Sac History Happenings: In History's Spotlight: Steve Sax

Sac History Happenings

News and developments in Sacramento and California history

February 19, 2012

In History's Spotlight: Steve Sax

Born: Jan. 29, 1960

Known for: Steve Sax, a second baseman and West Sacramento native, played 14 seasons with four major league teams. He was a five-time All-Star and National League Rookie of the Year.

Background: Sax graduated from Marshall (now River City) High School. He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers after being picked in the ninth round of the 1978 summer draft. Sax was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1982, hitting .282 and setting a club rookie record with 49 stolen bases. He followed that up by hitting .281 and stealing 56 bases in 1983. He played for the Dodgers through the 1988 season, when Los Angeles upset the Oakland A's in the World Series. He then played three seasons with the New York Yankees, two with the Chicago White Sox and completed his career with Oakland in 1994. After moving to Loomis, Sax ran as a Republican for the 4th Assembly District in 1995 but withdrew in early 1996.

A highlight: In 1986, Sax batted a career best .332 but lost the National League batting title by a point to Montreal's Tim Raines. He amassed a career batting average of .281 and 444 stolen bases.

In History's Spotlight profiles of Sacramento newsmakers were originally published in 2007 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of The Sacramento Bee. They were written by Anthony Sorci. Look for them every Sunday in Sac History Happenings.

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California and Sacramento have a long, rich, vibrant history. And our region is blessed with an abundance of historical resources maintained by museums, libraries, archives and societies. This blog aims to alert readers to the latest developments in local/state historical education and research.

Send tips concerning upcoming exhibits, tours, lectures and meetings, as well as new books, magazine articles and online collections to the blog's contributors.

The Contributors:

Michael Dolgushkin

Michael Dolgushkin is Manuscript Librarian at the California State Library History Section. He is co-author of San Francisco's California Street Cable Cars and is a frequent contributor to the California State Library Foundation Bulletin. Contact him at mdolgushkin@library.ca.gov.

Amanda Graham is a Certified Archivist working in the Sacramento Room of the Sacramento Public Library. She earned a BS in History from Southern Oregon University and a MS in Information Studies with an emphasis in archives from The University of Texas at Austin. Contact her at agraham@saclibrary.org.

Pete Basofin is Director of Editorial Research at The Sacramento Bee. He previously worked at The St. Petersburg Times and Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune. Contact him at pbasofin@sacbee.com.

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