Dave Sisler

David Michael Sisler was a professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1956 through 1962. Early in his career, Sisler was a starter, then later was used as a middle reliever and occasionally as a closer. He reached the majors in 1956 with the Boston Red Sox after he completed a two-year obligation in the active military. After three-and-a-half seasons with the Red Sox, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers in 1959 and served the team through the 1960 season. Before the 1961 season, he was selected by the Washington Senators in the 1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft, for whom he played the 1961 season. He was then traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1962, playing one season at the major league level, and one in their minor league system.

His most productive years came with Boston, where he won 24 games from 1956 to 1958, averaging 138 innings each season. After that, he appeared strictly as a reliever and saved a career-high 11 games for the Senators. In a seven-season career, Sisler posted a 38–44 record with a 4.33 ERA in 247 appearances, including 29 saves, 12 complete games, one shutout and 656⅓ innings. Sisler retired from baseball after the 1963 season to become an investment firm executive, a career that lasted for over 30 years, retiring as a vice-chairman for A. G. Edwards.

His father, Hall of Famer George Sisler; and one of his brothers, Dick Sisler, also played baseball at the major league level; while another brother, George Sisler, Jr., was a general manager for several minor league baseball teams, and later became president of the International League from 1966 to 1976.

Sisler was born on October 16, 1931, in St. Louis, Missouri, to George Sisler, a Baseball Hall of Fame player, and Kathleen. He played baseball in high school and when he was 16 he went to work for his father who was a coach in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization. Dave kept statistics and was occasionally allowed to pitch. The Dodgers did not envision a future with him and did not pursue a contract due to his commitment to Princeton and future military obligation. Sisler was signed by the Boston Red Sox of the American League (AL) after his time with Princeton, and began his professional baseball career at the age of 21 in 1953 for the Albany Senators in the class-A Eastern League. He pitched in 21 games that season, 20 as their starting pitcher; he had a 12–7 win–loss record, an ERA of 2.60 in 135 innings pitched. He did not play professional baseball in either 1954 or 1955 due to his active military service.

After his military commitment, he re-joined the organization, and began the season with the Red Sox. He made his major league debut on April 26, 1956, a one-inning relief appearance against the New York Yankees. His first MLB victory came seven days later, a three-inning relief appearance against the Yankees in Boston. On August 5, in his sixth start, he pitched a seven-inning complete game 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians and their pitching star, future Hall of Famer Bob Lemon. In total, he appeared in 39 games his first season, 14 as their starting pitcher, had a 9–8 win–loss record with three saves, 98 strikeouts, and a 4.66 ERA in 142⅓ inning pitched. He tied for the AL league with a 1.000 fielding percentage by not committing a single error, although he had the sixth highest total of hit batsmen with seven. Following the season, Sisler was praised for his performance; he was selected by Boston area sportswriters as the "Harry Agganis Award" winner, given annually to whom they voted as the top Boston Red Sox rookie, and was named to the 1956 "Rookie All-Star Team".

After his baseball career, Sisler was an executive with the investment firm A. G. Edwards for more than 30 years, reaching the level of vice-chairman. A. G. Edwards was a sponsor of a semi-professional baseball team in St. Petersburg, Florida; when the "Stockbrokers" were invited to play in season-ending tournament to decide a champion, Sisler, a senior executive for the firm, denied the funding for the team, forcing them to decline if no other monies were raised. It was an unexpected decision considering that Sisler was former baseball player, but he did not feel that A. G. Edwards was benefitting, with the costs of running the team becoming more than originally agreed to by contract.

In 2004, the possibility arose of his father's record of 257 hits in a season being surpassed by Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners. Living in Dallas, Texas at the time, Sisler and his son Dave followed Ichiro's progress throughout the season. Both had mixed feelings about the record chase; they were happy that George Sisler's name was being talked about and that people were re-discovering him as a player, but both were hoping that, if the record was not broken in 154 games, there would be an asterisk noting that it took Ichiro more games to achieve it. Ichiro finished the season with 262 hits, and the Mariners extended an invitation for the entire Sisler family to attend the celebration at Safeco Field. The younger Sisler was prevented by an emergency heart procedure from traveling to Seattle. Both remarked that the Mariners were a classy organization for extending the invitation.

Sisler died on January 9, 2011 of prostate cancer at the age of 79 in St. Louis, Missouri. He was survived by his wife Janet, son, and three grandchildren.