Scott Sauerbeck, a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for four teams over seven seasons, including the Boston Red Sox, died Thursday at age 53. Reports from WKBN indicate he suffered a heart attack.
Sauerbeck’s MLB career spanned 471 games, primarily as a left-handed reliever, during which he maintained a 3.82 ERA and tallied 389 strikeouts across 386⅓ innings. After concluding his major league tenure with the Oakland Athletics in 2006, he signed minor-league contracts with the Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox before retiring in 2008.
His standout year came in 2002 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he posted a 2.30 ERA in a franchise-record 78 appearances (tied for most by a left-handed pitcher in a single season). In July 2003, the Pirates traded Sauerbeck and pitcher Mike González to the Red Sox in exchange for reliever Brandon Lyon and prospect Anastacio Martinez. Sauerbeck contributed to Boston’s memorable 2003 “Cowboy Up” squad, pitching 16⅔ innings over 26 games (6.48 ERA) during their postseason push, which ended in a heartbreaking ALCS loss to the New York Yankees.
The Pirates, who originally drafted Sauerbeck in the 1998 Rule 5 Draft, honored his legacy in a statement: “The Pirates family mourns the loss of Scott Sauerbeck. A key member of our bullpen from 1999 to 2003, he remains tied for the club’s single-season record for appearances by a left-handed pitcher. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his loved ones during this challenging time.”
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