STEVE SAX

On June 23, 1973, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds, the Dodgers had a lineup that included Steve Garvey at 1^st base, Davey Lopes at 2^nd, Ron Cey at 3^rd and Bill Russell at shortstop.   They stayed together for 9 consecutive years, until August 18, 1981.   It was the year of Fernandomania when, Lopes was placed laced on the disabled list with a groin injury.   The Dodgers turned to a exuberant young player named Steve Sax, who at the time was tearing it up with the AA club in San Antonio.   At San Antonio Sax put up numbers that could not be ignored.   He was hitting .346 batting average when he was called up.   That was enough to be the league’s best. He was named the Texas League’s Most Valuable Player.

Sax had a nice debut.  He batted .277 in 119 at bats and showed tremendous range in the field.   It only took a few games, and Sax became one of my favorite Dodger players.   To say he was energetic and intense would be an understatement.  Jim Murray, the famed columnist, wrote that interviewing the energetic Sax was like “spending an afternoon in a washing machine. Or a crashing plane.”    General manager Al Campanis said, “(H)e can hit with power, he’s exciting, he’s not afraid to get his uniform dirty, he can steal a base, and he can make the pivot.”  Mark Heisler wrote in the Los Angeles Times, “Sax was running out routine grounders [so] ferociously that people feared he was going to wipe himself out at first base.”   Pitcher Dave Stewart once told Sax, “The thing I like about you, Saxxy, is [that] when I’m out there you excite the hell out of me.”  Bob McCoy of The Sporting News wrote that Sax “runs out his walks and regards a dirty uniform as a badge of honor.”

The Dodgers thought so highly of Sax that they traded Lopes during the off-season and turned 2^nd base over to this hustling ball of intensity. 

Stephen Louis Sax was born on January 29, 1960, in Sacramento, California, the third of five children born to John Thomas and Nancy Jane Sax.  The family lived on a small farm and his father drove a truck before a series of heart problems caused him to stay at home. Nancy worked as a secretary to help provide for the family.  Growing up the middle child of five-siblings  certainly helped foster his competitive nature and drive to excel. A lifelong skilled athlete, Steve has a black belt in Shotokan karate and in kickboxing as well.   Baseball was the major passion in young Steve’s life, but at age 11 he began playing the drums.  He was quite good on the drums and twice during his time with the Dodgers played with the Beach Boys.   As a youngster, Steve was always hustling, and he never stopped. “I just plain loved to run,” he once said. “So I ran everywhere. If I was running a race, I would run to the starting line.   And yes, I would run to first base after walks.”  In Little League he was a pitcher, with his older brother, Dave Sax being the catcher.   His father was the team’s coach.  Early on, Sax said that he patterned himself after his idol, Pete Rose.  “I’m a very aggressive player and try to give 100 percent all the time,” Sax has said. “I try to force mistakes, make things happen.”  Sax regularly worked out eight hours a day, five days a week. He did things like running, skipping rope, lifting weights, hitting a punching bag, throwing a tennis ball against a wall every morning and taking batting practice in the afternoon.

Sax attended James Marshall High School in West Sacramento. In his junior year he was the league MVP and was named to All-City, All State, and All-American teams, playing shortstop and third base. In his senior year, he batted .357, was selected Golden Empire League MVP, and was named to the All-Northern California baseball team.

Sax, was the Dodgers’ ninth round choice in the June 1978 free-agent draft.  He had hoped to be drafted higher, but was happy to be selected by a California team.   He didn’t sign right away as he had one game of Legion ball remaining.  His father had just undergone heart surgery and, as Sax told it, was in the hospital when Steve promised to hit a home run for him.   In his first at-bat in that American Legion appearance, he fulfilled that promise.

In the summer of 1978, Sax played for Lethbridge (Alberta), the Dodgers’ Pioneer League (rookie league) affiliate.   His brother Dave, who had been signed as a free agent by the Dodgers, also played on that team.   Steve batted .328 in 39 games.  His next two seasons were at Class A.  Sax played well, but finding the right position for him proved problematic. In 1979, with Clinton (Iowa) in the Midwest League, after playing some outfield and at third base, Sax was put at second base.  He played 34 games at second.    He batted .290 with 25 stolen bases. In 1980 he played the entire season at second base for Vero Beach in the Florida State League, batting .283, driving in 61 runs, stealing 33 bases.   That was good enough to earn him a promotion to Double-A San Antonio the next season.   As stated above, in 1981, he won the Texas League batting title, hitting .346 for San Antonio, and was voted MVP.

