Bill Sudakis

William Paul Sudakis (born March 27, 1946 in Joliet, Illinois) is an American former baseball player. He played as a power-hitting third baseman whom the Dodgers tried at catcher in 1970–71.

In 1969 he was the last Dodgers rookie to homer in four consecutive games until Joc Pederson in 2015, and he was the youngest Dodgers rookie ever to do so until Pederson succeeded him.^[1][2]

Dogged by bad knees, he was finally waived by the Dodgers during Spring Training of 1972. He was selected off waivers by the New York Mets, but appeared in only 18 games for the Mets. With the introduction of the designated hitter in the American League in 1973, the Texas Rangers coveted Sudakis as their DH and acquired him from the Mets. Suds responded with his best season at .255 and 15 HRs in only 82 games. Even though freed from defensive chores, Sudakis' aching knees kept him off the field and held his numbers down. Partly because of his versatility (he could play first or third base and catcher and was also a switch hitter), he was given shots by the New York Yankees, traded by the Yankees to the Angels for Skip Lockwood, California Angels, and Cleveland Indians. In 1976, he played for the Omaha Royals of the American Association in the Kansas City Royals system but could not make it back to the major leagues.

Achievements

• 1968 MVP Texas League playing for the Albuquerque Dodgers (shared w/ Jim Spencer)

Personal life

Sudakis was of Lithuanian descent.^[3]

Footnotes

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)