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Samuel
Lester "Slam" Agnew Major League Debut: April 10, 1913 |
Sam Agnew played for the St. Louis Browns for three seasons before joining the Red Sox in 1916. He was valued more for his work behind the plate than his hitting skills. Agnew was a master at picking off runners, although his arms was sometimes wild and scattershot. He led all American League catchers in errors in 1913 and 1914. On July 25, 1913, Senators pitcher Walter Johnson hit Agnew, then a rookie, in the face with a pitch, breaking his jaw.
On June 30, 1916, during a brawl, Agnew punched Washington Senators manager Clark Griffith in the face and was arrested on the field. The brawl started after George McBride was hit by a pitch and threw his bat at Red Sox pitcher Carl Mays.
According to Mays, Griffith shoved Agnew and "Slam hauled back with that big fist of his and he hit Griffith a terrible smash to the face. ... It sounded just like a telephone pole snapping off. Blood flew all over the place ... [H]itting Griffith in Washington was just like hitting the President of the United States ... police poured out of the stands ... the paddy wagon came clanging onto the field" and the groundskeeper had Agnew arrested. After the game was over, Boston manager Bill Carrigan bailed Agnew out of jail. The matter was dropped and never reached court.
Agnew turned 31 three days before Opening Day 1918. He was released by the Red Sox in February 1919, finishing his career with Griffith's Senators.
In 1920, Agnew headed to San Francisco, where he played with the Seals in the Pacific Coast League for eight years. The 1925 Seals (128-71) were voted the the 10th best minor league team of all-time, according to www.minorleaguebaseball.com; Agnew and Archie Yelle split the catcher duties that season. The 1922 Seals were rated #44.
Agnew purchased the Meridian (Mississippi) club of the Southeastern League for the 1940 season. Sam's younger brother, Troy Agnew, operated the Augusta franchise of the South Atlantic League.
Batting
year team g ab r h 2b 3b hr rbi sb CS bb so ba oba slg TB SH HBP
1913 SLB 105 307 27 64 9 5 2 24 11 20 49 .208 .272 .290 89 10 7
1914 SLB 115 311 22 66 5 4 0 16 10 8 24 63 .212 .279 .254 79 6 5
1915 SLB 104 295 18 60 4 2 0 19 5 2 12 36 .203 .247 .231 68 7 5
1916 BOS 40 67 4 14 2 1 0 7 0 6 4 .209 .293 .269 18 3 2
1917 BOS 85 260 17 54 6 2 0 16 2 19 30 .208 .267 .246 64 6 2
1918 BOS 72 199 11 33 8 0 0 6 0 11 26 .166 .221 .206 41 6 3
1919 WSH 42 98 6 23 7 0 0 10 1 10 8 .235 .312 .306 30 9 1
7 Seasons 563 1537 105 314 41 14 2 98 29 10 102 216 .204 .265 .253 389 47 25
Fielding
YEAR TEAM Pos G PO A E DP FP LGFP RF LGRF 1913 SLB C 103 383 170 28 17 .952 .969 5.37 5.73 1914 SLB C 115 451 163 25 10 .961 .968 5.34 5.81 1915 SLB C 102 398 153 39 16 .934 .965 5.40 5.46 1916 BOS C 38 110 47 8 4 .952 .974 4.13 5.21 1917 BOS C 85 297 88 14 5 .965 .972 4.53 5.10 1918 BOS C 72 254 104 13 10 .965 .971 4.97 5.00 1919 WSH C 36 141 48 5 5 .974 .975 5.25 5.03 Total C 551 2034 773 132 67 .955 .969 5.09 5.42
Minor League Batting
Year Team LG g ab r h 2b 3b hr rbi TB sb ba slg
1912 Vernon PCL 105 322 34 91 20 1 5 128 11 .283 .398
1920 SF Seals PCL 144 495 50 134 30 4 8 196 11 .271 .396
1921 SF Seals PCL 116 352 49 104 20 3 11 54 163 9 .295 .463
1922 SF Seals PCL 118 389 67 131 27 4 11 61 199 8 .337 .512
1923 SF Seals PCL 110 369 54 115 21 3 13 66 181 2 .312 .491
1924 SF Seals PCL 79 223 33 70 12 4 8 38 114 2 .314 .511
1925 SF Seals PCL 122 384 46 125 20 1 20 85 207 0 .326 .539
1926 SF Seals PCL 136 362 36 91 17 1 12 36 146 4 .251 .403
1927 SF-Hollyw PCL 84 224 17 65 16 2 6 36 103 2 .290 .460
1928 Hollywood PCL 88 252 39 81 19 1 4 38 114 2 .321 .452
TOTALS 1102 3372 425 1007 202 24 98 414 1551 51 .299 .460
Minor Leagues: PCL - Pacific Coast League.