[GeoPoto]

Player #122D: Samuel F. "Sam" West. Outfielder with the Washington Senators in 1927-1932 and 1938-1941. 1,838 hits and 75 home runs in 16 MLB seasons. 4-time All-Star. His career OBP was .371. In 1931 for Washington, he posted an OBP of .369 with 91 RBIs in 559 plate appearances. In 1934 for the St. Louis Browns he posted an OBP of .403 with 91 runs scored in 554 plate appearances. His last season was 1942 with the Chicago White Sox.

Sam's SABR biography covers the tail end of his career: During the 1938 season, West was traded back to Washington for center fielder Mel Almada. That season West batted .305. It was the eighth time in his career that he hit .300 or higher. He played three more seasons in Washington, mostly in a part-time role. The Senators released him after the 1941 season, and he signed with the Chicago White Sox for 1942. He played in only 49 games and hit .232. After the season West joined the Army Air Forces. “Although baseball has taken a back seat for the duration, I am going to stay in baseball after the war,” he said during his basic training at the Lubbock Army flying school. After basic training, West remained at the base and as a sergeant was in charge of physical-fitness training of pilots and base personnel.

After his discharge from the Army in July 1945 West, now 40, was released by the White Sox. He stayed in baseball as a coach for the Senators for two seasons before retiring from the game. . . .

. . . West’s career major-league statistics include 1,753 games played, a .299 batting average, 934 runs, 347 doubles, 101 triples, and 75 home runs. He made 4,300 putouts and had 151 assists. He had a career fielding percentage of .983.

According to the Tenth Edition of the Baseball Encyclopedia, West’s career average of 2.9 chances per game ranked seventh best of all time for outfielders, and his average of 2.7 putouts per game ranked sixth best.