Russell Loris Arlett (January 3, 1899 – May 16, 1964), also known as Buzz Arlett, was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player, sometimes called "the

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

of the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

." Like Ruth, Arlett was a large man, and , who began his career as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

before becoming his league's dominant home run hitter. He was for many decades the all-time minor league home run king in the United States, until being surpassed by Mike Hessman on August 3, 2015. He spent one season with the Philadelphia Phillies of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB).

Early life

Arlett was the youngest of four sons (Alexander, Harry, Leslie "Dick", and Russell) born to German immigrant Beny and his English wife Lillian. He also had a sister Evelyn. During their youth, the Arlett brothers would often play baseball from sunrise till sundown.

Professional career

In 1918, Arlett began his professional career by joining his brother (Alexander "Pop" Arlett) on the staff of the Pacific Coast League's Oakland Oaks as a right-handed

spitball A spitball is an illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of a foreign substance such as saliva or petroleum jelly. This technique alters the wind resistance and weight on one side of the ball, causing it to m ...

pitcher. He received his nickname "Buzz" because he was known to cut through opposing batters like a buzz saw. He won 108 games as a pitcher. In 1923, Arlett became a full-time

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

.Battifarano, Andrew
"For nearly 80 years, Arlett's power stood unmatched: PCL and IL Hall of Famer crushed record 432 Minor League homers,"
MiLB.com (April 17, 2020). As a batter, Arlett was the best slugger of the Pacific Coast League, often leading the league in batting statistics and setting several records. In his 13 years in the PCL, Arlett set league records with 251

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 1135

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBIs). In 1929 (considered to be his best season as a batter), Arlett hit 39 home runs, earned a .374

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and drove in 189 runs. He played only for the Oakland Oaks until the 1930 season. On January 26, 1931, the Philadelphia Phillies purchased Arlett's contract from Oakland. Arlett played the entire 1931 season for Philadelphia and it was his only MLB season. Already 32 years old, Arlett had an impressive season as a hitter but was regarded as a poor fielder. Although Arlett began his career at about 185 pounds, he had gained approximately 50 pounds during his career and had become a sluggish fielder. He was used in 94 games as an outfielder and only 13 as a first baseman. Although he compiled a .313 batting average and hit 18 home runs — fourth in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

— his lackluster fielding led the Phillies to use him as a

pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

for much of the season. In 1932, Philadelphia sold Arlett's contract to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

of the International League. Playing for the Orioles in 1932, Arlett twice hit four home runs in a single game. On June 2, 1932, he hit home runs in consecutive at bats against the team from Reading, Pennsylvania. He repeated the feat on July 4, 1932, again against Reading, hitting a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

batting right-handed and three more home runs batting left-handed. He led the league that year with 54 home runs and 144 runs batted in. Arlett's record of 54 home runs in 1932 is the second-highest annual total in International League history, and through the 2003 season no International League batter has equalled or surpassed Arlett's 54 home runs. In 1933, Arlett led the league again with 39 home runs for the Orioles. In 1934, Arlett briefly started the season with the Birmingham Barons and then moved to the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. During his season with the Millers, he hit 41 home runs that year with 132 runs batted in and earned a .319 batting average. In 1935, he raised his batting average to .360 hitting 25 home runs and driving in 101 runs. In 1936, Arlett hit .316, but was limited to 193 at bats. In 1937, Arlett played briefly for the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, but then retired. He returned to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

to settle with his family. Arlett finished his career as the all-time minor league home run and RBI leader with career totals of 432 home runs and 1786 runs batted in. He now ranks second in both categories among all minor-league players. (He was surpassed by

Héctor Espino Héctor "El Niño" Espino (6 June 1939 – 7 September 1997) was a Mexican professional outfielder, first baseman and manager. He has been called "The Mexican Babe Ruth". Born in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Espino he played from 1960 through 1984 in b ...

for home runs and Nick Cullop for RBIs.) In his career as a minor-league player, Arlett earned a .341 batting average and a .604 slugging percentage. Arlett retired with a 108-93 record and a 3.42

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

as a minor-league pitcher.

Personal life

In 1927, Arlett married his first wife, Frances. They separated in 1932 and divorced in 1936. They had no children. In court papers, Arlett listed "desertion" as the cause for divorce. In 1936, Arlett married Vivian Johnson, who was secretary to Minneapolis Millers owner Mike Kelly. They had a son and a daughter. After retiring from baseball, Arlett owned and operated a successful restaurant and bar in Minneapolis called Arlett's Place. Arlett's Place sponsored its own baseball team where Arlett participated as a player until the early 1940s.

Death and legacy

Arlett was inducted into the

Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

in 1945. In 1964, Arlett died of a heart attack in Minneapolis and was interred at

Lakewood Cemetery Lakewood Cemetery is a large private, non-sectarian cemetery located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is located at 3600 Hennepin Avenue at the southern end of the Uptown area. It is noted for its chapel which is on the National R ...

. He was survived by his wife, son, daughter, and his older brothers Harry and Dick. In 1984, the

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

voted Arlett the most outstanding player in the history of minor league baseball.

References

External links