Sam West

Played For
Washington Senators (1927-1932)
St. Louis Browns (1933-1938)
Washington Senators (1938-1941)
Chicago White Sox (1942)

Best Season: 1931
Though he missed some playing time, West set a career-high with 43 doubles and a .333 batting average in 132 games. He scored 77 runs, collected 175 hits, had 13 triples, and a career-best 91 RBI from the #6 spot in the order. He also committed just four errors and was the best defensive outfielder in the American League.

"Fans Enraged by Umpire's Decision"
The traditional Independence Day doubleheader in Washington D.C. was interrupted by fan violence on July 4, 1938, prompted by the Wasshington fans allegiance to Sammy West. With the Senators facing off against the Yankees, an umpiring decision in the third inning of the second game provoked a "shower of pop bottles" from the grandstands.

The incident arose after West smashed a hard hit ball toward the middle of the diamond. Yank second baseman Joe Gordon made a "dazzling stop" of the ball and whirled to fire to first. Umpire Joe Rue called West out in a close play at the first base bag, and the fans were livid. The New York Times reported: "Objection arose immediately from the Washington bench and the crowd, tiring of harmless roars of protest, started tossing bottles from the grandstand and bleachers. Several shots from the grandstand narrowly missed Rue, who boldly stood his ground."

The game was halted for 15 minutes so that the debris could be removed from the field at Griffith Park. The Yankees won the first game, 10-5, and the second contest was halted at 4-4 in the 13th due to darkness.

Born
Samuel Filmore West was born on October 5, 1904, in Longview, TX.

Died
November 23, 1985, Lubbock, TX

Batted:  Left
Threw:  Left

Primary Position:  OF

Primary Team:  WS1

Major League Debut
April 17, 1927

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1927
Dick Bartell
Lloyd Waner
Sammy West
Carl Reynolds
Wes Ferrell
Wilcy Moore
Red Kress
Woody English
Fred Schulte

Uniform Numbers
#6 (1931, 1933-1938 Browns), #3 (1932), #4 (1938 Senators), #23 (1939-1941), #34 (1942)

Similar Players
Gary Pettis

Related Players
Red Barnes, Goose Goslin, Sam Rice, Carl Reynolds, Jake Powell

Post-Season Notes
West came to the Senators just after they won two straight pennants, and was traded just before they won another flag in 1933.

Batting Feats

• April 13, 1933: 6 Hits...

Transactions
December 14, 1932: Traded by the Washington Senators with Lloyd Brown, Carl Reynolds, and $20000 cash to the St. Louis Browns for Goose Goslin, Fred Schulte, and Lefty Stewart; June 15, 1938: Traded by the St. Louis Browns to the Washington Senators for Mel Almada.

All-Star Selections
1933 AL
1934 AL
1935 AL
1937 AL

Replaced
West effectively replaced Tris Speaker in the Washington outfield. Here's a detailed story about how that happened, and why a former football star named Red Barnes missed his chance to be a regular in the big leagues:

