Lenn Sakata

Lenn Haruki Sakata (Japanese: 坂田春樹 born June 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues primarily as a utility player from 1977 to 1987 and was a member of the Baltimore Orioles 1983 World Series Championship team. He was the second Asian American to play Major League Baseball. He is Yonsei (fourth-generation American of Japanese ancestry). Sakata graduated from Kalani High School in 1971. Sakata played college baseball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.

Sakata began 1981 as a reserve and missed time in May due to a sprained ankle. In September, he took over the shortstop position, replacing longtime Oriole shortstop Mark Belanger. Sakata was humble about this, saying, "I never looked at myself as the next Mark Belanger. It would have been pointless and arrogant for anybody to feel that way." He was the starting shortstop for the Orioles when Cal Ripken, Jr., began his consecutive games played streak. When manager Earl Weaver decided to shift Ripken to short at the beginning of July, 1982, he moved Sakata to third, keeping Sakata in the lineup.

Sakata was the catcher (a position he did not usually play) when Tippy Martinez picked three Toronto Blue Jays off first base in the tenth inning of the August 24, 1983 game at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. The Orioles had replaced their starting catcher and his backup while rallying to tie the game in the ninth inning. Three consecutive Blue Jays hitters reached first base and each one, thinking it would be easy to steal a base on Sakata, took a big lead. Martinez picked off all three base runners. Sakata hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the tenth to win the game.