Paul Strand – 325 hits in a single Pacific Coast League Season. Photo: Library of Congress; George Grantham Bain Collection.<\/p><\/div>\n

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In 1913, 19-year-old southpaw Paul Strand \u2013 after two seasons in the Northwestern League \u2013 found himself on the mound for the Boston Braves.\u00a0 Strand pitched in just 7 games and put up a 0-0 record and a 2.12 ERA.\u00a0 The following season, pitching for the 1914 “Miracle Braves\u201d surprise NL pennant winners, Strand went 6-2, 2.44.\u00a0 Then in 1913, Strand\u2019s professional baseball career took an unexpected turn. Just 21, Strand was 1-1 with a 2.38 ERA (in 6 games) when a serious arm injury marked the end his major league pitching career. \u00a0Sold to Toledo of the American Association, Strand converted to the outfield, but hit only .215 in 61 games.<\/p>\n

The 6\u2019, 190-pounder didn\u2019t give up, but honed his hitting skills while bouncing around the minor leagues (Toledo, Seattle, Peoria, Joplin, Yakima) before joining the Pacific Coast League\u2019s Salt Lake City Bees early in the 1921 season.<\/p>\n

Note:\u00a0 Strand did not immediately abandon the mound.\u00a0 In 1916-17, in addition to taking a spot in the outfield he went 16-12 as a pitcher (Toledo Iron Men and Seattle Giants), including a perfect game for Seattle on May 13, 1917 – a 1-0 win\u00a0 over the Spokane Indians. His advancing offensive skills, however, eventually made him a full-time position player.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

It was with Salt Lake City that Strand made professional baseball history, putting together perhaps the best minor league season ever and earning both a spot in the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame and a return (if brief) to the major leagues.\u00a0 It began somewhat quietly. In 1921, in 157 games (for Seattle and Salt Lake City), Strand hit .314, with nine homers and 95 RBI. But the PCL rocket was just leaving the launching pad.<\/p>\n

Playing solely for Salt Lake City in 1922, Strand led the league in hits, home runs and batting average.\u00a0 Strand\u2019s stat line looked like this:<\/p>\n

G\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 AB\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 R\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 H \u00a0 \u00a0 2B \u00a03B \u00a0 \u00a0HR \u00a0 \u00a0RBI \u00a0 Avg. \u00a0 \u00a0 SB<\/p>\n

178*\u00a0\u00a0 752\u00a0\u00a0 138\u00a0\u00a0 289\u00a0\u00a0 52\u00a0\u00a0 13 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a028\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 138\u00a0\u00a0 .394\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 10<\/p>\n

*The PCL, at the time, regularly played 200 games or more (a high of 230 for the 1905 San Francisco Seals.)<\/i><\/p>\n

Surprisingly, those numbers did not earn the 28-year-old Strand a call to the majors.\u00a0 More surprisingly, Strand\u2019s best performance was yet to come.\u00a0 In 1923, still with Salt Lake City, he had what some have called the best minor league season ever \u2013 topping his 1922 performance in every offensive category except triples (he hit 13 triples in each season).\u00a0\u00a0 In fact, that year Strand set (and still holds) the professional baseball record for base hits (325) in a season. \u00a0He also rapped 43 homers, scored 180 runs, drove in 187 and stole 22 bases.\u00a0 Here\u2019s Strand\u2019s 1923 stat line:<\/p>\n

G\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 AB\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 R\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 H\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2B\u00a0 3B \u00a0\u00a0HR \u00a0 \u00a0RBI\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Avg.\u00a0\u00a0 SB<\/p>\n

194\u00a0\u00a0 825\u00a0\u00a0 180\u00a0\u00a0 325\u00a0\u00a0 66\u00a0\u00a0 13\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 43\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 187\u00a0\u00a0 .394\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 22<\/p>\n

That second consecutive eye-catching season, actually did \u201ccatch the eye\u201d of several major league teams.\u00a0 Ultimately, the Philadelphia Athletics Connie Mack offered Salt Lake City three players and cash that was reported at $100,000 to secure the hot-hitting outfielder.\u00a0 Strand, perhaps as shrewd off the field as he was talented on it, turned down the Athletics initial contract offer and held out for several weeks, finally signing for a reported $5,000.<\/p>\n

Securing that contract would turn out to be Strand\u2019s most significant achievement with the Athletics. Whatever the reason – some said he was overwhelmed by the publicity and expectations – the 30-year-old Strand hit only .228, with no homers and 13 RBI in 47 games for Philadelphia.\u00a0 (The Athletics also had Strand change his unorthodox cross-handed grip on the bat.)\u00a0 Mack gave up on Strand quickly, and shipped him off to Toledo of the American Association in late June.<\/p>\n

From 1925-28, Stand once again found himself bouncing around the minor leagues, spending time with Toledo, Portland, Columbus, Atlanta and Little Rock.\u00a0 He hit at just about every stop \u2013 an overall average of .330 \u2013 but his reputation as a major league bust followed him and Strand never got another shot at the big leagues.\u00a0 Strand was out of baseball in 1929, with a lifetime minor league average of .334 and a major league mark of .224 (and a major league pitching record of 7-3, 2.37).<\/p>\n

To close, let’s take a brief look at a couple of other outstanding minor league seasons. \u00a0We’ll start with first baseman Joe Bauman, who had a remarkable season in 1954 (although at a much lower level than Strand’s great year). \u00a0Playing for the C-level Longhorn League Roswell Rockets that season, the 32-year-old Bauman hit .400, with 72 homers (still the minor league record) and 224 RBI. \u00a0Bauman, notably, never made it to the major leagues. \u00a0In fact, only 102 of his 1,019 games were played above B-level (and only one game at AAA). Bauman retired after nine minor league seasons with a .337 career average, 337 home runs and 1,057 RBI. \u00a0His legend does live on. Each year, the Joe Bauman Award is presented to the the minor leagues’ leading home run hitter.<\/p>\n

Of course, not all great minor league seasons belong to players who failed to impress at the major league level. \u00a0In 1925. Future MLB Hall of Famer Tony Lazzeri put up a .355 average, with 60 home runs and 222 RBI for the Salt Lake City Bees. Like Strand, his season earned him a shot in the majors – only Lazzeri capitalized on it. \u00a0He went on to a 14-year MLB career as a shortstop\/third baseman, primarily with the Yankees (also the Cubs, Dodgers and Giants). Lazzeri played in 6 World Series with the Yankees and one with the Cubs. \u00a0As an 18-year-old Lazzeri was a teammate of Strand’s at Salt Lake City during the outfielder’s spectacular 1922 and 1923 seasons. \u00a0For the Bees, Lazzeri hit .192 in 45 games in 1922 and then showed his promise by hitting .354 in 39 games the following season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Suppose you hit .384 in the Pacific Coast League – with 289 hits, 28 home runs and 138 RBI \u2013 and still didn\u2019t get a call up to the major leagues.\u00a0 What would you do?\u00a0 Paul Strand did just that and, when he didn\u2019t get a call up, he just went out and had a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n