1925 San Francisco Seals season

The 1925 San Francisco Seals season was the 23rd season in the history of the San Francisco Seals baseball team. The 1925 team won the Pacific Coast League (PCL) pennant with a 128–71 record.[1]

1925 San Francisco Seals
LeaguePacific Coast League
BallparkRecreation Park
CitySan Francisco
Record128–71
League place1st
ManagerBabe Ellison

The team was selected by Minor League Baseball as the tenth greatest minor league team in baseball history.[2] The 1925 Seals were also selected in 2003 by a panel of minor league experts as the second best team in the PCL's 100-year history.[3]

Outfielder Paul Waner won the PCL batting championship with a .401 batting average and tallied 280 hits and 75 doubles.[1][4] Waner was sold to the Pittsburgh Pirates after the 1925 season for $40,000.[5] He went on to play 15 years for the Pirates and was later inducted into both the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.

Right fielder Frank Brower had a .362 batting average and led the team with 36 home runs and 411 total bases.[4] First baseman and manager Babe Ellison compiled a .325 batting average with 22 home runs.[4] Ellison was inducted into the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame in 2006. Smead Jolley also began his professional baseball career with the 1925 Seals. He joined the club late in the season and hit .447 in 34 games.[4] Smolley went on to win PCL batting titles in 1927, 1928, and 1938. He was inducted in the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame in 2003.

Pitcher Doug "Buzz" McWeeny led the team with an .800 winning percentage (20–5 win–loss record) and a 2.70 earned run average (ERA).[4] He was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers after the 1925 season. In addition to McWeeny, three other San Francisco pitchers won 20 games: Guy Williams (21-10, 3.84 ERA); Bob Geary (20-12, 4.01 ERA), and Ollie Mitchell (20-8, 4.29 ERA).[4]

1925 PCL standings

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Team W L Pct.
San Francisco Seals 128 71 .643
Salt Lake City Bees 116 84 .580
Seattle Indians 103 91 .531
Los Angeles Angels 105 93 .530
Portland Beavers 92 104 .469
Oakland Oaks 88 112 .440
Sacramento 82 119 .408
Vernon Tigers 80 120 .400

[1]

Players

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Batting

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Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
LF Paul Waner 174 699 280 .401 11 130
RF Frank Brower 186 705 255 .362 36 163
CF Gene Valla 177 769 256 .333 6 72
C Sam Agnew 122 384 125 .326 20 85
1B Babe Ellison 174 708 230 .325 22 160
SS Hal Rhyne 188 724 228 .315 3 97
2B Pete Kilduff 174 670 205 .306 20 126
OF Tim Hendryx 117 330 100 .303 4 41
3B Eddie Mulligan 180 751 215 .286 10 77
C Archie Yelle 101 266 71 .267 1 21

[4][2]

Pitching

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Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; PCT = Win percentage; ERA = Earned run average

Player G IP W L PCT ERA
Bob Geary 50 287 20 12 .625 4.01
Ollie Mitchell 43 277 20 8 .714 4.29
Doug McWeeny 49 263 20 5 .800 2.70
Guy Williams 46 246 21 10 .677 3.84
Marty Griffin 43 209 16 4 .800 4.26
Jeff Pfeffer 36 193 15 15 .500 5.27
Bill Crockett 38 189 12 11 .522 4.38

[4][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Official Averages Show Paul Waner Led Coast's Sluggers At .401 Mark". The Sacramento Bee. December 14, 1925. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c Bill Weiss; Marshall Wright. "Top 100 Teams: 10. 1925 San Francisco Seals". Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on March 9, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  3. ^ "PCL top 10". Los Angeles Times. March 30, 2003. p. D9 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "1923 San Francisco Seals". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  5. ^ "The forgotten story of ... Joe DiMaggio and the San Francisco Seals talent factory". The Guardian. May 21, 2015.

Further reading

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  • "The Greatest Minor League: A History of the Pacific Coast League, 1903-1957", by Dennis Snelling (McFarland 2011)
  • "San Francisco Seals", by Martin Jacobs & Jack McGuire (Arcadia Publishing 2005)