Sanderson made a sensational debut, carrying a no-hitter into the ninth inning on April 10 in Detroit before Tony Phillips led off with a double. He combined with Greg Cadaret for a 4-0 victory and a one-hitter. Sanderson added a complete game one-hitter on July 11 in California, zipping the Angels, 2-0. Luis Polonia doubled in the fourth inning in that one. He was named to the All-Star staff for the first time with a 9-3 record at the break.
His location and guile compensate for a lack of velocity. Born in Dearborn, Michigan, Sanderson began his career as the Expos' third-round choice in the 1977 draft."
-Tony DeMarco and Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1992 Edition
"In what can now be called a steal, the Yankees have found in Scott Sanderson the number one starting pitcher they have coveted for years. Sanderson, a 17-game winner in Oakland in 1990, was overshadowed by such marquee pitchers as Dave Stewart and Bob Welch. In fact, the A's themselves thought so little of the right-hander, they sold him to the Yankees for a song. Anybody can win 17 for the A's, right? How about Storm Davis, who went 19-7 with Oakland in 1989 and 7-10 the next year in KC?
'Davis won a lot of games with Oakland, but with lesser numbers,' says Yankee GM Gene Michael. 'Scotty showed that he can pitch.'
By last season's end, Sanderson established himself as the anchor, leading the staff in nearly every category, including consistency. His numbers were so good, the 35-year-old was named to the American League All-Star team, picked by none other than Tony LaRussa, his manager in Oakland."
-The New York Yankees Official 1992 Yearbook
"Sanderson was the most consistent and durable Yankee starter in 1991. He posted a 16-10 record with a 3.81 ERA.
He made his Yankee debut by pitching the second game of the season (April 10 at Detroit) and it nearly resulted in a no-hitter. The bid was snapped when Tony Phillips led off the 9th inning with a windblown double off the right-field fence. Sanderson notched the win (8.0 IP, 1 H) in a 4-0 Yankee victory. He was 1-1 with a 6.33 ERA (21.1 IP) in April.
Scott sparkled in May, going 5-1 with a 2.27 ERA (39.2 IP) in six starts. He started the month with the first of his two complete-game shutouts of '91, blanking the Mariners on three hits on May 3 at Seattle in a 5-0 win. On May 24 at Baltimore, he no-hit the Orioles through five innings but had to leave the game with left shoulder stiffness. He came back on May 29 in his next start, against Boston, and threw another seven shutout innings (4 H) in a 7-0 Yankee win. Scott was 6-2 with a 3.69 ERA through May.
He was 2-1 with a 3.69 ERA in five June starts. His win on June 4 at Toronto marked his third consecutive win and sixth in seven decisions since the start of May. After two no-decisions and a loss, Sanderson won his final June start (6.0 IP, 1 ER) on June 26 at Boston in a 5-0 Yankee victory. In July prior to the break, he won one of his two decisions and at the break sported a 6-3 record with a 3.93 ERA. He represented the Yankees at the All-Star Game, his first selection.
In his first start (and the Yankees' first game) after the break on July 11 at California, Sanderson threw an absolute masterpiece, tossing a complete game 1-hitter, shutting out the Angels 2-0. The only hit he allowed was a fourth inning double to Luis Polonia.
Scott became the first Yankee to throw a 1-hitter since Joe Niekro and Al Holland combined to 1-hit the Angels on June 4, 1986, also in Anaheim. It was the first complete game 1-hitter for the Yankees since Luis Tiant accomplished it on July 8, 1979 at Oakland. It was the 50th 1-hitter overall for the Yankees, and Sanderson's second 1-hitter, the other coming on May 8, 1979 at San Francisco while pitching for Montreal.
He lost four straight starts to close July and for the month was 2-4 with a 6.02 ERA. He returned to form in August, posting a 4-1 record and 3.43 ERA over six starts. He won three straight decisions to end the month, marking his fourth and final season best three-game winning streak.
Scott finished strong, going 2-2 over five September starts with a 2.02 ERA. On September 13 against Boston, he continued his mastery over the Red Sox with eight innings of 3-hit ball in a 3-1 win. His final start of the season came on September 30 at Cleveland. He pitched five innings of 4-hit ball but had to leave the game after Ed Taubensee led off the 6th inning with a single off Scott's right hand; the diagnosis was a dislocated right pinky requiring stitches, with Scott missing his final start. He was 7-7 with a 3.69 ERA (105.0 IP) over 17 starts in the second half of the season.
For the season, he led the staff in wins (16), complete games (2), shutouts (2), innings (208.0), strikeouts (130) and home runs allowed (22). He led Yankee starters in ERA (3.81), starts (34), fewest walks (29) and batting average against (.252). Sanderson became the first Yankee to win 16 games since Rick Rhoden in 1987 and his inning total was the most by a Yankee since Phil Niekro (220) and Ron Guidry (259) in 1985.
