Sammy Hale
Encyclopedia
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
for 10 seasons with the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
(1920–21), Philadelphia Athletics (1923–29), and St. Louis Browns
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
(1930). Hale had a lifetime batting average of .302 and won a World Series ring with the Athletics in 1929.
Born in Glen Rose, Texas
Glen Rose, Texas
Glen Rose is a city in Somervell County, Texas, United States. It is the county seat of Somervell County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,444. Glen Rose is part of the Granbury micropolitan area.-19th century:...
, Hale debuted with the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
in 1920. Hale batted .292 in his rookie season and led the American League with 17 pinch hits in 52 at-bats. When Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...
took over as the Tigers manager in 1921, Hale saw limited action, getting only two at bats in 1921.
Hale played most of the 1921 season with Portland in the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
. In 1922, he was purchased by Connie Mack
Connie Mack (baseball)
Cornelius McGillicuddy, Sr. , better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball player, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds records for wins , losses , and games managed , with his victory total being almost 1,000 more...
and the Athletics. Hale spent 7 seasons with Mack's team, playing in at least 80 games every year and in over 110 games 5 times. His best season was 1925 when he was among the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
leaders with a .345 batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
, .540 slugging percentage, and 11 triples. He also had career highs with 49 extra base hit
Extra base hit
In baseball, an extra base hit , also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire another base runner...
s and 63 RBIs in 1925.
Despite being said to have had "the smallest hands in the game,"http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Sammy_Hale_1896 Hale had 46 double plays in 1927—most in the American League among third basemen. He also led the league's third basemen with 20 errors in 1928. In 1925, Hale had a career-high 24 errors at third base for a .919 fielding percentage.
Sammy Hale died in Wheeler, Texas
Wheeler, Texas
Wheeler is a city in Wheeler County, Texas, United States, situated on the eastern edge of the Texas Panhandle. Both the city and the county are named for Royal Tyler Wheeler, a chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court. The population was 1,378 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Wheeler...
in 1974 ag at 77.