{{Short description|American baseball player (1865–1930)}} {{about||the New Zealand crime fiction author|Ben Sanders (author)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Ben Sanders |image=Ben Sanders Card.jpg |caption=1888 baseball card of Sanders |position=Pitcher |bats=Right |throws=Right |birth_date={{birth date|1865|2|16}} |birth_place=Catharpin, Virginia, U.S. |death_date={{death date and age|1930|8|29|1865|2|16}} |death_place=Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |debutleague = MLB |debutdate= June 6 |debutyear= 1888 |debutteam= Philadelphia Quakers |finalleague = MLB |finaldate= October 14 |finalyear= 1892 |finalteam= Louisville Colonels |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Win–loss record |stat1value=80-70 |stat2label=Earned run average |stat2value=3.24 |stat3label=Strikeouts |stat3value=468 |teams= * Philadelphia Quakers ({{Baseball year|1888}}–{{Baseball year|1889}}) * Philadelphia Athletics ({{Baseball year|1890}}–{{Baseball year|1891}}) * Louisville Colonels ({{Baseball year|1892}}) |highlights= *Led the National League in shutouts in {{Baseball year|1888}} *Pitched a no-hitter on August 22, 1892 }}
'''Alexander Bennett "Ben" Sanders''' (February 16, 1865 – August 29, 1930) was an American Major League Baseball player who pitched a total of five seasons for three teams.<ref name="retrosheet">{{cite web| title = Ben Sanders' Stats | work = retrosheet.org | url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/S/Psandb101.htm | accessdate = 2008-06-11 }}</ref>
==Career== Born in Catharpin, Virginia, Sanders debuted on June 6, {{Baseball year|1888}} with the Philadelphia Quakers of the National League.<ref name="retrosheet"/> As a pitcher, he displayed good control, but he used an unorthodox delivery which ended with him off-balance, and with his back turned toward home plate. This made it difficult for him to react quickly on batted balls in his area of responsibility, particularly bunts.<ref>James, Bill, and Rob Neyer, "The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers", pp. 372–3. Simon and Schuster, 2004. {{ISBN|0-7432-6158-5}}</ref> On September 18 of that rookie season, Sanders lost a perfect game when his pitching opponent, Gus Krock, singled with one out in the 9th inning for the Chicago Colts. Sanders still achieved a 6–0 shutout victory.<ref name="1888chrono">{{cite web |title=Charlton's 1888 Chronology |work=baseballlibrary.com |url=http://www.baseballlibrary.com/chronology/byyear.php?year=1888 |accessdate=2008-06-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080101103135/http://www.baseballlibrary.com/chronology/byyear.php?year=1888 |archivedate=2008-01-01 }}</ref>
He pitched two seasons for the Quakers, winning 38 games against 28 losses, including a rookie season in which he won 19 games, had a 1.90 earned run average, and led the league in shutouts with eight, and base on balls per 9 innings.<ref name="reference">{{cite web| title = Ben Sanders' Stats | work = baseball-reference.com | url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/s/sandebe01.shtml | accessdate = 2008-06-11 | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080614061024/http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/sandebe01.shtml| archivedate= 14 June 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>
For the {{Baseball year|1890}} season, Ben jumped to the newly created Players' League, and won 19 games and lost 18 for the Philadelphia Athletics who later joined the American Association for the {{Baseball year|1891}} season.<ref name="retrosheet"/> He finished his career with the Louisville Colonels of the National League, playing his final game on October 14, 1892. He had a record of 12–19, but on August 22, 1892, he pitched a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles, a 6–2 victory, the first no-hitter in the National League in which the losing team scored at least one run.<ref name="nohitter">{{cite web| title = Chronological List of No-Hitters | work = retrosheet.org | url=http://www.retrosheet.org/nohit_chrono.htm | accessdate = 2008-06-11 }}</ref>
==Post-career== Sanders died in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 65, and is interred at Sudley United Methodist Church Cemetery in his hometown of Catharpin, Virginia.<ref name="retrosheet"/>
==See also== {{Portal|Biography|Baseball}} *List of Major League Baseball annual shutout leaders *List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *{{Baseball stats |br=s/sandebe01 |brm=sander002ben}} *{{Find a Grave|13487761}} *[http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?word=Sanders%2C%20Ben%2C%201865%2D1930&s=3¬word=&f=2 Portraits from NYPL Digital Archive]
{{s-start}} {{S-ach|ach}} {{succession box | title=No-hitter pitcher | before= Jack Stivetts | years= August 22, 1892 | after= Bumpus Jones}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Ben}} Category:1865 births Category:1930 deaths Category:19th-century baseball players Category:19th-century American sportsmen Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Philadelphia Quakers players Category:Philadelphia Athletics (PL) players Category:Philadelphia Athletics (AA 1891) players Category:Louisville Colonels players Category:Roanoke Maroons baseball players Category:Altoona (minor league baseball) players Category:Canton (minor league baseball) players Category:Baseball players from Prince William County, Virginia