ASU's 50 Best Professional Athletes: No. 22 Baseball's Sal Bando

Sal Bando played third baseman in the Major Leagues for 16 years following his collegiate career at ASU.

He was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics during the sixth round of the 1965 amateur draft, and debuted the next season as a 22-year-old rookie. During his first two seasons, Bando would appear in 58 games batting at a line of .208/.299/.273.

In 1968, the Athletics relocated to Oakland, and during that same year, Bando became the team's everyday third baseman. As his play time increased dramatically, so did his contribution. Bando started every game in both 1968 and 1969, and improved his line to .266/.359/.419. In fact, he was named to his first All-Star Game in 1969, and finished in the top 30 of American League season MVP voting.

At 27 years old, despite not reaching the All-Star Game, Bando finished second in AL MVP voting in 1971 to teammate Vida Blue. He would be named an All-Star for each of the following three seasons, and helped Oakland become one of the most dominant teams in the league for several seasons.

The Athletics would capture three consecutive World Series titles (1972-1974) during Bando's time with them. In 1975, Oakland was halted by the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series, then missed out on the playoffs entirely in 1976. After 11 years with the Athletics, Bando would join the Milwaukee Brewers in 1977.

Over five years with Milwaukee, Bando batted with a line of .250/.335/.382. He retired as a member of the Brewers after the 1981 season at 37 years old. He finished with a career line of .254/.352/.408, including 1,039 RBI.

In 1991, Bando became the general manager of the Brewers and served in that position until he was reassigned in 1999.

He was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013.

Check back tomorrow to see who will be No. 21 on our list of the 50 best professional athletes to come out of Arizona State.