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

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

in Major League Baseball who played for three different teams from to . Listed at , 165 lb., West batted and threw left-handed. He was born in Longview, Texas. West entered the majors in 1927 with the Washington Senators, playing six years for them before moving to the St. Louis Browns (1933–1938), again with Washington (1938–1941), and the Chicago White Sox (1942). His most productive season came in 1931 when he posted a career-high .333 batting average 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 ever played, being selected again in , and . During his career, West collected a .300 average during eight seasons; led AL outfielders in

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or ''fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wit ...

s twice,

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

s three times, and assists 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 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 ...

to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

after being traded to the Browns in exchange for Goose Goslin. In a sixteen-season career, West was a .299 hitter (1838-for-6148) with 75 home runs and 838

RBI RBI most often refers to: *Reserve Bank of India *Run batted in RBI may also refer to: Organisations *Radio Berlin International *Raiffeisen Bank International *Reed Business Information *Restaurant Brands International *Ruđer Bošković In ...

in 1753

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

, including 934 runs, 347 doubles, 101 triples, 53 stolen bases, 696 walks, a .371

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

, and a .425 slugging percentage. Defensively, he posted a .983

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

. 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

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with the Senators. West died in Lubbock, 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