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Sanders called up to White Sox; pitches against Baltimore

Posted: Apr 24, 2003

Sanders called up to White Sox; pitches against Baltimore
Former Barton County Community College pitcher David Sanders was called up to the Chicago White Sox major league team Wednesday. He joined the White Sox in Baltimore and saw major league action for the first time in his career, throwing a scoreless 8th inning in a 7-1 loss.



Sanders, a left-hander from Derby High School, relieved Tom Gordon to start the bottom of the 8th with White Sox already behind 7-1. Facing his first big league batter, Sanders got Jay Gibbons to pop out to first. Sanders followed that with a walk to Tony Batista then recorded his first big league strike out, getting Jose Leon looking. After a second walk, Sanders struck Geronimo Gil out swinging to end the inning and his first major league stint. The Orioles did not bat in the 9th.

Sanders was called up from the White Sox AAA affiliate in Charlotte when Chicago sent catcher Josh Paul down. The move, according to the White Sox release, was due to the team's desire for another pitcher instead of a third catcher.

"For the most part, we know we'll need a pitcher before we need a catcher," White Sox manager Jerry Manuel said in the release. "[Sanders is] a guy that has pitches that can get a righty out and can get a left-handed hitter out. There was no doubt he was the guy."

Sanders had thrown in 5 games for the Charlotte Knights, posting a 2.57 ERA. He had struck out 12, allowed 7 hits, and walked just 2 batters.

Sanders, 6-1, 205, began to draw high attention from the White Sox last season at AA Birmingham. Sanders was rated at the No. 13 prospect in the White Sox minor league organization after posting a 1.84 ERA in 47 appearances. As the season went, Sanders got better last season for Birmingham. In the final half of the season, Sanders' ERA was 0.88, giving up just 3 runs in 30.2 innings. Sanders gave up just 1 run his final 22.2 innings. Of his 47 outings, 35 were scoreless and 16 were hitless. He averaged 8.6 strikeouts per 9 innings. Those numbers got him a place on the 40-man roster this year to begin Spring Training.

Sanders graduated from Barton County in 1999, where he was an All-Jayhawk West selection for the Cougars. As a sophomore, he posted a 3.34 ERA with 82 strikeouts in 52.1 innings. Prior to that, Sanders was an All-State selection at Derby High School.