Bill Sarni

William Florine Sarni (September 19, 1927 – April 15, 1983) was an American professional baseball player who played as a catcher in the Major Leagues. A native of Los Angeles, he played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1951–1952, 1954–1956) and New York Giants. In 33 games he went 19-for-83 (.229) with one home run and nine runs batted in. He posted a .277 batting average along with 8 home runs and 60 runs batted in during the season with Columbus and, earned a spot on the American Association All-Star team. In October 1953, the Cardinals purchased Sarni from Columbus.

Sarni became the Cardinals starting catcher when Del Rice was injured during a play at home plate on June 7, 1954. In 123 games he posted a .300 batting average with 9 home runs and 70 runs batted in. One odd footnote from the 1954 season was a game in St. Louis on July 18 against the Philadelphia Phillies in which, both Sarni and Phillies catcher Stan Lopata played the game without wearing chest protectors because of the intense heat.

The Cardinals traded Rice to the Milwaukee Braves in June 1955 and, Sarni became their number one catcher. Although his batting average dipped to .255 in , he was hitting above .300 in early June 1956 when, the Cardinals traded him to the New York Giants along with Jackie Brandt, Dick Littlefield and Red Schoendienst for Alvin Dark, Ray Katt, Don Liddle and Whitey Lockman.

Sarni took over as the Giants starting catcher and ended the year leading the league's catchers with 61 assists and 10 double plays. During spring training in 1957 he suffered a heart attack that ended his playing career. He was just 29 years old. The Giants kept him on by creating a coaching position for him.

Career statistics In a 5-year major league career, Sarni played in 390 games, accumulating 311 hits in 1,182 at bats for a .263 career batting average along with 22 home runs, 151 runs batted in and an on-base percentage of .313. His lifetime fielding percentage was .991.

Sarni died at the age of 55 in Creve Coeur, Missouri.