On Opening Day, 1982, against San Francisco, the enthusiastic Sax almost missed his debut. While running across the diamond to his position at second base in the first inning, he tripped and almost fell flat on his face. “That was a little embarrassing. If I had fallen down, I would have crawled under second base,” he said.   He went 2-for-4, was the pivot man on a key sixth-inning double play, and set up the game-winning run with a single in the ninth.

Sax went on to hit .282, and play a sparkling second base.   He set a team rookie record for stolen bases with 49.    Sax led the Dodgers in runs scored (88), hits (180), and stolen bases (49), and tied with Ken Landreaux for the team lead in triples (7).   He was the only rookie named to either All-Star team that year.  In the All-Star Game at Montreal, Sax singled in his only turn at bat.  He won the Rookie of the Year award that season.   

During the 11 years from 1982 through 1992, Sax was rarely out of the lineup, playing in 150 or more games in eight of those seasons.

In addition to hustle, Sax was also known for his yips.   In 1983, he just couldn’t throw the ball from second to first.    It got to the point that Sax admitted he sometimes hoped the ball wouldn’t be hit to him.  At one point during that season, the Dodgers thought of switching Sax, to 3^rd base.  Instead, they put Pedro Guerrero there.   After Pedro’s 1^st game at third, Tommy Lasorda asked him what he was s thinking out there at third?    Pedro replied, “first thing I’m thinking is please God, don’t let him hit the ball to me. The second thing is please God…don’t let him hit the ball to Saxxy.”

1983 was made even more trying for Sax due to his father’s health problems. According to Sax, his father was the toughest man he ever met.  As Sax described him, “He made John Wayne look like a wimp” According to Sax, his cure for the yips came during the last conversation Sax would ever have with his father, before he died.   As Sax tells the story, “He told me, ‘One day you’ll wake up and this whole thing will be gone. I did the same thing when I was in high school.’ And he was right. One day I woke up and it was all over.”  “At the shame of his own pride, he told me that to help me get out of it.”  For the last 38 games of the season, Sax played errorless ball.   But that was not the end of the story.   “About two years later,” Sax said, “I was talking to my mom about it.”   “My mom and dad had been together since the fifth grade,” Sax said, “and she told me, ‘Your father never had a throwing problem.’”   “He lied. He didn’t want to see me fail, so he lied. He bailed me out on his death bed. And it changed my life.”  Sax made the All-Star team that year and had statistics similar to his first full season.  

In 1984 and 1985, Sax had solid, though not spectacular years with the Dodgers, 

In 1986, he finished second in the league in batting average (.332), hits (210), and doubles (43), and for the first and only time in his years with the Dodgers, he won the Silver Slugger award among the league’s second basemen.  He played in the All-Star Game after a two-year absence, and, in his only at-bat, singled to drive in a run.   After the 1986 season it was disclosed that Sax had played much of the season in pain, though he never went on the disabled list. On December 10 he had surgery on a foot to remove a bone spur and reposition a nerve.

On October 21, 1986, Sax married Debbie Graham. They had met the previous spring. They had two children. Lauren Ashley Sax, born in July 1987, and John Jeremy Sax, born in August 1988. The marriage ended in divorce.

Sax had another solid season in 1987, but the Dodgers again were below.500 (73-89) and finished fourth in the NL West. Sax finished the season at .280.

Sax batted .277 and had 57 RBI in 1988, the best during his time with the Dodgers.   He also had 42 stolen bases in 54 attempts (77.8 percent), by far his best stolen-base ratio in his time in Los Angeles.  As we all know, The Dodgers won the NL West, defeated the New York Mets in seven games for the pennant, with Sax getting some key hits during the series, and went on to win the World Series.   The Dodgers were plagued by injuries in the playoffs, including Sax, who had been run over by Dave Parker.   The Dodgers won the Series in five games with Sax batting .300.   After it was all done, Mike Downey noted in The Sporting News, “It was a World Series in which the Dodgers reportedly decided to celebrate their championship by pouring bottles of iodine over one another’s heads.   By the time it ended, Los Angeles manager Tommy Lasorda no longer filled out a lineup card with his nine best players.   He just started asking for nine volunteers.”

