Norm Siebern
Died: October 30, 2015 (at age 82)
Norman Leroy Siebern (July 26, 1933 - October 30, 2015) was a Major League Baseball player for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, California Angels, San Francisco Giants, and Boston Red Sox from 1956 to 1968. His best season came in 1962 with the A's, when he hit 25 home runs, had 117 runs batted in and a .308 batting average. He might be most remembered however, as being one of the players the Yankees traded for Roger Maris. He was signed by Yankees scout Lou Maguolo.
Siebern played for the 1956 and 1958 World Series champion Yankees, and nine years later returned to the '67 Series with the Red Sox.
On December 11, 1959, he was part of a six-player trade that sent him along with World Series heroes Don Larsen and Hank Bauer to the Kansas City A's in exchange for outfielder Roger Maris and two other players. Maris ended up breaking Babe Ruth's single-season home run record in 1961.
The Orioles acquired Siebern on November 27, 1963 in an exchange of starting first basemen, sending Jim Gentile and $25,000 to the Athletics. He spent two seasons in Baltimore, losing his starting spot in the middle of 1965 to Boog Powell, who successfully made the transition from the outfield. Siebern was traded to the Angels on December 2, 1965 for outfielder Dick Simpson. Seven days later, Simpson would be one of three players sent to the Cincinnati Reds for Frank Robinson.
Siebern made the American League All-Star teams in 1962, 1963 and 1964.
He had 1,217 hits for his career, with 132 home runs and a lifetime batting average of .272.
Siebern attended Southwest Missouri State, where he played basketball with future New York baseball teammate Jerry Lumpe on a team that won two NAIA Championships in 1952 and 1953. Both players had to miss some tournament games to report to baseball spring training camp with the Yankees.