Buzz Arlett/pagetext

From SABR Encyclopedia

Russell "Buzz" Arlett was one of the greatest minor leaguers of all time: a 20 game winner as a pitcher who switched to the outfield and hit .341 lifetime. He reached the majors in 1931 with the Phillies, and batted .313 and finished fourth in the league in home runs. But his fielding was attrocious when the season ended he was back to the minors for good.

Minor League Career

Buzz started his baseball career in 1918 as a pitcher with Oakland (Pacific Coast League)and won 22 games and lost 17 in 1919. In 1920 won 29 lost 17, in the next two years he was 19-18 and 25-19. In 1923 he injured his arm Oakland utilizing him as an outfielder for his hitting ability, and played in 149 games and hit .330. After becoming a full time outfielder he always hit around .330 or high; usually stealing at least 20 bases each year. In 1924 The St.Louis Cardinals scouted him but because of his poor fielding lost interest. He was hit in the head while trying to field a fly ball while a scout was watching. The scouts verdict was "he would lose more games fielding than he'd win with this bat".

Major League Career

Source

• The Game That Was. Chicago,IL: Contemporary Books, 1996.