Samuel Filmore West (October 5, 1904 – November 23, 1985) was a center fielder in

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), ...

who played for three different teams from to . Listed at , 165 lb., West batted and threw left-handed. He was born in

Longview, Texas Longview is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, and county seat of Gregg County; a small part of Longview extends into the western portion of neighboring Harrison County. Longview is located in East Texas, where Interstate 20 and U.S. Highways ...

. West entered the majors in 1927 with the Washington Senators, playing six years for them before moving to the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

(1933–1938), again with Washington (1938–1941), and the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

(1942). His most productive season came in 1931 when he posted a career-high .333

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 reached career highs in slugging percentage (.481), hits (175), doubles (43), triples (13), and rbi (91). In 1933, he was selected to the first

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

ever played, being selected again in , and . During his career, West collected a .300 average during eight seasons; led AL outfielders in putouts twice, double plays three times, and

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

s once, and four times was considered in the AL Most Valuable Player vote. Although he played with Washington during ten seasons, he missed the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

pennant-winning team that lost the

1933 World Series The 1933 World Series was the championship series of the 1933 Major League Baseball season. The 30th edition of the World Series, it matched the National League (NL) pennant winner New York Giants and the American League (AL) pennant winner Wa ...

to the New York Giants after being traded to the Browns in exchange for

Goose Goslin Leon Allen "Goose" Goslin (October 16, 1900 – May 15, 1971) was an American professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns, and Detroit Tigers, from until . Goslin ...

. In a sixteen-season career, West was a .299 hitter (1838-for-6148) with 75 home runs and 838 RBI in 1753 games, including 934 runs, 347 doubles, 101 triples, 53 stolen bases, 696 walks, a .371 on-base percentage, and a .425 slugging percentage. Defensively, he posted a .983 fielding percentage. Following his playing career, West served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After discharge from the service, he spent three years as a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

with the Senators. West died in

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

, Texas at age 81.

References

Sam West
- Baseballbiography.com
The Baseball PageBaseball ReferenceSociety for American Baseball Research (SABR)
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Sam 1904 births 1985 deaths American League All-Stars Baseball players from Texas Birmingham Barons players Chicago White Sox players Major League Baseball center fielders Monroe Drillers players Roswell Giants players St. Louis Browns players Sportspeople from Lubbock, Texas Sulphur Springs Saints players Sulphur Springs Spartans players United States Army personnel of World War II Washington Senators (1901–1960) coaches Washington Senators (1901–1960) players

See also

References