After the season Sax was a free agent and elected to sign with the Yankees.   His negotiations with the Dodgers did not go necessarily well.  In fact, Dodgers general manager Fred Claire was quoted as saying to Sax, “This is our final offer. If you think you’re getting screwed, don’t sign it. If you think you can get a better deal, take it.” Sax must of thought he was being screwed and took a three-year, $4 million deal with the Yankees.  

Sax spent three years in New York.   Although the team finished each season well below .500, Sax played well.   In 1989 he was named to the All-Star team and batted a team-leading .315. His 205 hits, 88 runs scored, and 43 stolen bases also led the team.  It was the second time in his career that he had more than 200 hits in a season.   Defensively he had the best season of his career, leading the league in fielding percentage (.987), making only 10 errors in 782 chances. He also led the league in double plays turned at second base (117).    Yankees manager Bucky Dent, said Sax “has done an outstanding job. He plays with super intensity. He’s always into the game. I love him.”

In 1990 the Yankees hit rock-bottom, finishing last in the AL East with a 67-95 record, and again Sax played well.  He was named to the All-Star team.  He hit .260 for the season.  

Before the 1991 season Sax received a four-year contract extension, worth $12.4 million, and he rebounded to have a great season.   Sax’s batting average of .304 led the Yankees, as did his 38 doubles. He had a career-high 10 home runs. He was also the most difficult man in the league to strike out, fanning on average once in every 17.2 at-bats.

On January 10, 1992, after three losing seasons, the pitching-poor Yankees traded Sax to the Chicago White Sox for Domingo Jean, Melido Perez, and Bob Wickman. Although his average dropped to .236 with Chicago, Sax was a key ingredient on a team that during the early part of the season, contended for the AL West lead.   Unfortunately, the White Sox finished the season in third place.

In 1993 Sax got into only 57 games and batted .235 for the White Sox. By this time, he was no longer playing second base (Joey Cora was the second baseman) and he was used mostly as a left fielder or designated hitter. The White Sox won the AL West, but Sax did not play in the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays.   His onlyTim Leary home run that season came on June 25 against Seattle. It was off his old Dodgers teammate Tim Leary, and was the last of his 54 career home runs.

In April 1994 Sax was placed on the disabled list with a bruised heel.  While on rehab with the team’s Birmingham Double-A affiliate, he was released by the White Sox.   He signed on with the Oakland A’s, playing briefly for Tony LaRussa

. He got into seven games with the A’s, batting .250 (6-for-24) and appeared in his last game on May 8, 1994.   He underwent surgery, but was unable to return to the playing field, and was released after the season.

For his 14 year major-league career, Sax batted .281 with 1,949 hits and 444 stolen bases.

After retiring as a player Sax contributed commentary on ESPN and was a baseball analyst for Fox Sports’ Prime Time.    He has appeared as a characterization of himself on The Simpsons. Sax also wrote an article on personal responsibility and self-reliance for the Wall Street Journal. For a time in 1995, Sax considered running for the California legislature, but withdrew his name from consideration.   Sax has owned a martial arts studio. In 2001 he became a vice president of investments for the Royal Bank of Canada. His clients included several ballplayers. His belief was that the potential for athletes being victimized is very real.   He has also authored the motivational book “Shift: Change Your Mindset and Change Our World.”   In 2014 Sax was on the radio and in media with MLB on Sirius Satellite Radio and MLB Advanced Media.

During the 2013 season, Sax was the first-base coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, working with former Dodgers teammate Kirk Gibson, the Diamondbacks manager.   He has also spent time as a motivational speaker, spicing up his stories with a unique sense of humor.   One my favorites, Sax once joked to a banquet audience, “At spring training we’re given a choice. We can either run around the field three times or run around Tommy Lasorda once.”    My favorite Sax story, involves Tommy Lasorda of course.   Sax had a habit of bouncing into the air whenever he took his lead at first base.   This would drive his coaches nuts. One time, in San Diego, after bouncing in the air as always, he returned to the dugout and immediately Lasorda started in on him.   After Lasorda, finished his three-minute lecture on base-running, he asked Sax, “Any questions?”   Sax did have a question. “Is the Chicken going to be here today?”   I can only imagine Lasorda’s response.  

Steve Sax “broke up” the legendary infield of Garvey, Lopes, Cey and Russell.  At the time, it was hard to envision those four not playing together.   But Sax, with his chiseled good looks and boundless energy and intensity soon made this Dodger fan forget about Lopes, as I loved every aspect of how Sax played.   I wish more of today’s players played with the same enthusiasm that he did.