In 1928, the Senators were forced to replace center fielder Tris Speaker, who had signed with the Athletics. Babe Ganzel, Sammy West, and Emile "Red" Barnes, were given the opportunity to win the slot in spring training. By the end of the spring, West's superior play in the outfield, especially his throwing arm, had vaulted him to the front. Ganzel and Barnes were taken north as reserve outfielders, to back up left fielder Goose Goslin (described by the Washington Post as having "a crippled arm"), West, and veteran right fielder Sam Rice. In one of the last exhibition games the Nats played as they worked their way north to start the season, Barnes was spiked trying to steal second, which shelved him for a short time. Healthy again later in April, Barnes spelled West and Goslin, and was hitting .407 on May 17, when manager Bucky Harris made wholesale changes to his lineup. In an effort to bolster his sagging offense, Harris inserted Barnes in center, switched Goslin to left full-time, and benched West, who was "scuffling at the plate." In addition, Harris benched first baseman Joe Judge and gave that job to veteran George Sisler. However, within a week, Goslin was sidelined with a bad tooth, and Sisler was pressed into duty in left field, as Harris pressured owner Clark Griffith to purchase an emergency outfielder. That help came eventually in the person of Dick Spalding, who filled in very well for two weeks, hitting .348 in a utility role. Eventually Goslin returned and Harris fielded an outfield of Goose, Barnes and Rice for the next few months. Barnes, who earned the nickname "Lovely" for his splendid play, made several eye-popping catches and delighted fans with his hitting and baserunning in the spring and summer of '28. On July 4, he beat the Yankees with a three-run homer, and two days later he stroked three hits and stole home to help defeat the White Sox. Then, in early August, Barnes was once again spiked on the basepaths, an injury that limited his play the remainder of the season. West replaced him in center field for the rest of the year, performing well. For the season, Barnes hit .305 in 417 at-bats with very good power (22 doubles, 15 tripes, and six homers) and a 55-38 walk/strikeout ratio. Though he made more errors in the outfield than did West, Barnes ran down his share of fly balls, as shown in his superior range factor (2.61 to 1.92 for Sammy). West hit .302, doing most of his damage at the end of the season. In contrast, Barnes faded from a lofty average to finish at .305, as his late-season injury essentially ended his year. These circumstances seem to be one of the reasons that Barnes, whom is basically forgotten, lost his job in 1929, while Sammy West went on to a long career in the big leagues. The two were nearly the same age, separated by just 10 weeks or so. Both were southerners, Sammy from Texas, and Barnes from Alabama. West was a great athlete who starred in track and baseball in high school. Barnes was an excellent football player, and played for the University of Alabama in 1925 and 1926, earning All-Conference honors in his second season as a running back. He was an integral part of two national championship teams, as the Tide went 19-0-1 during his tenure. Both West and Barnes were slim, athletic types, less than 160 pounds in their prime, and both took advantage of the cavernous reaches of the Griffith Stadium outfield to hit their share of triples and inside-the-park homers. In 1929, the Senators had a new manager, former pitcher Walter Johnson. Johnson subscribed to the "what-have-you-done-for-me-lately" theory and promptly announced in the spring that West would be his center fielder. "He has so many good points," Johnson said on March 25, "He's fast as lightning, a sure catch, has one of the best arms in baseball, and I know that he is a good hitter once he gets his stride. And, above all, he is a fine type of athlete who is always out there hustling and giving you the best he has." In short, Johnson liked the way Sammy played the game. The red-headed Barnes wasn't down for long, however, and a few days later he was given the right field job over Rice, who Johnson indicated would be the first to get playing time if either of his young outfielders faltered. Both West and Barnes were 24 years old. Rather than falter, Barnes was struck by injury once again just before the regular season opened, as what was reported as "water on the knee" kept him out of the lineup for a few weeks. Rice was back in right field, but as the Post reported: "Barnes will likely be given another chance in right field as soon as he recovers from the attack," and that he "adds more pep to the game" and is "a more timely hitter, when right, than is Rice." Eventually, Barnes returned, but Johnson still shuttled he and Rice in and out of the lineup. In early June, Barnes hurt himself while he was fooling around during infield practice. Apparently he was taking grounders at third base and showing off his outfield arm, when he slipped and injured his left ankle. The mishap limited Barnes to pinch-hitting duty for a few days, until Goslin suffered an injury, which pressed Red into the lineup briefly. For the remainder of the campaign, Barnes was used off the bench, where he struggled, hitting .200 (26-for-130) in 72 games. His injuries had mounted and it's probable that his knee, injured previously while playing football, was never sound. One report speculated that "it is the impression around the club that Barnes' injury affected his batting by forcing him to adopt a different stance." His star had faded, and the once promising young outfield of Goslin, West and Barnes was no more. While Barnes performed poorly in 1929, West played his typical brand of hustling ball, and despite a meager .267 batting mark, Sammy impressed the Senators with his brilliant defensive play in center field, where he led the league with 25 assists and a 2.88 range factor. Meanwhile, Rice hit .323 with 119 runs scored, 199 hits, 39 doubles, and 10 triples, reviving his career at the age of 39. The likelihood that Barnes could break into the Nat outfield in 1930 was slim. As spring training approached, Johnson left that option open, however. "If I hadn't seen Red look like a million dollars during our spring exhibision series [the previous season], when he fielded almost as well as can Sam West and hit over .400, I probably would not feel that he was entitled to another chance this season," Johnson said. The newspapers wondered if Barnes' "football knee" would rebound in 1930. Then, during training, Goose Goslin, in a salary battle, refused to report, which opened the left field job to Barnes, who promptly smacked three hits in the Nats first exhibition game. Despite the fact that he reported in poor shape with several extra pounds on his frame, Johnson seemed content to hand the starting job to Red. Typically, Goslin signed with the Senators with less than a week remaining in the spring season, but Barnes was still given a shot at the center field job, which West was once again struggling to hold onto. Compounding the situation was rookie outfielder Jake Powell, who was pounding the ball. But eventually, Johnson was swayed by West's defensive prowess, and feared the spector of Powell facing big league pitching for the first time. As for Barnes, he traveled north as the Nats fifth outfielder, falling behind George Loepp in the pecking order. On June 12, Barnes was dealt to the White Sox while the Senators were in Chicago finishing up a series. The Nats received reserve outfielder Dave Harris, a much needed right-handed hitter. Harris performed well for Johnson's Senators te rest of the year, while Red Barnes hit just .248 as the Sox center fielder in more than 70 games. In 1931, Barnes was released and never played in the major leagues again. He retired and became a postmaster in Mobile, Alabama, where he died in 1959.

Replaced By
Roadrunner George Case, the fastest man in the American League, replaced West in center field midway through the 1939 season. Sammy served as a spare outfielder for three more years before retiring. He hit .244 in sparse duty during those three seasons, and his career batting mark dipped just below .300.

Best Strength as a Player
Defensive range, leaping ability, and his throwing arm.

Largest Weakness as a Player
Despite decent speed, West was a poor basestealer. In addition, West was never considered effective against left-handed pitching. He probably would have been a platoon player if he had played in an era when that strategy was deployed more frequently. Almost every spring, West staved off an assualt on his starting job. His inconsistent offensive production was the reason the Senators were always looking for a young center fielder to replace Sammy, though West retired with a .299 career batting average. In the 1930s, .300 hitting outfielders were falling out of trees.

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