Sanderson was 10-3 with a 2.75 ERA against the AL East (124.1 IP, 38 ER) and in his career is 20-8 with a 2.77 ERA (217.1 IP, 67 ER) against the East. Right-handed batters hit .240 against him, left-handers hit .261, and he allowed only seven homers in 358 at-bats against right-handers. Scott was 7-6 with a 4.66 ERA at home and 9-4 with a 3.12 ERA on the road; he ranked seventh in the AL in road innings (115.1). On artificial turf, he had a 2.97 ERA (33.1 IP) and opponents hit .216 against him. He was 13-6 at night and 3-4 during the day.
Sanderson allowed 1.3 walks per nine innings, second in the AL to Greg Swindell (1.2). He ranked second in the majors in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.5) behind Swindell (5.5) and ahead of NL leader Zane Smith (4.1).
The Yankees scored 151 runs when Scott started, an average of 4.4 runs per start. When he allowed a home run, he was 4-10 and the team was 5-12. When he did not allow a home run, he was a perfect 12-0 and the team was 14-3. Dating back to August 13, 1990, Scott is 16-0 when not allowing a homer; since joining the AL he is 26-2 when not yielding a round-tripper.
He lost four in a row in 1991, his first time since arriving in the American League; he has not lost five consecutive decisions since 1982. Sanderson won 22.5% of the Yankees' games, third best in the majors behind Bill Gullickson (24%) and Mark Langston (23%). His ratio was the best by a Yankee since Guidry accounted for 25 of 100 Yankee wins in 1978.
Sanderson needs a 1992 win over the Brewers to become the ninth pitcher in major league history to defeat all 26 clubs. The others: Doyle Alexander, Goose Gossage, Tommy John, Gaylord Perry, Nolan Ryan, Don Sutton, Mike Torrez and Rick Wise (John won his only game against the Dodgers in Game 2 of the 1981 World Series).
Sanderson signed a two-year guaranteed contract on December 31, 1990. The contract extends through the 1992 season.
Sanderson was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 11th round of the June 1974 free agent draft, then was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 3rd round of the June 1977 free agent draft. His first year as a pro was spent in rookie ball with West Palm Beach of the Florida State League. He pitched in the Venezuelan Winter League and was 9-2 with a 1.41 ERA and also had two wins in the Caribbean World Series.
He started the 1978 season at AA Memphis and was 5-3 in nine starts before being promoted to AAA Denver where he went 4-2. Scott was promoted to the Expos on August 1 after only 28 minor league starts. He made his major league on August 6 against Chicago and did not figure in the decision in a 4-3 loss; his first big league loss was to the Cubs on August 13 with Scott tossing seven innings in a 2-1 defeat. His first major league win came on September 2 against San Diego. Scott was 4-0 with a 2.16 ERA in September.
In 1979, his first full season with the Expos, Scott was 9-8. He earned his first professional save on August 15 against Houston. In 1980, he was 16-11 with a 3.11 ERA and had seven complete games and three shutouts. He was sixth in the league in wins and ninth in ERA. Scott was 9-7 with a 2.96 ERA in the strike-shortened season of 1981. He struck out 77 batters and walked 31 over 137.0 innings.
Scott was 12-12 in 1982 with a 3.46 ERA but finished the season on fire, going 6-1 with a 2.91 ERA in his final eight starts. In his only loss during the streak, September 16 against the Mets, he fanned a career best 11 batters over 5.0 innings; from September 11-21 he fanned 21 batters over 11.2 innings. Scott hit his first career home run on September 11, a grand slam off Chicago's Randy Martz at Wrigley Field.
He struck out 158 batters on the year, eighth-best in the NL. His totals of strikeouts and innings pitched (224.0) were career highs. Scott threw seven complete games and three shutouts and ranked ninth in the NL in ERA.
In 1983, his final season with the Expos, he posted a 6-7 record with a 4.65 ERA. He tore ligaments in his right thumb on July 4th at Wrigley Field in a baserunning accident and was placed on the disabled list. He pitched three scoreless innings on September 6 against the Cubs to pick up his second career save.
In December of 1983 Sanderson was traded with infielder Al Newman to the San Diego Padres in exchange for pitcher Gary Lucas; then on the same day, the Padres traded Sanderson to the Cubs for first baseman Carmelo Martinez, pitcher Craig Lefferts and third baseman Fritz Connally. He won four of his first five decisions of '84 and was among the league leaders in ERA before succumbing to back spasms. He went on the DL from June 1-July 5. Scott was 6-1 with a 1.63 ERA against the National League East for the division-winning Cubs. He started Game Four of the NLCS and was not involved in the decision in a 7-5 Chicago loss to San Diego.
In 1985 Scott was one of five Cubs starters to spend time on the DL. From May 11 through the All-Star break he made 11 starts and pitched seven-plus innings in ten of them. In that stretch, he was 3-3 with a 1.83 ERA over 88.1 innings. At one point he allowed just one earned run over 26.1 innings. He went on the disabled list on August 14 after partially tearing the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
Scott made a career high 37 appearances in 1986, 28 of which were starts. His only shutout as a Cub came on April 23 against St. Louis, a 5-hitter. He was in the starting rotation until September 1.
In his nine relief appearances he was 2-0 with a save and a 1.23 ERA as opposed to 7-11 with a 4.32 ERA as a starter. Scott's 37 batters walked in 169.2 innings ranked him third in the league with an average of 1.96 batters walked per 9.0 innings.
Scott opened the 1987 season on the 15-day disabled list with a tender right shoulder. He split the season between the starting rotation and the bullpen; he was 7-7 with a 4.48 ERA in 22 starts, 1-2 with two saves and a 3.27 ERA in 10 relief outings.
He hit his second career home run on May 1 off San Diego's Eric Show. Scott's longest outing was on May 11 when he pitched 8.1 innings against Los Angeles. His two saves came in back-to-back appearances, on July 9 at Los Angeles and on July 16 at San Francisco.
1988 was a lost season for Scott as he spent most of the season on the DL. On February 10 he underwent back surgery to remove a disc. He began his rehab with Peoria in the Class-A Midwest League on June 25 and made a start (5.0 IP). He was promoted to Iowa in the AAA American Association where he made three starts.
Scott joined the Cubs on August 26 in Atlanta and retired all seven batters he faced. He picked up his first victory in nearly a year on August 29 in Houston. He pitched a season high 3.0 innings on September 2 against the Reds.
In 1989 Sanderson was 11-9 with a 3.94 ERA over 37 appearances (24 starts). His win total was his highest since winning 12 in 1982 for the Expos. He walked 31 hitters over 146.1 innings, a ratio of 1.9 walks every nine innings.
From April 30-May 23, Scott won four consecutive decisions, then on June 4 at St. Louis tossed his first complete game since 1986. From July 5-August 2, he made five starts and allowed 17 earned runs over 21 innings and went to the bullpen.
Scott made three starts over the rest of the season, pitching mostly in relief. His first relief appearance on August 6 against Pittsburgh resulted in a tough loss. Scott pitched 8.0 scoreless innings before allowing a leadoff home run to Jeff King in the 18th inning.
As a starter in 1989 he was 10-7 with a 4.06 ERA and in 14 relief appearances was 1-2 with no saves and a 3.38 ERA. Sanderson made one relief appearance in the NLCS, in Game Four at Candlestick Park (2.0 IP, 0 R).
Sanderson was signed by Oakland as a free agent in December 1989 after spending six seasons in the Chicago Cubs organization. He pitched the entire 1990 season with Oakland where he posted a 17-11 record with a 3.88 ERA in his first season as an American Leaguer. He pitched 200-plus innings (206.1) for the first time since 1982 and third time in his career and did not miss a turn in the rotation all year. His 17 wins established a career high. Sanderson walked 66 batters while fanning 128.
He notched wins in his first two outings- on April 13 at Seattle and then on April 18 at Anaheim when he beat the Angels for career win No. 100. Scott was 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA in five May starts. From May 2-15, he made three starts and was 2-0 with a streak of 18.1 consecutive scoreless innings.
Scott posted the first of his two complete games on July 6 at Cleveland. He was 9-5 with a 3.78 ERA at the break. He posted a season best 10 strikeouts on July 26 against California. He was 11-6 with a 3.40 ERA through July.
His only shutout of 1990 came on August 13 against Boston as he threw a 3-hitter in a 12-0 win; it was his first shutout since April 23, 1986. Scott lost his final start on September 27 at Texas. He was 8-6 after the All-Star break. He did not pitch in ALCS, but appeared in two World Series games, allowing two runs over 1.2 innings.
Scott was 11-4 with a 4.51 ERA on the road, 6-7, 3.17 at the Oakland Coliseum. The A's scored 113 runs (5.9 runs per start) in his 19 road games and 37 runs (2.5 per start) in his 15 home games.
He was obtained by the Yankees for sum of cash on December 31, 1990.
Scott grew up in Northbrook, Illinois, where he played Little League, Pony League and American Legion ball. He was a catcher in Little League. He graduated from Glenbrook North High School where he played baseball, football and basketball and was all-state in baseball his junior and senior years.
He attended Vanderbilt University where he majored in business finance and history. He played for the US national team at the Inter-Continental Cup in Montreal in 1975 and in the Pan-American Games in 1976.
Scott enjoys golf, cross country skiing and carpentry. He grew up a Catfish Hunter fan and his favorite entertainer is Jack Nicholson."
-1992 New York Yankees Information Guide
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